Sanitary Land Filling Process for Solid Waste Management in Rural Urban Relations

| Sanitary Land Filling Process For Solid Waste Management In Rural Urban Relations- A Case In Sisdol Landfill Site | Term Paper on Rural Urban linkages |

Sujata Shrestha |

Background

Rural-urban interaction can be defined as linkages across space such as flows of people, good, money, information and wastes and linkages between sectors such as agriculture, services, etc. Rural urban relation is a fundamental element of regional development. The balance rural urban linkages strongly and mutually supports socio-economic development of both rural urban (Pradhan, 2000). According to UNCHS, rural-urban linkages are essential for both side’s economic growth and sustainable development. Their strength of connection is robust physically, culturally, economically and environmentally (Karna, 2003).
In rural urban linkage urbanization is seen as an invisible force, transforming pattern and styles of living not only within urban areas themselves, but also with surrounding rural areas (UNCHS website). Urban centers are economically linked with their hinterland in variety of exchange activities. The five processes of trade, private capital flows, innovation diffusion and information exchange, public capital flows, and migration-commuting- employment expansion can summarize these activities.

In Nepal, majority of people are living in rural areas. With the pace of time, urbanization level is growing with increasing small and intermediate urban centers. The projection based on current growth rate shows that Nepal could have half of its population living in municipal areas in three decades from now (UNDP). Of the total 58 towns (municipality), 43 are small with population below 40,000 and constitute of the total urban population.

Urbanization plays as a powerful driver of economic growth. But the rapid increase in urbanization is bringing increased pressures on environment-related services and environmental health. Environmental health costs in urban areas are estimated to be nearly US$51.2 million in 2005, which is 0.7% of Nepal’s GDP (CEA- 2007 Report). According to CEA report- 2007, three major areas in urban environmental pressure in Nepal are solid waste management, air quality and industrial pollution. Among these, one of the major areas of growing concern from rapid urbanization is generation of solid waste. In a Central Bureau of Statistics survey in 1996, most urban residents ranked solid waste as the number one environmental problem in their city (Central Bureau of Statistics 1997). Although this poll was conducted a decade ago, problems associated with solid waste have worsened.

Source- CBS 1997

Urbanization and solid waste

Solid waste is the byproduct of human activity which tends to increase with rapid urbanization, living standards and changing consumption patterns. Management of increasing amounts of solid waste has become a major challenge in many cities in developing countries creating different kind of public health problems. The waste accumulation on the streets for several days or inappropriate disposal of waste along the riverbanks creating adverse affect on the aesthetic value of urban which might negatively effect on tourism too.

If solid waste is properly used, it can be a valuable resource and major source of revenue. But if it is not properly managed, it can create serious and adverse impact on environment and public health. Solid waste management is therefore a critical component with urban sanitation and it is also one of the most important and resource intensive service which can positively foster the rural urban linkage. The major issue in recent years in developing countries is the dumping of wastes in rural areas because of lack of suitable and sufficient land to dump waste in urban area.
Improper management of solid waste can create various adverse environmental and health effect in rural as well as in urban areas.

Among the various solid waste management techniques, sanitary land filling is one of the methods of final disposal of solid waste. Sanitary landfills are sites where waste is isolated from the environment until it is safe (Thurgood, 1999). It may be defined as a method of disposing refuse on land without creating nuisances or hazards to public health or safety. The operation is carried out without environmental damage and in areas already spoiled or in need of restoration.
As sanitary land filling is an engineered operation, designed and operated according to acceptable standards a result for the better urban environment, sanitary land fill site are selected rural areas that is adjacent to urban area. Hence, the primary beneficiaries of sanitary land filling process for solid waste management in rural urban relations are urban environment and urban health.

Land fill site and Linkages between rural urban
Beneficiary aspects to rural and urban
In one hand excessive solid waste is generated due to urbanization process and in other hand because of high density of population in urban area formation of sanitary land fill site in urban area is not possible. To cope this situation formation of Sanitary land fill in the rural area is better option for solid waste management of urban which linked with the rural areas. As the process of rural urban interaction is the consequence of various linkage and flows operating between them the various types of rural urban linkage dimensions are interwoven and causally interdependent each other.

In terms of Sanitary land filling process of solid waste management, the different aspect of economic linkage are created and it also foster other linkages which are interwoven and casually interdependent between rural and urban. It generates different kind of occupation sector such as driver, waste segregation staff, workers in the landfill side etc and employment opportunity to local rural people as well as urban people with the flow of resources, energy, money, credit and labour. Micro-enterprise of small scale of recycling, reusing and remanufacturing of waste can be done by community people on periphery of the landfill site as well as the periphery of the urban area. Scrap dealers exported large amount of waste as raw material which might become the one source of flow foreign currency. When organic waste decomposes in landfill site it produces a gas known as landfill gas, which consists of about 55 per cent methane. Landfill gas, once captured can be transferred, flared, or used in energy generation. There were 58 landfill gas generation plants in Australia with a capacity totaling 165.3 MW and Australian landfills captured 26 per cent of landfill gases in 2005–06 ( Australia –2007). As well as reducing emissions of landfill gas, better management of organics can produce additional benefits. For example, a tonne of composted mulch applied in agriculture can sequester 25 kg of carbon in soil, and at the same time improve soil fertility and assist in water retention ( Aus – 2007). Composted mulch can replace the chemical fertilizer resulting the trapping of outgoing of local economy. Better production productivity of agricultural can foster agricultural micro – enterprises improving livelihood and ensuring the food security of the local rural people. These phenomena are possible only when technological linkages are strengthening between urban and rural. The hauling of solid waste to the landfill site of rural from urban comprises with good road network which is major component of the physical linkage. This linkage connects the rural urban region as well as provides opportunity to foster other linkages. This is boon for the inaccessible rural areas. The road network facilitates flow mechanisms which strengthen further process of rural urban interaction by mobility of goods, people, services and facilities, technology, revenue resources etc. It also facilitates socio cultural linkage which are very important for rural initiatives and demand where exchange visit between rural and urban dwellers spreads idea and attitude from one area to another which generates rich source of information, innovation and ideas. These kinds of phenomena are very important for regional development.

Cost of Sanitary Land Filling Site to rural people
Properly planned urbanization can play a positive role in promoting economic activity as well as healthy environment. However, environmental cost is associated with an unsanitary practice of waste management which leads to two major negative impacts in the rural area. * Percolation of lecheate * Methane gas leakage * Aesthetic value degradation and ordor problems When organic are exposed to water in landfills, the liquid trickle down through the pile, picking contaminating along the way. Ground water contamination by lechaete can be problem with landfill. Burying organics also create methane. Methane gas has a global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide, is odorous and highly flammable. Similarly, it also creates odour problems due to production of odorous gases like hydrogen sulphide and ammonia. With this environmental impact, landfilling also destroys the aesthetic value of rural areas.
The process of land filling brings the transformation of rural land. As social cost, compensation of government is providing various facility and services on education, health, training, commercial and technical, information source system and dessimation patterns and coverage of rural areas.
Landfill site operated under the administrative level of municipality and local government. Local government has budgetary flow for revenue of basic environmental services. Mostly all the economic cost of solid waste management and sanitary land filling process is incurred by urban municipality. The five municipalities in the Kathmandu valley together spend approximately Nrs. 235 million annually on the solid waste management. Kathmandu Municipality alone spends approximately 32% of its budgets on solid waste management(CEA Report- 2007). Through political linkage rural land are integrated and transformed into sanitary land fill site.

Analysis and Conclusion
As land becomes more valuable, reuse of abandoned or derelict land is becoming more widespread. Landfills provide unique opportunity for reuse and provide unique reclamation opportunity as long as special monitoring and design established. The unique advantage of landfill reuse include funding and revenue opportunity. Example of many successful landfill include a nature center in Florida, a Ski and sledding slope in New Hampshire and Verginia, a sculpture garden in New York, botanical gardens and amphitheater in California, active sports fields in Massachusetts and North California, driving range and golf courses.
In the process of the land fill site the primary beneficiaries are urban environment and urban people. But improper management and operation of landfill site create huge environmental impact primarily in methane gas production, lechaete and in aesthetic value of rural. The water quality of existing wetlands and surface water should be evaluated to ensure that no public health or environmental threat exist. This is especially relevant in areas of groundwater contamination from landfill leachate.

To control lechaete biological waste water treatment should be used to absorb toxic waste. The effective way to control odour pollution from the land fill site is to cover the waste properly. Each 2 to 3m waste wastes 150 – 300 mm layer of cover material should be covered by mud or soil to avoid dispersion of gases into the surrounding atmosphere. To enhance vertical dispersion and odour control, the vent pipe height should be increased to practically by 2.5 times the tallest building height (Kenneth, 1998)
A long term maintenance program should be established as part the planning process. Annual operation and maintenance costs should be considered during site use and development.
A significant public participation program is required for successful project implementation. All issues and concerns raised by public must be addressed. The public should be educated on site opportunities and limitation. In case of Sisdole landfill site the public are not involve in planning process. The need of the local level not compensation not identified at the local level. Resulting opposition of local people to the land fill site started.

Solid Waste Management concerns in Kathmandu
Because of the concerns arising from poor operation and management, siting and operation of landfill sites are very sensitive public issues in Nepal. For a decade or so Kathmandu city has been facing a severe problem in disposing of its solid waste. In the early 1990s, people near the then-existing landfill site at Gokarna opposed the landfill and obstructed its operation many times, resulting in waste accumulation on the streets of Kathmandu for several days, or inappropriate disposal of waste along the riverbanks. Later when the life of the Gokarna landfill site was finished, no other landfill site could be identified within the Valley due to public opposition, and Kathmandu’s refuse continued to be disposed off along the riverbanks. In 2005, authorities reached an agreement with local people to operate a short-term (2-year) landfill at Sisdol with a plan to prepare a long-term landfill site at Okharpauwa in the same locality. It is the temporary landfill site for dumping solidwaste generated in the Kathmandu valley, lasting just for some years, till longterm site at Banchera Dada will come in operation. Sisdol landfill site lies in the depression of Sisdol at Okharpauwa VDC ward no 4. It is 25 km away from Kathmandu in North-West direction. The Sisdol landfill site has been developed jointly by the JICA and Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilization Centre. Landfill occupies a total area of 15 ha with 1ha allocated for landfill site (SWMRMC 2008). Other infrastructure/facilities (e.g. building complex, internal service road, lechate treatment facilities etc.) occupy an area of 2ha. For site protection area (e.g. Buffer zone, greenery/forest, acess road) 12ha is allocated. Though the Landfill had capacity of 275,000m3 and was designed to last for 3 years for an average input of 333 tons per day from the day of commencement, due to delay in the operation of the longterm landfill site at Banchare Dada, the Sisdol landfill site is accepting waste till date.
The removal of solid waste remains on the street remains on Kathmandu streets several times due to protest by local people in Sisdole. The local have put forth 22 demand, which include employement to the dumping site affacted people, constuctions of roads, construction of drinking water supply system, and building health post (Nepalnews, 2010-4-10). According to them the needs for compensation were not identified at the local level. There were complaints about inadequate compensation, which violated an earlier agreement between the local people and the government.

Reference
KARNA Suman Kumar, Australia, Rural-Urban Linkage and Role of Civil Society: A Successful Model for Good Urban Governance in Nepal
Prof. Puskar K Pradhan, Nepal, 2004. Rural Urban Relations with Particular Reference to Nepal
National Waste Policy Fact Sheet, Australian Government, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts 2009
Nepal Country Environmental Analysis (CEA), Strengthening Institutions and Management Systems for Enhanced Environmental Governance, Document for World Bank, 2007

Solid waste Management in Nepal, SWMRMC/UN-HABITAT (2008)

Kathmandu Valley Environmental Outlook, ICIMOD, MOEST/GoN/ UNEP
Measures to Mitigate Landfill Site Controversy, Neera (Shrestha) Pradhan

Recycleing of Organic Waste