Environmental Impact of Municipal Solid Waste in Karachi City

World Applied Sciences Journal 29 (12): 1516-1526, 2014

ISSN 1818-4952

© IDOSI Publications, 2014

DOI:  10.5829/idosi.wasj.2014.29.12.1908

Environmental Impact of Municipal Solid Waste in Karachi City

1Muhammad Shahid, 1Yasmin Nergis, 1Shimim A. Siddiqui and 2Afzal Farooq Choudhry

1Environmental Research Center, Bahria University, Karachi Campus, Karachi-75260, Pakistan

2Department of Environmental Science, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Campus, Karachi-Pakistan

Abstract: Developing countries face serious problem in managing Municipal solid waste. The municipal solid waste generation rapidly increases in proportion to the rises in population and urbanization. A reliable estimate of the quantity and quality of municipal solid waste is very important for a proper planning and management of the municipal solid waste. This paper deals with the generation, composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) and their impact on the ground water contamination. The data of municipal solid waste generation and their composition was found during the month of November, 2011 to January, 2012. Our study suggests that 10,000 ton per day of municipal solid waste generated from Karachi city out of which 60% of the waste is dumped at the landfill site and rest of the 40% is left on the streets which disturb the aesthetic beauty of the Karachi city. Also, my study  examined municipal solid waste as well as ground water contamination around municipal landfill site in Karachi city. Sampling was carried out according to the spot sampling method of municipal solid waste as well as groundwater and analysis them physical and chemical parameters, such as, pH, TDS, Moisture Content, Total Hardness, Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), COD, Sodium (Na), Phosphorous (PO4), Potassium (K) and the metals like Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr) and Nickel (Ni) using analytical techniques. It has been found that most of the parameters of municipal solid waste and ground waste are beyond the permissible limits in accordance with the Pakistani Standards as well as Indian Standards. It is concluded that the contamination is due to the solid waste material that are dumped at the landfill site.

INTRODUCTION                                                 Solid waste  (SW) constitutes a huge  challenge for local  governments due to its constant increase and the

Developing countries face serious  problem  in  majority of  the  municipalities  do  not  keep  records  on managing solid wastes. The annual waste generation  waste generation, origin and characteristics. This lack of increases in proportion  to  the  rises  in  population  and  information  causes  that  the  decisions  regarding urbanization.  Rapid  urbanization,  development  and   proper   waste  management  are  based  on  assumption change of life style in the cities have also changed the and inferences, which brings about its mishandling generation rate and the  composition   of the municipal    with   serious     consequences     for     the  environment solid waste. (O. Buenrostro, et al., 2003) [2].

Solid  waste  other  than  hazardous  and  radioactive         World  population   continues   to   rise  with material are often referred to as municipal solid waste projections nearing 7.2 billion by 2015 (UNEP, 2005) [3]. (MSW). Municipal solid waste is useless  unwanted  The increasing volume of waste being generated would material  discharged   as   a   result   of   human   activity.   not be a problem if waste was viewed as a resource and Most commonly, they are solids, semi solid or liquids in        managed properly (UNEP, 2001) [4].

containers     thrown     out     of  houses,  commercial  or         Municipal  solid  waste  (MSW)  management  is  a industrial premises (Nyangababo, et al., 1980) [1].                highly neglected factor of environmental management in

Corresponding Author: Yasmin Nergis, Environmental Research Center, Bahria University, Karachi Campus, Karachi 75260, Pakistan. Cell:+92-345-2424832.

all     low       and      most      middle-income      countries        Experimental

(Murtaza, et al., 2000) [5]. Poorly managed waste stream are causing adverse environmental impact and may result in health hazards (Misra, et al., 2005) [6]. Environmental concerns are assuming ever-increasing importance in the MSW decision-making process (Elizabeth, 1998) [7]. Appropriate waste management strategies  can substantially reduce the burden placed on the environment. If the waste management system is based on sound data and is well executed with public awareness, it can reduce emission and resource depletion (Jurczak, 2003, [8] Woodard, et al., 2004 [9]). Global generation of municipal solid waste in 1997 was 0.49 billion tones with an estimated annual growth rate of 3.2-4.5%  in developed nations and 2-3% in developing nations (Suocheng, et al., 2001) [10]. Inappropriate management of urban solid waste not only increases the pollution to the environment, but also threatens human health through its collection, transfer and disposal processes (Dong, et al., 2001) [11].

Landfills have been identified as one of the major threat to groundwater resources (Fatta, et al., 1999; [12] USEPA, 1984 [13]). Waste placed in landfill or open dumps are subjected to either groundwater underflow or infiltration from precipitation. The dumped solid wastes gradually release its initial interstitial water and some of its decomposition by-product gets into water moving through the waste deposit. Such liquid containing innumerable organic and inorganic compounds is called leachate. This leachate accumulates at the bottom of the landfill and percolates through the soil. Areas near landfill have a greater possibility of groundwater contamination because of the potential pollution source of leachate originating from the nearby site. Such contamination of groundwater resource poses a substantial risk to local resource user and to the natural environment. The impact of landfill leachate on the surface and groundwater has given rise to a number of studies in recent years (Saarela,   2003;   [14]   Abu-Rukah,   et   al., 2001; [15]

Looser, et al.,  1999;  [16]  Christensen,  et al., 1998; [17]

De Rosa, et al., 1996; [18] Flyhammar, 1995 [19]).

In the present study, it was estimated that the generation  of  municipal  solid   waste   and  their impact on the ground water at the landfill site of Karachi city. Various physico-chemical parameters including heavy metals were analyzed of  municipal solid waste as  well  as  groundwater  and  the  quantity of municipal solid waste  generated  by  the  Karachi city.

Study Area: Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan having population is more than nineteen (19) million. It comprises 18 Union Councils (U.C), Karachi generates municipal solid waste more than 10,000 tons per day, 60% of that waste is dumped at the landfill site and the 40% remains on the streets, which is not properly collected. There are two official landfill sites JAM CHAKRO, near Surjani town and GOND PASS, near Hub river road and two unofficial landfill sites are IBRAHIM HYDERI and REHRI GOTH landfill sites; these sites are 30 to 35 Km away from the city centre.

It was found that the municipal solid waste of 14 towns of the Karachi city is dumped at JAM CHAKRO landfill site and the municipal solid waste of remaining 04 towns is dumped at GOND PASS. On the landfill sites the municipal solid waste (mixed garbage) is brought through uncovered vehicles comes from the different areas of the cities and dumped openly without any segregation and discipline.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The survey was  conducted during the month of Nov-2011 to Jan-2012, because the ground water gets polluted due to solid waste dumping nearer to the location.

Weight of Municipal Solid Waste Generate in the Karachi City: For calculating the exact amount of waste generated from eighteen  (18)  town  of  the Karachi city. The sites were monitored and it was noted how many tracks dump the waste at landfill sites. For the calculation of exact weight of municipal solid waste (mixed garbage), first noted the weight of the municipal solid waste with the truck (W1), then weight of truck. (W2), after dumped of the waste, using the weighing bridge.

Weight of waste (mixed garbage) = weight of waste with truck-weight of truck

Or,

W (in ton) = W1  – W2

In this way, note the assessed weight of municipal solid waste (mixed garbage) town wise is shown in Appendix-I.

Physical Composition of Municipal Solid Waste: For this the entire crucible in an oven for one hr at 105°C, cool it in purpose, first identified the specific town then calculated      to the desicator and then note the weight of the crucible the weight of municipal solid waste (mixed garbage) by        plus sample (W3).

subtracting the weight of   truck from the loaded truck,       The percent moisture content is calculated by using

then  the  mixed  garbage  was  dumped  on  the  cleaned     the following formula, covered area was segregated. After that the weights of

the segregated were noted separately and then calculated the percentages. The same procedure was repeated for the rest of the towns respectively.

Moisture Content (%)= (W2 – W1) – (W3 – W1)

(W2 – W1)

For heavy metal analysis, procedure is to take 1 gm of

Chemical   Composition   of   Municipal   Solid   Waste              the dry sample of the solid waste in a beaker and add Sampling of Solid Waste: A sample from the municipal           100ml of distilled water in the beaker, after that place it on solid waste (mixed garbage) was taken by means of spot                         the Hot Plate and add 20 ml Aqua Regia (mixture of 75 ml sampling  method  (take  a  sample  at  random  from  the            HCL + 25 ml HNO3; ratio of 3:1) and mix it well. Then take source);  first  pointed  out  the  loaded  truck  and  then         20 ml of Aqua-Regia and add it into the sample of 100 ml, dumped  it  on  the  clean  covered  smooth  surface,  from             when the sample remain of 5 ml add 2-3 drops of HCL and where was taken 50 kg amount of municipal solid waste                       then immediately stop heating and makeup up to 100 ml (mixed garbage) 50-60 kg. After that, segregated it and                                    and then filter it through filter paper No. 42 and collect it different  type  of  composition  was  taken  out  from  the                into the conical flask (100 ml), make up it into the 100 ml. mixed garbage and then took a sample on random basis                                     After  that,    give    the  sample  No  of  the  collected from the waste about 1 kg for further analysis. The same             sample   respectively.   Before   run   it   on   the   Atomic procedure is repeated for sample   collection   from   06             Absorption, THERMO SCIENTIFIC, ICE-3000 SERIES different trucks which came from different part of the city.        ATOMIC  ABSORPTION,  first  standardize  the  Atomic After  that,  the  samples  were immediately send to        Absorption  by  mean  of  the  standard  solution  of  the

the lab and were stored in a refrigerator at 4°C. Chemical          required  metal  having  0.1  ppm,  10 ppm and 100 ppm, parameters    analyzed    from   municipal  solid   waste          then find out the value of trace metal such as, Lead (Pb), (mixed    garbage)         include       pH,     moisture  content,                 Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), Sodium (Na) Sodium,   Phosphorous   and       Potassium.   Also   were             and Potassium (K) of the digest sample of the solid waste. determine the heavy metal like, Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd),                                   And     Phosphorous    is     estimated   by   using   of Chromium (Cr) and Nickel. The pH was calculated by                 Hack-DR-2800    spectrophotometer    and    Hack    8114, using HACH-SENSION 156 METER.                                                  Molybduvanadate method and fixed it at program. No 480. Moisture   content   of   the   solid   waste   sample,     Where 25 ml sample is mixed with 10 ml Molybduvanadate procedure is to take the weight of clean empty dry plate                                and set timer for three (3), min. After three (3) min get

by electronic balance, after that take 100 gm wet sample of required value in mg/l. This is shown in the Table 3. solid waste and put it on the clean dry steel plate and note

the weight of sample with plate and then place in an oven    Physical   and   Chemical   Characteristic   of   Ground at 40°C for 24 hrs respectively. After drying the sample,         Watersampling  of  Groundwater:  Bore  wells  at  the note the weight of the dry sample. The dry samples are             different  location  are  in  operation  within  2  to  2.5  km transferred  into  the clean polyethylene  bag, sealed and                 around the landfill site, i.e. JAM CHAKRO. Sample of numbered accordingly.                                                                  groundwater at 06 different locations at various distance To  calculate  the  moisture  content  in  the  sample,                   from  the  landfill  were  taken,  during  the  month  of procedure is to taken an empty crucible, clean it and then   November, 2011. Sample were stored in a cold storage

put it in the oven for 30 min to dry at 93.5°C, after that, put        bath and immediately transferred to the lab.

the hot crucible  in  the desicator for cooling. Then note      After sampling, the samples were urgently send to the weight of the clean dry crucible (W1)) and then take 1     the   lab   and   were   stored   in a refrigerator at   4°C. gm of the dry sample of the solid waste from the sealed Physical parameters such as pH and Total dissolved polyethylene bag put it in the dry crucible and note the Solid (TDS) were analyzed of the groundwater by using weight  of  the  crucible  plus sample(W2).  After that put        HACH-SENSION 156 METER.

In case of chemical parameters, which were analysis    Molydbduvanadate and set timer for three (3), min. After of  the  sample  in  which  includes,  Total  Hardness  as   three (3) min get the required value in mg/l.

CaCO3, Calcium (Ca) and  Magnesium (Mg) is estimated

by using DIGITAL TITRATO (HACH). MODEL. NO.                           RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

16900.  In  this  method  take  10  ml  of  a  sample  in  a

measuring cylinder and add distilled water up to 100ml,   Current Status of MSW Generated in Karachi City: after then transfer it into   the conical flask and titrate it    Karachi  is  divided  into  five  zones  (east,  west,  south, and find out the Total Hardness as CaCO3, Calcium (Ca)     central and malir), eighteen (18) towns and 178 union and Magnesium (Mg). By using this meter, take a dilution councils. Karachi city generated more than 10,000 ton / factor (1:10) and also multiplied by the correction factor day of municipal solid waste and dumped at the landfill which is mathematically represented as,        site without proper planning and segregation. Out of the

total amount of municipal solid waste 60% 0f the total

Ca (mg/l) = (X) * 10 * 0.4 = Y1 T.H (mg/l) = (X) * 10 = Y2

amount of municipal solid waste are dumped on the landfill site and rest of 40% remain on the street and did not collect from the towns. During the month of November, 2011 to December, 2012 survey was conducted

And for Magnesium,                                                              and find out amount of garbage dumped at the landfill site.

we subtract from Y2    to Y1

as, Mg (mg/l) = Y2

– Y1

Out of 18 town only eleven town such as, Gulshan, Gulberg, Gaddap, Korangi, Liaquatabad, Landhi, Malir,

Also, calculate COD for the ground water by using       North-Nazimabad, North  Karachi,  Shah Faisal and  Bin DIGITAL REACTOR BLOCK-DRB-200. In this method                       Qasim towns dumped their garbage at the Jam Chakro use prepared vial 1500 and add 2 ml sample and run for 2                                 landfill site and too much without any proper planning hrs at 150°C after 2 hrs take it out and put it for cool and                                   and  segregation  of  the  garbage.  Amongst  them,  Bin again placed it in the spectrophotometer. i.e., Spectro-DR-             Qasim town does not dumped at the official landfill site; 2800 and fixed at Program. No- 435-Program. Then get the                                  instead it dumped solid waste close to the town at kachra value of the COD level in the ground water in mg/l.                                                kundhi. This is because  Bin  Qasim town is too far from For the trace of metal contents, take 100ml sample of                              the Jam Chakro landfill site and the cost trip is too high. groundwater and digest it. And placed it on the Hot Plate                                               Therefore,  CDGK  has  a  plan  to  construct  an  official and add 20 ml of Aqua-Regia (mixture of 75 ml HCL + 25 ml         landfill  sites near  the Bin  Qasim town.  The  town that HNO3; ratio of 3:1) and mix it well. then takes 20 ml of                           dumped their solid waste at the Jam Chakro landfill site is

Aqua-Regia and adds it into the sample of 100 ml, when        shown in the Table1 and Table 2.

the sample remain of 5 ml add 2-3 drops of HCL and then            Rest of four towns dump their waste at the Gond Pass immediately stop heating and makeup up to 100 ml and                         landfill town near  Hub  River due to its being much near then filter it through filter paper No. 42 and collect it into                          to  the  town  as  compared  to  Jam  Chakro landfill site. the conical flask (100 ml), make up it into the 100 ml.                 The towns which dumped at the Goud Pass landfill sites Then  gives  the  sample No accordingly. Before run                         such as Baldia town, Kemari town, Lyari town and Orangi

it on the Atomic Absorption, THERMO SCIENTIFIC, town, during sampling it was observed that the municipal ICE-3000 SERIES ATOMIC ABSORPTION, first  solid waste (mixed garbage) generated by these towns, standardized  the  Atomic  Absorption  by  mean  of  the        which indicates in the Table 3.

standard solution of  the  required metal having 0.1 ppm,                 Three towns   of   them i.e., Jamshed town, Sadder 10 ppm and 100 ppm and then run the prepared sample              town   and   S.I.T.E town are those that   dumped   their accordingly and find out the value of trace metal such as,         waste at both landfill sites.  C.D.G.K trucks collect the Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr) and Nickel (Ni),              municipal solid waste from roadside, Street of the town in the groundwater.                                                                                                    and other places to transport it to the nearest landfill sites. And             phosphorous    is     estimate    by   using of        Sadder  town and Jamshed town consists of 11 and 13 Hack-DR-2800    spectrophotometer    and    Hack    8114,              Union Councils and both the towns comprise big market Molydbduvanadate   method   and  fixed  it  at  program.                   of the city that produce huge amount of mixed garbage No  480.  Where  25  ml  sample  is  mixed  with  10  ml              such  as,  house hold garbage as well as market garbage.

Table 1: Weight of MSW dumped on jam chakro landfill site, Karachi

(1)                   (2)                  (3)                  (4)                  (5)                  (6)

(1)=Gulshan Town, (2)=Gulberg Town, (3)=Gaddap Town, (4)=Korangi Town, (5)=Liaquatabad Town, (6)=Landhi Town

Table 2: Weight of garbage dumped on jam chakro landfill site, Karachi

(1)                     (2)                       (3)                     (4)                        (5)

(1)=Malir Town, (2)=North Nazimabad Town, (3)=North Karachi Town, (4)=Shah Faisal Town, (5)=Bin Qasim Town

Table 3: Weight of garbage dumped on Gond pass landfill site, Karachi

(1)                           (2)                           (3)                            (4)

(1)=Baldia Town, (2)=Kemari Town, (3)=Layari Town (4)=Orangi Town

Table 4: Weight of garbage dumped on Jam chakro and Gond pass landfill site, Karachi

——————————————————————————————————————

Weight (In Ton/ per day)

Date                                  ——————————————————————————————————————                                                                           Total Trips (per day       Total Weights (Ton / day)

(1)= Jamshed Town, (2)= Saddar Town, (3)= S.I.T.E Town,(4)= C.D.G.K (J)= Jam Chakro, (G) = Gond Pass

Similarly,  S.I.T.E  town                                                  consists  of  nine  Union    total garbage generated) are as follow: 4788.25, 5391.33, Council and comprises largest industrial zone of Karachi      5428.33, 4824.68, 5731.23,  6342.12, 6854.443, 7273.3,

city.This  town  also  generates  huge  amount  of  garbage    7077.56, 7650.94, 4337.11, 6704.81, 5757.7, 5479.13 and that is dumped at both the city landfill sites (Table 4). 6197.84 ton / day was collected and dumped at two landfill Some of the figure giving the amount of mixed garbage site and rest 40% mixed garbage was not collected and collected and dumped per day at landfill sites (60% of the        dumped at two landfill sites and rest of the 40% is not

collected from the towns that remains on the streets of           According to the record, amount of municipal solid Karachi city. Unfortunately, the dumping  at  the  two  waste generated and filled in 2006 were 6113 tons and landfill sites is without proper planning and segregation       5057 tons/day respectively, while 1057 tons remained on of the garbage, which not only adversely  affected  the  the streets of the city. Survey conducted by us in Nov-11 aesthetic beauty of the Karachi city, but also causes bad  to Jan-2012 showed that the amount of lifted solid waste odor, serious diseases and the bad  impact  on  the  was 8907.27 ton / day. This indicates that the amount of environment. According to the Pak-EPA, (2005) [20] the the MSW generated and lifted has almost doubled over a mixed garbage generated from the different areas varies  period of 5 years. 60% of MSW dumped at the landfill site from 1.896 kg/house/day to 4.29 kg/house/day in a few and 40% of MSW did not collect from the town it shows major areas of the city.                                                                  that municipal solid waste increases 50% from 2006.

An average amount (ton per 15 days) of the mixed

garbage generated by each individual town is: Gulshan  Composition of Municipal Solid Waste Generated in 444.48, Gulberg 307.84, Gaddap 146.25, Korangi 306.08,                         Karachi City: It is has found that, the mixed municipal Liaquatabad 255.35, Landhi 406.01, Malir 229.01, North                                          solid waste (MSW) comprises food waste, kitchen waste, Nazimabad  406.60,  North  Karachi  338.04,  Shah  Faisal        green  waste,  paper  waste,  plastic  waste,  glasses,  can,, 241.13, Bin Qasim 0, Baldia 372.74,  Kemari  92.43,  Lyari  metal,  plastic,  dirt,  rock,  clothing,  tetra  pack,  debris, 360.63, Orangi town 280.81, 590.56, 340.14, 323.08, 529.98       lighting             bulb,    sand    and    wood/board   and    other tons. From  the  tables  it  is indicated that Sadder town                     miscellaneous  items.  Composition  is  an  important  tool  and Gulshan town produced higher amount of municipal   which help us in deciding about the treatment to be given solid waste (MSW) than the other towns.                                                                     to the given to   the M|SW. Particularly about the reuse In 2006, CDGK solid waste management department                                and  recycling  of certain  composition  of  the  waste.  also  estimated  the  amount  of  municipal  solid  waste                During, the studies in November, 2011 to January, 2012, generated and actual amount lifting and the amount that                  the   garbage   from   individual   towns   was   categorized remained   unattended   to.   These   values   have   been  according to its composition. It was found out as to what compared  with  the  values  obtained  during  the  survey  percentage each fraction or category of the garbage was conducted in November, 2011 to January, 2012 for the  generated in different towns. Proportion and kind of the

present study. The comparison has been shown Table 5.        components of varies from town to town.

Table 5: Comparison of MSW generated in Karachi city in 2006 and 2011-12

Table 6: Physical COMPOSITION OF waste of MSW generated in Karachi city

(1)                     (2)                  (3)                  (4)                 (5)                  (6)                 (7)                 (8)                 (9)

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Weight (In Kilograms)

Name of Fraction            ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————