Solid waste management
Every now and then we keep generating tones of waste in our daily lives. This phenomenon is reflected across cities, towns, villages and other places. However, what is worrisome is that the waste generated across the cities and towns is not managed in a scientific way.
Though we can claim that some efforts are being made to treat the solid waste generated in cities, but the situation is quite different in rural areas where solid waste management is still a serious concern.
According to the World Bank 46% of the population in the world is living in the rural areas. And it is here that very little attention is being provided to address the concerns raised by the lack of efforts otherwise needed for waste management.
Solid waste management in rural areas is a key issue in developing and transitioning countries due to the lack of proper waste management facilities and services. This makes the issue all the more important as lot of efforts are needed to reach a point where solid waste management can touch satisfactory levels.
Since a majority of our population is living in rural areas these areas deserve a well planned approach to manage the solid waste as the mounds of untreated waste is consuming and polluting the environment at a much rapid pace.
Presently a majority of our population in villages do not have a proper mechanism to deal with the garbage and other solid waste coming from these areas, as a well defined mechanism to collect garbage and solid waste is mostly available limited to urban areas only.
As the rural life is somewhat proving to be a replica of the urban life these days, the waste output is increasing almost at the same pace as it is being generated in the cities. Therefore, the management of the solid waste assumes more significance as the rural areas lack an organized system to tackle this issue.
There is a huge quantity of waste produced in villages as the life styles in village’s and populations too have improved and increased over the period of time. The villages are also facing the menace of solid and liquid waste, but due to unavailability of any services from government this issue remains unaddressed.
However, as the rural areas are electing grass root level democratic institutions the issue of creating a mechanism to deal with the treatment of solid waste can now be taken up with the people’s participation.
The Rural Development institutions can play a vital role with the active participation of local inhabitants of villages to deal with the menace of solid waste. To begin with these institutions can initiate with taking up rural sanitation as a priority area and involving various self help groups and the youth to create awareness about this growing threat.
Though the Swach Bharat Mission guidelines offer a clear policy on solid waste management in rural areas at Halka Panchayat level but till date they have failed to be implemented.
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