Infrastructure and environmental issues- solid waste management Bhuvaneshwari K*, PG research Student, Dr. Sivakami P.L. Sridevi**, Assistant Professor *Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women. Coimbatore. **(S.G) Department of Food Service Management and Dietetics, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women. Coimbatore. Online published on 3 January, 2012. Abstract Infrastructure development is imperative to ensure India's overall economic growth. “Considering India's geographic vastness, infrastructure development will play a critical role in cementing its position as the next economic superpower.” India makes up 2.4 percent of the world's land, while supporting 16 percent of the world's population. The compounding result is a severely unsustainable use of natural resources for several generations. Currently, India is experiencing rapid and widespread environmental degradation at alarming rates. Tremendous pressure is placed upon the country's land and natural resources to support the massive overpopulation. There has been depletion of forests, soil erosion, ground water depletion, contamination of soil and water in certain areas and degradation in ambient air quality. In addition to problems created locally, India also has to cope with issues related to global environmental concerns on global warming and ozone layer depletion. The rapid urbanization in India and underinvestment in urban infrastructure and municipal services have resulted in serious environmental and health problems in India's cities. At present, all infrastructure projects in India are required to furnish an Environmental Impact Assessment. While assessing the future impact of implementing eco-friendly infrastructural facilities, it becomes necessary to understand the existing practices. Looking at waste itself as a resource is considered the first step towards managing it sustainably and conserving resources. As for the biodegradable wastes, commercially viable treatment technologies such as composting and anaerobic digestion have proved to be successful with attractive results. The non-biodegradable waste fractions are often to be managed by implementing the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This paper attempts to provide an overview of the implementation of 3R in managing urban municipal waste in our country. The paper reflects the finding that 3Rs of waste management are often in the informal sector and generally weak in implementation owing to various reason such as lack of funding, government initiation, lapse in policy and public ignorance on waste management issues. Top |