Physio-chemical characterization of municipal solid waste and its management in high-altitude urban areas of North-Western Himalayas

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is the most challenging environmental issue in developing countries around global municipalities. In mountainous regions, very few studies can be found and the availability of limited data, because waste management poses different challenges due to different climate, topography, and geographical conditions. This study has been conducted in three urban areas of the Kashmir region (i.e., Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora) in the western Himalayas. Presently, waste management is underdeveloped and openly dumped in an unscientific manner near to the rivers, streams, and lakes, which increases the threat of contamination to ground and surface water, respectively. The present study aimed to analyze the current scenario of the MSW management system and its waste generation rates. The Physio-chemical characterization of municipal solid waste was carried out by using a quarter and cone method. Proximate analysis of samples was performed by using muffle furnace and bomb calorimeter for chemical analysis, respectively. The findings of the MSW generation of urban areas of Kashmir were approximately 181.43 Mt/day (93.73 Mt/day in Baramulla, 57.46 Mt/day in Kupwara, and 30.27 Mt/day in Bandipora), respectively. Further, the findings of MSW showed high organic waste between (10.3%–68.5%), followed by recyclable waste (12.3%–15.30%), and inert waste (8.27%—9.10%), respectively. Also, the chemical characterization results showed average moisture content varying between (47.6%–52.40%) with the lower calorific values of (1017–1175.6 kcal/kg) in the areas mentioned earlier. In conclusion, alternative treatment methods were proposed, for instance, compositing, biomethane plants, the installation of recycling plants, and upgrading the existing dumping sites to sanitary-engineered landfills.