Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.33765/thate.12.4.3
Published in: Holistic Approach Environ. 12(2022) 4, pp. 155 – 164
Paper reference number: HAE-2137
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CENTRALIZED AND DECENTRALIZED APPROACHES TO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT – A CASE STUDY

Vishnu Jayakumar Menon^*, Antony Palackal^*

^* University of Kerala, Research Scholar in Social Work, Department of Sociology, Thiruvananthapuram, India

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ABSTRACT

Rapid urbanization and alteration in lifestyle occurring across the globe has resulted in an un-controlled generation of municipal solid waste. Various strategies have been tried and tested for obtaining a sustainable result in municipal solid waste management. Nonetheless, in most of the cases, they have created negative health, environment and socio-economic impacts, particularly in developing countries. Furthermore, the attitude of the common people towards the waste they generate, often acts as a barrier for adopting sustainable strategies for its management. Two main approaches are being followed in municipal solid waste management: a centralized and a decentralized approach. There exists an ongoing debate with regard to the efficiency of the two approaches. Taking the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation in Kerala, India as a case to observe, this paper examines the merits, demerits, and practicability of these two approaches, and tries to suggest a sustainable model to curb the issue of municipal solid waste management in urban settings.

Keywords: solid waste management, centralized approach, decentralized approach, Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, Kerala
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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