Singh SK, Anunay G, Rohit G, Shivangi G and Vipul V
The quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in Delhi is increasing at an alarming rate. Presently Delhi generates 8360 tons per day of MSW, which is projected to rise up to 18,000 tons/day by 2021.This would place immense pressure on the existing infrastructure and soon become a challenge for the local and municipal bodies responsible for waste management. The paper surveys the present state of the solid waste management in the NCT of Delhi and the propagation of greenhouse gas from the landfill sites. The bulk of the waste generated in Delhi is disposed at the three landfill sites viz. Bhalswa, Ghazipur, and Okhla. Waste at landfills is acted upon chemically and biologically to yield stabilized solids, liquid leachate and gases. The degradable organic carbon in the waste is broken down by microorganisms into methane gas which is released as a major contributor to global anthropogenic CH4 emissions. The paper further calculates the GHG emission potential for the three landfill sites in Delhi using IPCC Methodology - Default Method and First Order Decay Model. The results obtained from both the methods are compared and it is found out that Default Method gave higher GHG emission values than the First order decay model. MSW in Delhi has been found to have enormous waste-to-energy potential, which if employed may cater to Delhi’s energy needs and simultaneously reduce the GHG emissions.