3r practices for municipal solid waste management in Asia

Abstract

Extraordinary emerging consumption statistics from the developing Asian countries hasclearly indicated the increase waste generation over the past decades. Most of the developingAsian countries are experiencing solid waste management problem in terms of collectionefficiency, disposal facilities, limited financial resources and weak policy interventions.Unlike developed nations, final disposal of solid waste in developing Asian countries isusually a matter of transporting the collected waste to the nearest available space for disposal.Moreover, sustainability of landfills has become a challenge in Asia due to variousconsiderations such as availability of space, technologies for gas capture and leachatetreatment, tropaical climatic condition and waste characteristics. Plastic and paper wastes aredominating due to rapid economic development. Treating waste as a resource is the first steptowards sustainable waste management and conserving resources. As for the biodegradablewaste, feasible treatment technologies such as composting and anaerobic digestion withattractive results have been established. The non-biodegradable waste fractions are to bemanaged by implementing the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This article attempts to givea picture of the ongoing 3R implementation in urban municipal solid waste management inAsian countries. It was observed that in most of Asian countries, informal activities highlydominate due to lack of funding, government initiation, lapse in policy and public ignoranceon waste management issues.