Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-Energy

Urbanization, industrialization, unplanned urban expansion, and rural migration have significantly disrupted waste generation dynamics and characteristics, reducing the efficiency of municipal solid waste (MSW) management frameworks. Moreover, it has posed a substantial challenge to India's sma...

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Main Authors: Ateeb Hamdan, Sugato Panda, Mayur Shirish Jain, Veena Raj, Sathyajith Mathew
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Heliyon
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402501151X
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author Ateeb Hamdan
Sugato Panda
Mayur Shirish Jain
Veena Raj
Sathyajith Mathew
author_facet Ateeb Hamdan
Sugato Panda
Mayur Shirish Jain
Veena Raj
Sathyajith Mathew
author_sort Ateeb Hamdan
collection DOAJ
description Urbanization, industrialization, unplanned urban expansion, and rural migration have significantly disrupted waste generation dynamics and characteristics, reducing the efficiency of municipal solid waste (MSW) management frameworks. Moreover, it has posed a substantial challenge to India's smart city initiative, which aims to develop sustainable cities. Additionally, the increasing energy demands in urban centers, driven by lifestyle habits, have exacerbated the depletion of non-renewable energy sources, highlighting the imperative need for cleaner energy sources and a thorough assessment of their adoption potential. This study comprehensively examines the current status of the functional elements of MSW, including its financial and administrative structures. It also maps its current waste management practices in the demographic space of 10 Indian smart cities. The study collected resources from secondary literatures, government and local authorities databases, and reports from key stakeholders. The paper provides recommendations and insights on the feasibility, challenges, and potential of adopting waste-to-energy (WtE) systems in the Indian context. The findings of this paper serve as a foundation for further optimization studies of MSW from a WtE perspective, aiding local authorities in identifying feasible pathways for integrating WtE technologies. This review offers a benchmark for municipalities to facilitate a smoother transition towards cleaner and energy-secured smart cities.
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spelling doaj-art-8dbfe11e9c0744548fbf2d72b35219b02025-08-20T02:57:47ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-03-01116e4277010.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42770Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-EnergyAteeb Hamdan0Sugato Panda1Mayur Shirish Jain2Veena Raj3Sathyajith Mathew4Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, IndiaDepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Madhya Pradesh, IndiaDepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Madhya Pradesh, IndiaFaculty of Integrated Technologies Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, BE 14, Darussalam, BruneiFaculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder, Jon Lilletunsvei 0, 4879, Grimstad, Norway; Corresponding author.Urbanization, industrialization, unplanned urban expansion, and rural migration have significantly disrupted waste generation dynamics and characteristics, reducing the efficiency of municipal solid waste (MSW) management frameworks. Moreover, it has posed a substantial challenge to India's smart city initiative, which aims to develop sustainable cities. Additionally, the increasing energy demands in urban centers, driven by lifestyle habits, have exacerbated the depletion of non-renewable energy sources, highlighting the imperative need for cleaner energy sources and a thorough assessment of their adoption potential. This study comprehensively examines the current status of the functional elements of MSW, including its financial and administrative structures. It also maps its current waste management practices in the demographic space of 10 Indian smart cities. The study collected resources from secondary literatures, government and local authorities databases, and reports from key stakeholders. The paper provides recommendations and insights on the feasibility, challenges, and potential of adopting waste-to-energy (WtE) systems in the Indian context. The findings of this paper serve as a foundation for further optimization studies of MSW from a WtE perspective, aiding local authorities in identifying feasible pathways for integrating WtE technologies. This review offers a benchmark for municipalities to facilitate a smoother transition towards cleaner and energy-secured smart cities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402501151XRenewable energyClimate-resilient waste managementWaste valorizationSustainable citiesJust transition
spellingShingle Ateeb Hamdan
Sugato Panda
Mayur Shirish Jain
Veena Raj
Sathyajith Mathew
Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-Energy
Heliyon
Renewable energy
Climate-resilient waste management
Waste valorization
Sustainable cities
Just transition
title Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-Energy
title_full Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-Energy
title_fullStr Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-Energy
title_full_unstemmed Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-Energy
title_short Assessing municipal solid waste in Indian smart cities: A path towards Waste-to-Energy
title_sort assessing municipal solid waste in indian smart cities a path towards waste to energy
topic Renewable energy
Climate-resilient waste management
Waste valorization
Sustainable cities
Just transition
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402501151X
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AT mayurshirishjain assessingmunicipalsolidwasteinindiansmartcitiesapathtowardswastetoenergy
AT veenaraj assessingmunicipalsolidwasteinindiansmartcitiesapathtowardswastetoenergy
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