An ontological analysis of challenges involved in urban solid waste management

Abstract

Solid waste is a heterogeneous mixture of solid material (biodegradable, non-biodegradable, and inert) that does not have any further use to the society. Research studies suggest an annual per capita rate of increase in solid waste of 1–1.33%. The increasing quantity of such waste is resulting in serious health, aesthetic, environmental, social, and economic problems due to lack of appropriate planning and management. This necessitates the implementation of suitable policies to reduce the risk at all the stages starting from generation and ending with disposal of waste. Generally, the management of solid waste encompasses generation, segregation, storage, collection, transportation, recycling, processing, and disposal. This article presents a logically constructed ontological framework of urban solid waste management. It gives importance to waste management policy, functional elements of waste management, types of waste, sources of waste generation, people involved in waste management, and benefits of solid waste management. It shows the pathways to address the challenge to achieve sustainable solid waste management in the cities. The ontological framework encapsulates a total of 7 * 8 * 3 * 6 * 11 * 5 = 55,440 possible components of the challenge. A critical analysis based on primary and secondary data on urban solid waste management using the framework in Bengaluru, India will help in developing strategies to deal with solid waste. It can be used to systematically map the state-of-the-research on and the state-of-the-practice of urban solid waste management, to discover the gaps, and to bridge the gaps in waste management policy-making.