AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Volume 19 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.3233/AJW220045
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Household Solid Waste Management in a Developing  World: An Overview

Madhumita Ghosh Datta1*
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1 Department of Environmental Science, Tezpur University, Napaam – 784028, Assam, India
AJWEP 2022, 19(3), 97–102; https://doi.org/10.3233/AJW220045
Submitted: 24 February 2021 | Revised: 21 April 2022 | Accepted: 21 April 2022 | Published: 11 May 2022
© 2022 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

Households in developing countries are the primary waste generators. Therefore, this study aims to  identify the composition and factors responsible for household solid waste generation. It also studies the current  status of household waste management in India and strategies for waste minimisation and management. Findings  revealed that household waste is heterogeneous. The urban household produces substantial amounts of waste,  and vegetables and food waste are major components. Family size has either a positive or negative impact on  waste generation. A higher-income household with more purchasing power has a clear positive impact on waste  generation. People living together share food items and consumer goods, so fewer food scraps, leftovers, and  packaging wastes are there. With advanced education, household wastes are higher, whereas households with  secondary education produce the least waste. There is an accumulation of fresh graduates but few are aware of  current environmental issues. Municipalities are responsible for collecting and disposing of solid waste, but at  present, they focus mostly on the collection part, while innovation in waste treatment is scarce. Nevertheless, a  few cities in India have taken a positive approach to the selection of waste management strategies. Also, household  solid waste can be converted from burden to resource by sensitising people to segregate waste at the source and  following sustainable strategies

Keywords
Household solid waste
composition
factors
strategies
waste minimisation
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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