The book provides an overview of best practices in urban waste management in the zero waste framework, assuming a multidisciplinary perspective. By analysing exemplary cases of firms and local governments, significant ownership, governance, and performance issues are discussed, along with key drivers of sustainable urban waste management.

Motivation The other day I was waiting at the station for my train. Next to me a young lady was nonchalantly leaning against the wall. Suddenly, she took a cigarette pack out of her handbag, pulled out the last cigarette, put it between her lips, crushed the empty pack, threw it on the ground and hedonistically lit the cigarette. I thought to myself, "What a behavior?!". The nearest trashcan was just five meters away. So I bent down, took the crushed pack and gave it back to her, saying that she had lost it. She looked at me in a rather deranged way, but she said nothing and of waste to the trashcan. brought the piece Often people are not aware of the waste they produce. They get rid of it and that's it. As soon as the charming lady dropped the cigarette pack, the problem was solved for her. The pack was on the ground and it suddenly no longer belonged to her. It is taken for granted that somebody else will do the cleaning up. There is a saying that nature does not produce waste. For long as humans obtained the goods they needed from the ground where they lived, the waste that was produced could be handled by nature. This has drastically changed due to urbanization and waste produced by human activities has become a severe burden.

Solid Waste Management (SWM) is a matter of great concern in the urban areas of developing countries. The municipal authorities who are responsible for managing municipal solid waste are unable to discharge their obligations effectively because they lack the in-house capacity to handle the complexities of the process. It is heartening to see that the World Bank has prepared this book covering all important aspects of municipal SWM in great depth. The book covers very lucidly the present scenario of SWM in urban areas, the system deficiencies that exist, and the steps that need to be taken to correct SWM practices in compliance with Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2000 ratified by the Government of India. The book shares examples of best practices adopted in various parts of the country and abroad, and very appropriately covers the institutional, financial, social, and legal aspects of solid waste management, which are essential for sustainability of the system. It provides a good insight on how to involve the community, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to help improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the service, and shows how contracting mechanisms can be used to involve the private sector in SWM services. This book will be a very useful tool for city managers and various stakeholders who deal with municipal solid waste management in the design and execution of appropriate and cost-effective systems.

Waste management considered the most complex issue in urban areas, and it is associated with a variety of complex socioeconomic and environmental issues. Rapid urbanization, change in lifestyles and rise in population has resulted in the generation of huge quantities of solid waste. The waste management system remains primitive and has failed to evolve with the demands of the rapidly changing situation. The quantity of waste generated is much higher than the quantity collected, transported and disposed of, leading to the piling up of uncollected waste in streets, public places and drains. The unsanitary methods adopted for the disposal of municipal solid wastes pose a serious health concern. The technologies that have been attempted in India run into rough terrain, failed to bring desired environmental and public health benefits. This book is comprised of articles highlighting the issues relating to problems in managing urban waste, sustainability in waste management practices and generating wealth from waste contributed by eminent scholars in this field.

This book compiles many different treatment options and best practices for the treatment and recycling of municipal solid waste from all over the globe, factoring in cost-effectiveness, sanitation, and environmental degradation. Important to professors, researchers, students, policymakers, and municipal offices, this informed book looks into innovative waste management systems from a number of developing countries, which may prove useful to developed countries of the world as well. This book is unique in that it focuses on state-of-the-art urban solid waste management and future trends.