COLLECTION,TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL OF URBAN SOLID WASTE 41
and the organic substances have become too contaminated. These items are sold to
itinerant buyers, retail and wholesale traders From the secondary collection points the
MCH trucks transport the waste to one of the transfer stations and from these (in larger
trucks) to dumpsites, while the private trucks directly head for the latter. From the
transfer stations and dumpsites, some quantity of waste is collected by dumpsite waste
pickers and sold to retail and wholesale traders
The MCH currently transport about 200 tons of residual waste per day to Selco Inter-
national Limited who turn it into pellets (a coal substitute). The pellets are sold on the
market to industries using coal-based power generation^4. In the past, part of the
remaining unsegregated waste at the dumpsites was carried to farms and fields by rural
farmers to use as compost. However, this practice has discontinued as a result of
increasing awareness of negative externalities (see chapter 10). The entire generation,
collection and transportation system is summarized in Figure 3. 3.
The MCH currently has 183 vehicles available for the transportation of waste. With
an average capacity of lifting 9 tons a day the entire fleet can remove almost 1,700 tons
per day. However, in reality a maximum of 900 tons per day is brought to one of the
dumpsites. The reason is that almost 20 percent of the fleet is out of order at any point
of time. Furthermore, the MCH system is divided into two circuits: smaller (open)
trucks transport the waste from the secondary collection points to a transfer station,
where it is transhipped into larger trucks that bring it to its ultimate destination.
The most common method of disposing of waste in Hyderabad is open dumping.
Within the City, there are three official dumpsites: at the Mansoorabad (Autonagar)
dump site, 45 acres located 20 km from the city centre, Jamalikunta (Golconda) dump
site with an extent of 20 acres located 8 km away from the centre, and Gandamguda
dump site, 22 acres located 10 km from the centre of the town (Figure 3.2). Sanjivaiah
dumpsite was closed in 1995 as the park boundaries were being extended. There are
other unofficial open dumpsites within the city, such as around Hussiansagar. Some
people say that the municipal crew used to dispose of garbage in old, unused wells.
Under the current unit system (see below), however, the number of illegal dumps has
probably come down because payment of private service providers depends on regis-
tration of trips.
Waste characteristics
The high decomposable substance (about 55 percent) necessitates frequent collection
and removal of municipal solid waste (table 3.1). Furthermore, the characteristics of
- The plant’s capacity is 500 tonnes per day. Thirty percent of the waste supplied by the MCH is not
usable due to contamination by hospital waste but the remainder is converted into pellets. The 30 per-
cent residue is returned to the dumpsite.