Waste Management in Dharavi
Waste Management in Dharavi
Waste Management in Dharavi
Development Indicators
Environmental problems
Sight pollution (unpleasant) Very smelly (council recently spent $114,000 on 42,000 litres of perfume to manage the stench for about six to eight months. This is not a long term solution to the smell pollution) Bacteria in the dump produce about 4,251m3/hr of biogas, mostly methane into the atmosphere. This creates a fire hazard and the fires release smoke and other harmful products into the air. This is due to burning of plastics and non-plastics as well as other unsorted materials that could have dangerous end products. Polluted water flows into the ocean and other surrounding bodies of water, making some sources of fish and water unsafe for consumption which is a huge problem environmentally and economically.
The chain most likely gets more complicated with products like computers and car products The slum employs over 250,000 of the 1M+ inhabitants in the recycling industry. The average household in Dharavi earns between 3,000 and 15,000 rupees a month which is well above agricultural wage levels and certain areas have beauty parlours, bars and clothing boutiques being patronised by the new middle classes of the slums. About 20% of the slums inhabitants are
employed in waste processing with the average waste picker sorting through 8.5 tonnes of waste each day. Mumbai generates about 11,209 tonnes of waste each day.
In terms of environmental sustainability Mumbai has a double edged sword. The dump is not sustainable but it provides jobs for a very poor section of society. It also cuts costs through the informal recycling sector, however the problem is the health of the workers. With the slum so close and no viable sewage infrastructure, the area is prone to outbreaks of cholera and other communicable diseases. The lifespan of workers in the informal recycling sector is also cut by up to 40% with a lot of them dying young. Therefore environmentally it seems to have been a success but in terms of human cost it is a long way from being a success.
Waste management is not very different in the two cities, the main differences are: Dharavi is informal Londons more modernised Dharavi employs more people Londons more specialised but has a far smaller amount of waste recycled
London can learn from Dharavi that almost anything is recyclable and the best option might not be to completely incinerate some products, if it can be fixed then it is still useful or it can be modified for another purpose, it also shows that waste recycling can be an asset to the economy of the city. Dharavi can take lessons from Londons method of sorting the waste into types as well as the way it deals with hazardous waste.