• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Issues that matter
    • COVID-19 in India
    • Inadequate safe drinking water
    • Poor sanitation
    • Environmental health
    • Infectious disease
      • Hepatitis C
    • Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)
    • Malnutrition
    • High infant mortality
    • Mental health
    • Sex and gender discrimination
  • Special Focus
    • Interviews
      • Exclusive Interviews
      • Readers Interviews
    • Vaccine Hesitancy
  • News
  • PandemiCast
  • Partner’s Press Office

Health Issues India

Health issues in India

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Editorial Team
  • Subscribe
  • Contribute
  • Sponsor
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Sanitation / Landfill garbage dumping trashes Indians’ health

Landfill garbage dumping trashes Indians’ health

July 31, 2018 By Kerean Watts Leave a Comment

Landfill site. Copyright: <a href='https://www.123rf.com/profile_rmnunes'>rmnunes / 123RF Stock Photo</a>“It is dirty everywhere”, this is how Amish Das describes his home: Boragaon, a landfill site which sprawls across 94 acres of wetland in Guwahati City in northeastern Assam.

Amish, whose story was recounted in a feature for The Independent last year, has lived in Boragaon his entire life. His living is made through scavenging, as is the case for many of the fifteen million people worldwide who call rubbish dumps their home.

A one-room shack houses Amish and his family: his wife and three children, as well as his wife’s sister, her husband and their two children. Such overcrowding is common among landfill dwellers and allows for the rapid spread of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea and typhoid.

This does not even begin to cover the scourge of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) that can arise from living on or even near a landfill site as a result of constant exposure to toxic gases. This can leave you vulnerable to no end of conditions, ranging from cancers to respiratory ailments to irritation of the eyes and skin.

Amish is well aware of the health effects of landfill sites, having lost his daughter to disease when she was just two years old. “Sometimes,” he reflects, “I am thankful she won’t have to know this life.”

“Just a quarter of [garbage] is processed. The rest is dumped in the open at landfill sites.”

Door-to-door garbage collection has reached 100 percent of citizens in around three quarters of districts – but this is negated by its improper disposal afterwards.

India’s landfill sites have risen significantly in size and number as the country has urbanised at a meteoric rate in recent decades. This has led to cities spewing out 1.43 lakh (143,000) metric tonnes (MTs) of solid waste every day. Just a quarter of garbage is processed. Cities dump the rest – more than 100,000 MTs – in the open at landfill sites. 

New data released by the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs shows that much of India’s garbage is left unprocessed. Just eight out of India’s 35 states and union territories (UTs) process more than half their municipal garbage. Seven states process ten percent or less of their garbage. Arunachal Pradesh state and Dadra and Nagar Haveli UT Dadra do not process their trash at all.

The data contains some good news. Door-to-door waste collection reaches 100 percent of citizens in 61,846 out of India’s 84,00 municipal wards. However, as waste output increases, the land available to dispose of the waste is rapidly running out. Analysts warn that around 88 square kilometres of land would need to be demarcated for landfilling if current trends continue. This an area roughly equivalent to the size of New Delhi. 

Landfilling, meanwhile, pollutes the air, land and groundwater. This poses an enormous risk to public health. To make matters worse, once a landfill is closed, it is effectively unusable. The site then requires monitoring for thirty years afterwards.

To improve public health in this regard, the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) recommends segregating waste at its source and then recycling and reusing it when possible, rather than sending it to landfills en masse. Education campaigns to encourage citizens to reduce their output would also be of value, the CSE adds.

Filed Under: Featured Stories, Government policy, National, News, Sanitation, Social issues Tagged With: Features, health, industry, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases, sanitation

About Kerean Watts

Kerean Watts has been a featured writer for Health Issues since 2016. His areas of study include politics, international relations and global development. He is based in South Wales.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Articles

  • Renewed fears of a bird flu pandemic; The latest health stories from around the world
  • More oversight needed for “gain of function” research says expert panel; The latest health stories from around the world
  • Marion Biotech to be investigated by Indian drug regulator
  • Sesame to be added to list of major food allergens
  • Approval of Alzheimer’s drug “rife with irregularities”

Footer

Archives

Issues that matter

  • Environmental health
  • Inadequate safe drinking water
  • Poor sanitation
  • Infectious disease
  • Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)
  • Malnutrition
  • High infant mortality

Categories

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie settingsACCEPTACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.