Kupwara's Waste Management Woes

Effective waste management techniques and practices are essential to reduce impacts on various domains of environment and public health. Solid waste refers to the range of garbage materials arising from animal and human activities that are discarded as unwanted and useless. Solid waste is generated mainly from four sources viz Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Institutional. The majority of solid waste constituents  include a range of materials including plastics, garbage, rubbish, metals, glass, textiles and paper. Solid Waste Management can be defined a process in which waste is collected ,treated and disposed off in an environment sustainable manner.

Kupwara town is located in the northern part of Jammu and Kashmir. Around 10 wards comprise the  Kupwara town which comes under the jurisdiction of Municipal Committee Kupwara. These wards includes – Regipora, Darzipora, Osmanabad, Malik Mohalla, Jamia Qadeem, Goose, Galizo, Dudhwan, Ganie Mohalla and Syedabad. Since 10 wards come under the municipality, a total of 30 households were selected from each ward. These wards include a population of around 3000 people. A structured questionnaire was carefully designed to collect comprehensive data on waste generation in town followed by a door to door survey was conducted. The survey was conducted in two seasons -Winter & Summer.

In addition to the questionnaire, the study employed a direct measurement approach to accurately quantify the waste generated at the household level. Portable weighing balances were utilised  to weigh the solid waste produced by the sampled households. To give the collected data a mathematical shape - SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) modelling was conducted. The SPSS approach aims to find correlation and regression among different variables. The software used to conduct modelling was IBM 2019.

Every day except Sundays the hoppers visit the household to collect waste. Every household is being charged Rupees 50 on monthly basis. Some households claim that dustbins were provided to some wards. There are separate chambers for dry waste and wet waste, accordingly households put the waste in  these hoppers signifying that the households have a significant awareness regarding segregation of waste.

Based on the survey conducted in two  different seasons revealed that the town has significant potential of producing organic waste. The study revealed that around 56% of total household waste produced during winters is organic waste and 50% waste produced during summers is organic waste. Regarding current waste management practice the waste is being collected by hoppers and is openly dumped near Regipora bus stand adjacent to river Lahwal. The Municipal Corporation has designated good area near Drugmulla where the construction of new landfill site is going on. Hopefully by the end of this year the construction of landfill site will complete

The study of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation, management, and statistical modelling using SPSS has provided significant insights into the current state and future potential of waste management practices. Our analysis revealed that the generation of MSW is steadily increasing due to population growth, urbanisation, and changing consumption patterns. The current management practices, although somewhat effective, are strained by the rising volume of waste, leading to inefficiencies and environmental concerns. Key findings include:

The study identified clear trends in waste generation, influenced by demographic and socio-economic factors. Residential areas were the highest contributors to MSW, followed by commercial and industrial sectors. Current waste management practices, including collection, segregation and disposal, vary significantly in efficiency. While some wards demonstrate high level of effective waste segregation at source others mix waste at source.

The statistical modelling using SPSS highlighted the relationships between various factors affecting waste generation and management. Predictive models suggested that without significant improvements in waste management infrastructure and practices, the system will become increasingly unsustainable. As the construction work regarding new landfill site is going on, the municipal corporation must install segregation chambers, vermicompost units and recycling unit in order to efficiently manage waste

The author has recently completed masters in Environmental Science from Cluster University Srinagar.