ABSTRACT
Solid waste management and disposal practices have become major public health and environmental concerns in the urban areas of many developing countries due to improper management practices, unsafe practices of open dumping, and disorganized administration. Waste generation has witnessed an increasing trend parallel to the development of industrialization, urbanization, and rapid growth of the population. The problem has become one of the primary urban environmental issues. The management of urban solid waste is generally governed by the municipal body of the city, which is termed as the formal sector. The formal sector is responsible for waste collection, transportation, processing, and disposal. This also includes other private organizations involved in converting the waste to marketable products such as compost, biogas, and RDF pellets. The other sector that contributes greatly to managing the waste is the informal sector in most developing countries, which never accounts in the authorized system. The informal sector consists of many groups, such as waste-pickers (rag-pickers), itinerant buyers, small scrap dealers, and wholesalers, who, together, recycle about 20% of the waste. A typical solid waste management system in a developing country displays an array of problems, including low collection coverage and irregular collection services, crude open dumping and burning without air and water pollution control, the breeding of flies and vermin, and the handling and control of informal waste picking or scavenging activities. These public health, environmental, and management problems are caused by various factors that constrain the development of effective solid waste management systems. These can be categorized into technical, financial, institutional, economic, and social constraints.
