Municipal Dumping Site and Its Health Hazards to the proximate communities at Barjalah, Tangla, Assam

Municipal Dumping Site and Its Health Hazards
To The Proximate Communities at Barjalah, Tangla

A FieldStudyCarriedOutat Barjalah,Tangla
District:Udalguri,BTR, Assam
Shivamjyoti Das
Arunodoi Academy, Tangla
Class 8
Guide Tea cher: Pra na bj y oti D a s
Throwing The Wastes Away
is Throwing Our Future Away

Solid waste refers to the solid and semi-solid waste matters of a community.
Solid waste can be defined as the useless and unwanted products in the solid
state which are derived from the activities of the society.

Solid wastes include anything like plastic bottles, waste tires, seepage,
scrap metal, damaged furniture, toys, garbages, empty canes, bags,
product packaging, clothing, food scraps, newspapers, paint, batteries
and many more.

 Tons of solid wastes are generated daily in all the 4 wards of
Tangla town.
 Less than half of the solid waste produced in Tangla town is
collected daily.
 65% of that amount of solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown
away at various dumping sites on the periphery of urban centers.
 The indiscriminate and open disposal of the solid waste can cause
environmental degradation.

 An inefficient municipal solid waste management system may create
serious negative environmental impacts like infectious diseases, land
and water pollution, obstruction of drains to cause water lodging
and loss of biodiversity.
 Solid wastes contain harmful chemicals that can leak into soil and
water, posing a threat to the health of plants, animals, and humans.
 Coloured plastics are harmful as their pigment contains heavy metals
that are highly toxic. Some of the harmful metals found in plastics
are copper, lead, cobalt, and cadmium. They are reported to be
carcinogenic
Effects of Solid Wastes

Aims of the project
To find out the source of waste generation in the wards of Tangla.
To collect the information of storage & processing of solid waste.
To know the composition of the different types of solid waste.
To collect the information of solid waste management.
Considering those issues, the objective of this present study has been:

Methodology
 Methods employed in this study involved field based activities, which
were undertaken in order to generate the necessary data.
 Initial study involved a field visit for an assessment of the source and
types of municipal wastes, disposal facilities and management of
those wastes in Tangla town.
 The study was conducted during this month of November, 2022.
During the study, the site was visited to collect the necessary data.
The data collection and field visit were done from November 2 to
November 9.

Work Plan
 Waste management is a burning problem in the urban, industrial and
rural areas. So, during the study importance was given on the different
improper handling of hazardous wastes.
 During the study, all the four wards of Tangla town and the dumping
ground at Barjalah were visited to collect the necessary data.
 The results of the present work were analyzed in the light of different
aspects including the impact of solid waste on the health of rag pickers,
workers as well as in the surrounding environment.

 Solid waste is generated by
human. Thus the population
statistics of Tangla town has
become an important factor for
the present study.
 Tangla Town has a population of
17,183 of which 8,883 are males
while 8,300 are females as per
report released by Census India
2011.
1. Population in Tangla town
Source: http://www.census2011.co.in/data/town/801632-tangla-assam.html).

Location Area in km2 Population as of 2011 Population Density
Tangla Ward
No: 1
0.87 4395 5651/km2
Tangla Ward
No: 2
0.81 4067 5202/km2
Tangla Ward
No: 3
0.77 4172 5185/km2
Tangla Ward
No: 4
0.94 4549 5498/km2
Table:1 Ward wise details of Area, Population and population density of Tangla town

2. Waste Generation
During the field study it became clear that the existing solid waste generation
in all the four municipal wards of Tangla town is about 15-17 quintals/day.
On Tuesday and Friday the waste generation goes up to 20-22 quintals as
there is market on these two days.
The total quantity of solid waste generation in Ward No: 1 of Tangla town is
about 3.8 quintals/day of which 50% is biodegradable, 25% is recyclable, 15%
is non- recyclable and 10 % is debris and silt.

In Ward No: 2, the total quantity of solid waste generation is about 4.2
quintals/day of which 47% is biodegradable, 27% is recyclable, 19% is non-
recyclable and remaining 7 % is debris and silt.
In Ward No: 3 has 53% biodegradable, 16% recyclable, 9% debris and silt
and remaining 22% is non- recyclable waste. The total quantity of solid
wastes in Ward No: 3 sums up to about 3.2 quintals/day.
In the Ward No: 4 The total quantity of solid waste generation is about 3.8
quintals/day of which 52% is biodegradable, 18% is recyclable, 11% is
debris and silt and 19% is non- recyclable waste.

Sl No Location Biodegradable
Waste
Recyclable
Waste
Non-recyclable
Waste
Debris & Silt Total Wastes
Per day
1
Ward No: 1 50% 25% 15% 10% 3.8 quintal
2
Ward No: 2 47% 27% 19% 7% 4.2 quintal
3
Ward No: 3 53% 16% 22% 9% 3.2 quintal
4
Ward No: 4 52% 18% 19% 11% 3.8 quintal
Table 2: Ward wise details of waste generation per day in Tangla town

Thus in all the four municipal wards of Tangla town, the
municipal solid wastes can be categorized as follows:
 50.5% waste is biodegradable
 21.5% is recyclable waste
 18.75% is non- recyclable waste
 09.25% waste is debris and silt
50%
22%
19%
9%
B i o d e g r a d a b l e
R e c y c l a b l e
N o n - r e c y c l a b l e
D e b r i s

3. Z o n e w i s e D e t a i l s o f Wa s te co l l e c t i o n Sy s te m
 Tangla town committee had provided a large number of community bins
at reasonable distances depending on the local requirement.
 But still in some areas people throw the wastes in open spaces.
 In all the four wards of Tangla town, there were 160 community bins. But
only 27 are found at present.
 133 community bins are either damaged or broken.
 During the study 38 open dumping sites were also detected.

4. Waste Collection
 Waste collection is a crucial phase of waste management which includes activities such as
placing waste collection bins and collecting waste from those bins.
 Tangla Town Committee (TTC) collects the waste every morning of all the working days
from the community bins available.
 The community bins of the interior places of the wards and from the open dumping sites,
wastes are not cleared everyday.
 Tangla town has involved 16 persons daily in the collection and disposal of wastes.
 Among them 4 drivers, 10 persons for collection of garbages and 2 are the departmental in
charge of TTC
 Tangla Town Committee has 4 vehicles to collect the wastes which include 1 tractor trailer,
1 dumper placer and 2 tippers.

5. Disposal of Wastes
 The waste is disposed daily to the landfill site located near Barjalah.
 This is a big low-lying area of about 4-5 bighas of land.
 The area is well protected by tall brick wall.
 The disposal is dumped in the landfill in open which subsequently gives rise to
contamination.
 However near the landfill site there is no human settlement and hence no impact of this
site is reported on the people living in the nearby area.
 TTC has not followed any treatment process of the landfill site to stop solid waste pollution.
 As per the report of the local people, sometimes the workers of TTC burn the dry solid
waste in the landfill site which creates sever air pollution in the entire area.

6. Discussion  The landfill site of Tangla is not a
well maintained place and thus
there is a possible threat of the
groundwater contamination. This
can be a serious health issue for the
common people.
 Open dumped garbages serve as
breeding ground for disease causing
vectors such as flies, mosquitoes,
cockroaches, and rats.
 Cattles of the nearby families are
seen amidst of the solid wastes
which may spread diseases in the
communities

 Most of the waste remains laying down in open and as they degrade
it causes pollution with the odour and smell.
 The workers, who are associated with the process of solid waste
management at different level, are vulnerable as far as health
hazards are concerned due to constant and long time direct contact
with solid waste.
 During waste loading processes dust particles spread in the
surrounding air and it creates problem of air pollution.
 Sometimes the authority burns the solid wastes in the dumping site
and this causes serious environmental issues releasing harmful
gases.

Suggestions
In order to protect our health and environment as per as the waste management is concerned,
the following steps can be undertaken:
 The waste management system must involve
the reduction in the quantity of wastes in
their sources and for this, the authority
concerned must take some necessary steps
for creating awareness amongst the people.
 Wastes can be further used through
reprocessing and the people must go for
recycling and reuse of the waste to minimise
its amount.

People must upgrade themselves for an optimum use of raw materials
so that the amount of hazardous wastes generated is reduced to a
bare minimum.
Concerned authority should arrange some scientific processes for
hazardous waste management and their safe disposal.
The landfill site should be treated regularly to stop spreading of
germs into the surrounding areas.
People must not through garbage in open places.

Conclusion
Tangla is one of the leading urban centers in Assam. But the management and disposal
of solid waste in Tangla town is not scientific and it has been creating serious
environmental problems in recent times.
Insanitary method of waste disposal is also a serious health concern particularly in rainy
season. Hot and high humid conditions increase the risk of health problems.
The combined effects of uncollected wastes, poor handling and inadequate disposal
safeguards for municipal wastes have always implications for public health leading to
the chances of transmission of diseases, the spread of epidemics and loss of healthy
urban and amenable environment. So, it is high time to take necessary action before
the alarm rings.

References:
1. Joseph, K., 2002. Perspectives of solid waste management in India; International Symposium on the
Technology and Management of the treatment and Reuse of the Municipal Solid Waste.
2. Hanrahan, Srivastava, and Ramakrishna 2006, International Journal for engineering and science, 220-230
3. Sharma, S., Shah, K.W., 2005. Generation and disposal of solid waste in Hoshangabad. In: Book of
Proceedings of the Second International Congress of Chemistry and Environment, Indore, , pp. 749–751.
4. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 2004. Management of Municipal Solid Waste Ministry of
Environment and Forests, New Delhi, India.

Municipal Dumping Site and Its Health Hazards to the proximate communities at Barjalah, Tangla, Assam

Municipal Dumping Site and Its Health Hazards to the proximate communities at Barjalah, Tangla, Assam

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Municipal Dumping Site and Its Health Hazards to the proximate communities at Barjalah, Tangla, Assam