462 Int. J. Services and Operations Management, Vol. 29, No.

4, 2018

Prioritising the barriers of waste management as

per Indian perspective by PROMETHEE II and VIKOR
methods

Suchismita Satapathy*
School of Mechanical Sciences,
KIIT University,
Odisha, India
Email: suchismitasatapathy9@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Anshuman Garanaik and Swarn Kumar

Department of Mechanical Engineering,
KIIT University,
Bhubaneswar, India
Email: ansumangarnaik@ymail.com
Email: swarn123piyush@gmail.com

Abstract: In the current scenario, wastes are polluting the earth, which
is a major concern for keeping environment safe and clean. However, these
problems can be dealt by proper disposal and proper treatment of wastes.
Wastes can be infectious and may harm us. So all over the world the message
of clean environment is spreading. So an effort is taken to find barriers which
restrict the proper disposal and the proper treatment of waste in India. An
extensive study is done on different types of waste namely, hospital/biomedical
waste, municipal solid waste, paper waste and e-waste and some common
barriers are found for each waste and then all barriers are ranked as per the
importance by PROMETHEE II and VIKOR analysis, such that necessary
actions can be taken for waste management in India and waste management
policies can be framed that will help in hindering the effect of most influential
barrier.

Keywords: hospital and biomedical waste; municipal solid waste; paper waste;
e-waste; vermicomposting; waste management.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Satapathy, S., Garanaik, A.

and Kumar, S. (2018) ‘Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per
Indian perspective by PROMETHEE II and VIKOR methods’, Int. J. Services
and Operations Management, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp.462–486.

Biographical notes: Suchismita Satapathy is currently working as an Associate

Professor in School of Mechanical Sciences, KIIT University. She has
published more than 28 articles many national and international journals and
conferences. She has more than 12 years of teaching and research experience.

Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 463

Anshuman Garanaik is currently working as a Research Scholar in Mechanical

Engineering Department in KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. He has published
two papers in peer reviewed international journals.

Swarn Kumar is currently working as a Research Scholar in Mechanical

Engineering Department in KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. He has published
two papers in peer reviewed international journals.

1 Introduction

Waste is something which the world lives with every other day. All this waste seems to
be different depending on the geographic location and area. It is important to combine a
higher disposal fee with education of environmental issues to achieve a sustainable
solution in this matter. Wastes are needed to be disposed and treated, so that the earth
remains safe and healthier. The disposal of waste is done by various methods like landfill,
incineration/combustion, composting, plasma gasification, vermicomposting, composting
toilets, aerated static pile composting, anaerobic digestion, bio drying, pyrolysis,
mechanical biological treatment systems and windrow composting. Apart from all these,
there are 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle – which plays a vital role in managing waste.
As per the ‘Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000’, the
responsibility of Municipal Corporation is to collect, segregate, transport, process and
dispose municipal solid waste in a scientific and environmental friendly way. Also, the
function of state government is to enforce the provisions of the above rules. Waste
treatment plants restrict the emissions of methane by anaerobic decomposition of
municipal solid waste in the landfill. Methane is also a green house gas which has a
harmful effect on global warming. Sometimes, the waste is dumped in the water bodies,
if it is stopped, there will be a remarkable improvement in the quality of marine life. If
treatment of waste takes place in a perfect way, then these will be the benefits obtained:
• there will be elimination of health hazards
• the breeding of rodents, flies and mosquitoes will decrease
• there will be a betterment in lifestyle of people
• there will be elimination of foul odour
• there will not be any soil or water contamination
• it will provide benefits of renewable energy
• it will help in the conservation of natural resources
• there will be considerable improvement in public health and hygiene.
Awareness should be made that waste provides chances for economic growth of a
country and one should always take advantage of it. The waste which is thrown can be
464 S. Satapathy et al.

utilised as manure or made into useful product or even produce electricity. Garnaik et al.
(2016) have implemented multicriteria decision making tools such as PROMETHEE-II,
VIKOR analysis and TOPSIS are used to find out the best supplier with respect to the
data provided by Lenitive Pharmaceuticals, Gujarat, India. Pani et al. (2016) have
explained about how governance acts over wastes all round the universe. Satapathy et al.
(2016) have explained about the barriers of waste management. Diaz and Otoma (2013)
have concludes that formative instruments, such as environmental education and
benchmarks, should be combined with economic instruments, such as subsidies, to move
constraints on source separation and recycling in the context of developing countries.
Impacts of waste in urban areas are:
• the beauty of city will reduce
• there will be a negative impact on tourism and business
• there will be rise in disease causing organisms
• there will be contamination of water
• there will be choking in drains
• there will be decrease in property prices.

1.1 Paper waste

Paper is made from cellulosic fibre which is obtained from plants. After the use of paper,
it is thrown into trash. Paper industry is one of the oldest industries which captured the
Indian market. There is a growing demand of paper and paperboard which is a quantum
leap. The raw material for paper industry heavily relies on imported waste paper. If the
paper collection mechanism and recycling of paper are increased, there will be less
import of waste paper, reduction in environmental issues and employment generation.
Many NGOs have entered in the collection and recycling programme for waste paper. An
office collection mechanism should be implemented to collect waste paper from offices;
many NGOs have initiated this programme. Shredder should be recommended for
confidential papers in the offices and industries. Programmes should be conducted in
schools for collection of notebooks and then recycling it. Also, teachers should teach
their students about reduce, reuse and recycle of paper.
Most of the developed countries have started recycling of paper and waste paper
collection mechanism. Both are operated and organised by municipal authorities that are
supported by their citizens. Therefore, the collection mechanism of waste paper is highly
successful. Some countries also export large amount of waste paper after they meet their
domestic requirement.
In India, waste paper collection mechanism is mainly carried out by the informal
sectors like vendors and rag pickers. About 95% of waste paper is collected by the
informal sector.
According to Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, about 3 lakhs A4
size papers can be saved everyday by the use of electronic version of railway tickets. For
the production of 1 ton of paper, 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water are required. Also
one tree provides oxygen to almost three persons.
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 465

Table 1 Current waste paper collection mechanisms in India

Quantity collected
Source Items collected Collected by
(in million tonnes/annum)
Collection from Old newspaper, Weekend 2.00
household magazines, notebooks hawkers
and textbooks
Annual scrap Paper trimmings, print Contractor 0.25
contracts of printers, reject, overprint/misprint
publishers and sheets and other waste
converters
Scrap contracts with Old corrugated cartons, Contractor 0.50
industries, offices, examination answer
libraries sheets, library record, old
office documents

Table 2 Recovery potential for waste paper

Potential source of Generation/ Collection

Grades of paper Type of waste
generation consumption % rate %
Writing/printing
Copier paper Offices 50 Post consumer 20
Business establishment 40
Others 10
Cream wove Printing house 20 Pre consumer 100
Paper traders 5
Households 20 Post consumer 20
Schools/colleges 10
Offices 25
Business establishments 10
Others 10
Packaging paper Converting house 15 Pre consumer 100
Households 20 Post consumer 50
Offices 5
Business establishments 50
Others 10
Newspaper Publishing houses 20 Pre consumer 100
Distributors 5
Households 40 Post consumer 30
Offices 10
Business establishments 15
Others 10
466 S. Satapathy et al.

1.2 Municipal solid waste

The impacts of solid waste disposal on land are as follows:

• there will be emission of green house gases

• the leachate produced by the waste will contaminate the ground water

• there will be an increase in breeding rate of pests and rodents

• there will be generation of inflammable gases like methane,

under the waste dump

• there will be an increase in the acidity of soil.

Table 3 solid waste management institutions and functions

Responsible institution Roles and responsibilities in solid waste

management
Central government Make laws and rules, frame policies; prepare
guidelines, manuals and technical assistance;
provides financial support; monitor implementation
of laws and rules.
State government Make state-level laws and rules, frame policies;
prepare guidelines, manuals; and technical
assistance, provide financial support; monitor
implementation of laws and rules.
Municipal authorities and state Plan for SWM treatment facilities.
government
Municipal authorities Collect, transport, treat and dispose of waste.
Municipal authorities with the approval Frame by laws, levy and collect fees.
of state government
Municipal authorities and state and Finance SWM systems.
central governments
Source: Improving Municipal Solid Waste Management in
India – A Sourcebook for Policy Makers and Practitioners,
World Bank Institute

1.3 Hospital and bio-medical waste

Hospitals are places which are mainly visited by sick people. Hospitals produce a large
quantity of dangerous and infectious waste which if not taken care will eventually
become a threat towards public. In current scenario, because of population explosion,
there is a huge generation of biomedical waste. Proper treatment of these wastes should
be our goal. Biomedical waste is capable of transmitting communicable diseases.
Therefore, proper management and treatment of these waste is necessary.
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 467

Table 4 Categories of biomedical/hospital waste and their disposal method (schedule 1)

Waste
category Waste category type Treatment and disposal
number
1 Human anatomical waste Incineration@/deep burial*
(human tissues, organs, body parts)
2 Animal waste Incineration@/deep burial*
(animal tissues, organs, body parts carcasses,
bleeding parts)
3 Microbiology and biotechnology waste Local autoclaving/
(wastes from laboratory cultures, stocks or specific microwaving/incineration@
specimen of microorganisms live or attenuated
vaccines, human and animal cell culture used in
research and infectious agents from research and
industrial laboratories, wastes from production of
biologicals, toxins, dishes and devices used for
transfer of culture)
4 Waste sharps Disinfection (chemical
(needles, syringes, scalpels, blades, glass, etc. that treatment@@/autoclaving/
may cause sharp punctures and cuts. This includes microwaving and
both used and unused sharps) mutilation/shredding##
5 Discarded medicines and cytotoxic drugs Incineration@/destruction
(waste comprising of outdated, contaminated and and drugs disposal in
discarded medicines) secured landfills
6 Soiled waste Incineration@/autoclaving/
(Items contaminated with blood and body fluids microwaving
including cotton, dressings, soiled plaster casts,
linen, beddings, other material contaminated with
blood)
7 Solid waste Disinfection by chemical
(waste generated from disposable items other than treatment@@/autoclaving/mi
waste sharps such as tubing, catheters, intravenous crowaving and
sets, etc.) mutilation/shredding##
8 Liquid waste Disinfection by chemical
(waste generated from laboratory and washing, treatment@@ and discharge
cleaning, housekeeping and disinfecting activities) into drains
9 Incineration ash Disposal in municipal land
(ash from incineration of any bio-medical waste) fill
10 Chemical waste Chemical treatment@@ and
(Chemical used in production of biologicals, discharge into drains for
chemicals used in disinfection, as insecticide, etc.) liquids and secured landfill
for solids
Notes: @@Chemicals treatment using at least 1% hypochlorite solution or any other
equivalent
##
Mutilation/shredding must be such so as to prevent unauthorised reuse
@
There will be no chemical pre-treatment before incineration. Chlorinated plastics
shall not be incinerated.
*Deep burial shall be an option available only in towns with population less than
five lakhs and rural areas.
Source: Central Pollution Control Board
468 S. Satapathy et al.

Table 5 Colour coding and type of container for disposal of bio-medical wastes (schedule 2)

Waste
Colour
Type of container category Treatment options as per schedule 1
coding
number
Yellow Plastic bag 1, 2, 3 and 6 Incineration/deep burial
Red Disinfected 3, 6 and 7 Autoclaving/microwaving/chemical
container/plastic bag treatment
Blue/white Plastic bag/puncture 4 and 7 Autoclaving/microwaving/chemical
translucent proof container treatment and destruction/shredding
Black Plastic bag 5, 9 and 10 Disposal in secured landfill
(solid)
Notes: a Colour coding of plastic categories with multiple treatment options as defined
in schedule 1, shall be selected depending on treatment options chosen, which
shall be specified in schedule 1.
b Waste collection bags for waste types needing incineration shall not be made of
chlorinated plastics.
c Categories 8 and 10 (liquid) do not require containers/bags.
d Category 3 if disinfected locally need not to be put in containers/bags.
Source: Central Pollution Control Board, India

1.4 E-waste
There is an increasing concern of our impact on the environment due to our lifestyle and
along with it there is significant need to adopt a more sustainable approach concerning
our consumption habits. Nowadays, the consumption of things especially electronic
goods and electrical appliances has drastically increased for smoother, faster and
sustainable life. But this increase in technology and consumption of electronic goods is
leading to a production of a huge mass of e-waste too. However, there is only partial
recyclability of the electronics which are thrown out due to its expiry. So, it is an
extremely important aspect for waste management to handle e-waste.
E-wastes are often referred to old computers or IT equipment but e-waste actually are
the wastes produced due to all electronic and electrical goods. That is why e-wastes also
have a synonym called waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Here are some definitions of e-waste given by different people and organisations:
• According to European directive, WEEE including all components, subassemblies
and consumables which are part of the product at the time of discarding are known as
e-wastes.
• According to Basel Action Network, e-waste includes a wide and developing range
of electronic appliances ranging from large household appliances, such as
refrigerators, air-conditioners, cell phones, stereo systems and consumable electronic
items to computers discarded by their users.
• According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
any household appliance consuming electricity and reaching its life cycle end is
known as e-waste.
E-waste differs chemically and physically wise from urban or industrial waste. It contains
both dangerous and valuable materials requiring special kind of treatment and recycling
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 469

processes to avoid adverse environmental impact and harmful impact on human health as
well as on environment. Retrieving the valuable and base metals is possible by recycling
e-waste, but the high labour cost and the strict environmental legislation have
consolidated these activities’ implementation mostly in Asian countries such as China
and India by use of obsolete methods and inadequate emphasis on the employees’
protection. Due to this the e-waste disposal issue has attracted the interest of politicians,
non-governmental organisations.
Table 6 E-waste types and their estimated life cycle

Item Mass of item (kg) Estimated life (years)

Personal computer (PC) 25 3
Fax machine 3 5
High-fidelity system 10 10
Cell phone 0.1 2
Electronic games 3 5
Photocopier 60 8
Radio 2 10
Television (TV)d 30 5
Video recorder/DVD player 5 5
Air-conditioner 55 12
Dish washer 50 10
Electric cooker 60 10
Food mixer 1 5
Freezer 35 10
Hair-dryer 1 10
Iron 1 10
Kettle 1 3
Microwave 15 7
Refrigerator 35 10
Telephone 1 5
Toaster 1 5
Tumble dryer 35 10
Vacuum cleaner 10 10
Washing machine 65 8

There are many methods for waste management. Some of them have been described in
the following:
1 Recycling
Recycling is one of the most well-known methods of managing waste. It is not
expensive and can be easily done by us. Recycling saves a lot of energy, money,
resources and thereby reduces pollution too. Recycling of papers, glass, aluminium,
plastics, etc. can be done. The best way is to recycle for the reduction of volume of
waste material. With the help of recycling batteries, tyres, asphalt, etc. from our
470 S. Satapathy et al.

waste material can be eliminated which prevents them from ending up in the landfills
and incinerator. The municipality of almost all cities encourages their citizens to take
up recycling.
2 Composting
This is a natural process that is completely free of any hazardous by-products. This
process involves breaking down the materials into organic compounds that can be
used as manure. Composting can be carried out in our own backyard. Leaves, grass,
twigs and add vegetable and fruit peels and skins, etc. are used. Dustbin hire system
can be used to get the bins for composting. After few days, when the matter gets
fully decomposed to compost it can be used to improve the soil in your garden
because the compost formed is very rich in nutrients required for soil. There is a
large number of composting systems on the market, for example:
a at the household level: composting toilet, container composting and
vermicomposting
b at the industrial composting (large scale): aerated static pile composting,
vermicomposting, windrow composting, etc.
Some of them have been described as follows:
a Vermicomposting – vermicomposting is the process of composting by the help
of various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and
earthworms, to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or
food waste (excluding meat, dairy, fats, or oils), bedding materials, and
Vermicast. Vermicast is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by
species of earthworm. Vermicast is also called as worm castings, worm humus
or worm manure. Vermicomposting is widely used in hospitals, shopping malls,
etc. for onsite institutional processing of food waste. It is also a feasible indoor
home composting method. Vermicomposting has gained popularity in both these
industrial and domestic settings. It provides a way to compost organic materials
more quickly and to attain products having low salinity levels which are more
beneficial to plant mediums in comparison to conventional composting methods.
Vermicompost is a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser containing water-soluble
nutrients and soil conditioner in a form which makes absorption of nutrients for
plants relatively easy. Worm castings are used as an organic fertiliser, because
the earthworms grind and uniformly mix minerals in simple forms and plants
need only minimal effort to obtain them. The worms’ digestive systems also add
beneficial microbes to help create a ‘living’ soil environment for plants.
Worm composts can also be used to clean up heavy metals such as lead, zinc,
cadmium, copper, manganese, etc.
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 471

Figure 1 Flow diagram showing various steps in vermicompost production

Receiving raw material

Segregation of non-biodegradable materials

Biodegradable raw materials cutting

Raw materials pre-decomposition with the help of cow dung

Cemented pits loading

Earthworms inoculation

Monitoring

Vermicompost and earthworms harvesting

HDPE bags/plastic gunny bags packing

Storage

Distribution

Table 7 Specifications for the compost quality

Parameters Concentration (mg/kg dry basis)

Arsenic 10
Cadmium 5
Chromium 50
Copper 300
Lead 100
Mercury 0.15
Nickel 50
Zinc 1,000
C/N ratio 20–40
pH 5.5–8.5
472 S. Satapathy et al.

Pros:
• year round operation can be done.
Cons:
• land requirement may be as high as that for aerobic composting process.
b Composting toilet – a composting toilet does not require water or electricity, and
when properly managed does not smell. A composting toilet collects human
excreta, which is then added to a compost heap together with sawdust and straw
or other carbon rich materials, where pathogens are destroyed to some extent.
The amount of pathogen destruction depends on the temperature (meso philic or
thermo philic conditions) and composting time. A composting toilet tries to
process the excreta in situ although this is often coupled with a secondary
external composting step. The resulting compost product has been given various
names, such as humanure and eco humus.
A composting toilet can aid in the conservation of fresh water by avoiding the
usage of potable water required by the typical flush toilet. It further prevents the
pollution of ground water by controlling the faecal matter decomposition before
entering the system. When properly managed, there should be no ground
contamination from leachate.
c Aerated static pile composting (ASP) – ASP composting is a phenomenon which
refers to a number of systems used to biodegrade organic material during
primary composting without the help of physical manipulation. The blended
admixture is placed on a perforated piping and air circulation for controlled
aeration is provided. It may be windrows, open or covered, or in closed
containers. Aerated systems are most commonly used by larger and
professionally managed composting facilities due to its high complexity and
cost. Yet the technique may range from very small and simple systems to very
large, capital intensive and industrial installations.
Advantages of this composting method are:
• It has the ability to maintain the proper moisture and oxygen levels at
highest point efficiency for the microbial populations to reduce pathogens
preventing excess heat, which crashes the system.
• The use of biofilters to treat process air to remove particulates and mitigate
odours prior to venting. However, aerated systems can dry out quickly and
must be monitored closely to maintain desired moisture levels.
d Windrow composting – compost windrow turners are traditionally large
machines that straddles a windrow of 4’ by 12’ approx. Smaller machines also
exist for small windrows but for most operations large machines are used for
high volume production. Turners drive through the window at a slow rate of
forward movement. They have a steel drum with paddles that turn continuously
and rapidly. Fresh air (oxygen) is injected by the drum/paddle assembly into the
compost as the turner moves through the windrow, and waste gases produced by
bacterial decomposition are vented. The aerobic bacteria is fed by oxygen and
thus speeds the composting process.
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 473

It is ideal to compost on a hard surfaced pad to properly use a windrow.

Heavy-duty compost windrow turners allow the user to obtain optimum results
with the aerobic hot composting process. The windrow turner is capable of
turning compost in windrows located in remote locations with the help of
four-wheel drive or tracks. This allows the compost windrow turner to convert
itself into a trailer to be pulled by a semi-truck tractor. These two options when
combined allow the compost windrow turner to be easily installed anywhere and
to work compost windrows even in muddy and wet locations.
3 Landfills
Waste disposal by the help of landfills uses a large area. Wastes are dumped inside a
place which is dug open first. Soil then covers the area. It is the most popular method
of waste disposal used these days. It focuses attention on burying of the waste in the
land itself. Landfills are found in all areas. The wastes are first processed and the
odours and the pungent smell is removed and then dumped inside. It is far from the
one and only procedure that also brings an assortment of space with it. Landfills are
not safe because they give off hazardous gases like methane, etc. If proper safety is
not ensured, this process of waste disposal should not be used. The landfill lining
should be perfect and the waste should not come in contact with the adjoining areas.
4 Incineration/combustion
Burning up the waste matter generated in our household can help in waste disposal if
recycling is not possible or if there do not exist any proper place nearby for landfills.
Controlled burning of waste at extremely high temperatures to produce steam and
ash is a preferred waste disposal technique. This process is also known as
incineration or combustion. Municipal solid wastes are burned at high temperatures
to convert them into residue and gaseous products in this type of waste disposal
method. The volume of waste to be disposed significantly is reduced by combustion.
It can reduce the volume of solid waste to 20 to 30% of the original volume,
decreasing the space they take up and reducing the landfills stress. This phenomenon
is also known as thermal treatment where solid waste materials are converted into
heat, gas, steam and ash with the help of Incinerators. Incineration plays a significant
role in countries where landfill space is no longer available such as Japan. It has
another big advantage that the solid wastes which actually are useless become an
alternate source for generation of energy through combustion. This energy can be
channelled into useful purposes.
5 Advanced methods and technologies
Nowadays, there are new methods and technologies emerging out for the disposal of
wastes such as plasma gasification, anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, mechanical
biological treatment systems, etc. Some of them have been described as follows:
a Plasma gasification – plasma (a state of matter) is a primarily an electrically
charged or a highly ionised gas. A type of plasma named Lighting produces
temperatures that exceed 12,600°F. With this method of waste disposal, a vessel
474 S. Satapathy et al.

uses characteristic plasma torches operating at +10,000°F which creates a

gasification zone till 3,000°F for the conversion of solid or liquid wastes into a
syngas. During the treatment solid waste by plasma gasification, the waste’s
molecular bonds are broken down as a result of the intense heat in the vessels
and the elemental components. Destruction of waste and dangerous materials is
found with the help of this process. This technique provides renewable energy
and an assortment of other fantastic benefits.
b Anaerobic digestion – The phenomenon of decomposing down the
biodegradable material with the help of microorganisms in the absence of
oxygen is known as anaerobic digestion. This method is commonly used for
industrial waste. Insoluble Organic Polymers, like carbohydrates, are broken
down to bacteria for access. Acidogenic or acid-forming bacteria convert
complex sugars and amino acids into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia and
organic acids. Then these get converted into methane and carbon dioxide by the
help of methanogens.
Pros:
• Manure and combustible gases are obtained as products.
• On dewatering the digested sludge, the water obtained may be used for
irrigation purpose or can be recycled to the digester. Operation is possible
throughout the year.
Cons:
• Feed slurry made by adding some amount of water.
• If digester is to be operated at low solid content, water amount required may
be bit high.
• During winter, due to lower ambient temperature, gas production decreases
unless digester contents are heated by external means such as by utilising a
part of biogas produced or by solar heating.
c Biodrying – biodrying heats up biodegradable waste rapidly through composting
to remove moisture and reduce the weight of the waste. This method takes a
maximum of only eight days to fully dry out waste.
d Mechanical biological treatment systems (MBT) –MBT sort composting and
anaerobic digestion and are designed for processing of mixed household waste,
commercial waste and industrial waste.
e Pyrolysis – pyrolysis is the phenomenon of decomposition of organic material at
high temperatures without oxygen. Tyre pyrolysis is a process under it which
helps in conversion of plastic waste and tires into industrial fuels like pyrolysis
oil, carbon black and hydrocarbon gas, which are used to generate heat, steam,
electricity, etc. Diaz and Otoma (2013) have stated that environmental education
should be blended with economic instruments like subsidies from the
government for the smooth running of recycling process in developing
countries.
Pani et al. (2016) have dealt with three types of waste, namely hospital waste, municipal
solid waste and e-waste. These wastes are hazardous in nature. They discussed about
different techniques for management of waste like biological reprocessing, landfills,
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 475

pyrolysis, etc. Eventually, they concluded that people should be made aware of training
program related to waste and its management.
Garnaik et al. (2016) have used PROMETHEE II, TOPSIS and VIKOR analysis in
order to find out the best supplier on the basis of different criteria for lenitive
pharmaceuticals.
By using the paper wisely, human being can save gallons of water and tons of trees.
Paper management can create a considerable decrease in greenhouse gases which results
in less pollution.

2 Literature review

To provide economic and ecological solutions for waste disposal and treatment, the first
golden rule should be the minimisation of generation of wastes. People themselves
should start reducing their carbon footprint by participating in recycling and segregation
of items. Waste disposal and treatment companies should provide solutions to individual,
industrial and commercial customer. Although some researches are done on waste
management still more and more researches must be carried out to make people vigilant.
Dwivedi et al. (2009) have dealt with study of fate of hospital waste at various levels
like national and international. Discussions were made on the norms, laws and rules
prescribed by government for proper disposal of hospital waste.
Rao et al. (2003) have discussed that as per rules; each hospital that generates
biomedical waste must install a biomedical treatment facility on source or provide
treatment of waste at the source. Hospitals are institutions which are always visited by
people of all levels of society regardless of their age, race, sex, colour, religion or social
status.
Magram (2011) has said that the proper management of solid waste represent a major
economic and environment issue throughout the international borders. The rise in costs
for proper waste disposal is competitive opportunities for recycling.
Brinkmann and Parise (2012) have told that the Karst system is very complex and
because of geographical and hydrological factors, they come amongst the most delicate
and endangered environments. All men should make a strong pledge to learn to live in
harmony with nature. Many problems faced by humans with respect to environment can
be easily resolved by changes in human system rather than alteration in environment.
Ganiron (2013) has conducted an experiment which focused on the effect of using
recycled bottles as concrete material for mass housing projects in USA. This experiment
was used to determine properties like compressive strength and modulus of elasticity by
using recycled bottles instead of concrete.
Kumar et al. (2013) have concluded that medical care is vital for all human beings
and waste generated here are a real life challenging problem. They surveyed hospitals in
Mysore, India where large amount of waste is generated by hospitals. They concluded
that disposal techniques are not perfect as advance and new technology are not being
adopted. The average generation of various infectious waste items per hospital unit area
was recorded. The segregation and transportation of recyclable material would lead to
reduction in quantity of waste for final disposal and healthy environment. These
measures do not cost much and are very effective in reducing degradation waste. They
discussed about various treatment process for biomedical waste such as autoclave
476 S. Satapathy et al.

treatment, hydroclave treatment and microwave treatment. Eventually it was concluded

that biomedical waste management cannot be implemented successfully unless the people
are devoted, self-motivated and cooperative.
Babu et al. (2009) have summarised the rules for proper management and proper
handling of biomedical waste. Discussions were made about different countries that were
taking biomedical waste as a serious issue for future. Topics like Radioactive waste,
mercury containing instrument and polyvinyl chloride plastics were explained which are
generated from hospitals. They concluded that the main problem for non-management of
biomedical waste is lack of awareness.
Tandon et al. (2013) have discussed about Paper industry and how it controls the
economic growth. Brief talk was done about the raw material for manufacturing paper
which is being imported by different countries. They also discussed about the
environmental load on manufacturing paper and about the process for collection of paper
in India.
Nagavallemma et al. (2006) have researched on vermicomposting. The nutrient
composition of Vermicompost and garden compost were discussed like iron, manganese,
phosphorus, calcium, sodium, zinc, organic carbon, etc. They also talked about the
improvement in yield and growth of crop by the implementation of vermicompost. They
also discussed about types of worm and how they reproduce. Deep topics like methods of
vermicomposting and material requirement for vermicompost were explained briefly.
They also told about how to use vermicompost in soil for practical purposes.
Sinha et al. (2010) have said that earthworms and its excreta can completely eliminate
the chemical fertilisers which have harmful effect on soil, crops and farmers. Earthworms
retain and improve the fertility of soil and increase the productivity of crops.
Khan and Ishaq (2011) have chemically analysed different composts like
vermicompost and pit compost and also garden soil. They found the effect of these
composts on the growth of crop called Pisium sativum. It was concluded that
vermicompost was rich in nutrients like calcium, magnesium, chloride, sodium,
potassium and nitrate. These all can improve the growth of plant. They studied the
growth of plant in pots which had vermi compost for a 1-month period.
Hai and Ali (2005) studied the characteristics and generation of solid waste in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. They analysed the effect of the above two on environment and discussed
about practices or mechanism on solid waste management. They estimated that the rate of
waste generation can cross 30,000 tons per day in 2020 which at present is 3,500 tons per
day. They concluded that with the help of composting, the rate of generation of methane
gas will cut down to 50%. They also concluded that in near future, the cost of
transportation of waste for dumping will increase as there will be no land available near
the city.
It discussed about compliance criteria regarding- collection, segregation, storage,
transporting, processing and disposal of solid waste. It also laid down the specification
for landfill sites and what facilities should be available at the site. It also monitored the
quality of air and water.
VIKOR is a Serbian name that stands for ‘Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija I
Kompromisno Resenje’, was first developed by Opricovic (1998). Then, Opricovic and
Tzeng (2004) have made a compromised solution by MCDM. Analysis was done on
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 477

Vikor and TOPSIS. Samantra et al. (2012) applied VIKOR method with fuzzy logic
which was to select and evaluate an appropriate supplier for a supply chain management.
Sen and Patel (2015) have published a research paper on selection of industrial robot
by PROMETHEE II method. Brans and Vincke (1985) established the PROMETHEE I
and PROMETHEE II methods. PROMETHEE II is considered one of the best MCDM
tools.
Babu et al. (2009) have proposed excellent ideas for the conversion of Wastes into
Energy by suggesting a plan of setting up a 3 MW landfill gas-based power plant on
DBOOT basis at Gurai, Mumbai. He also suggested the barriers for waste management.
He also did a deep analysis on the barriers.
Rawabdeh (2011) has presented a model that utilises quality function deployment
(QFD) for identification, prioritisation and determination of sources of shop floor waste,
so as to eliminate them. Starostka-Patyk et al. (2014) have determined and described the
numerous barriers to reverse logistics implementation in Polish enterprises. The paper
presents at first short theoretical introduction to reverse logistics. Nikakhtar et al. (2015)
have explained different kinds of waste in a construction process can be reduced via
adopting lean construction principles using computer simulation.

3 Research methodology

Waste management is all the performance and behaviour required to manage waste from
its beginning to its final disposal. Government policies are framed and a lot of researches
have already carried out on waste management still issue of waste management and
proper disposal problem has not resolved. So an attempt is taken in this paper to find
common barriers for three categories of wastes. To find barriers extensive literature
review is done and suggestion from are taken from experts of Municipal Corporation,
Central Pollution Control Board, Odisha State Pollution Control Board and Bihar State
Pollution Control Board and all over India. To find and rank the most important common
barrier analysis was done by PROMETHEE II and VIKOR method. Figure 2 is a
flowchart showing the full methodology.

Figure 2 Flowchart of the process to rank barriers of waste management

Central Pollution Odisha State Pollution

Municipal Corporation
Control Board Control Board

12 Barriers were collected

PROMETHHE II and
VIKOR Analysis

Most Important Barrier Ranked

478 S. Satapathy et al.

4 Result and discussion

The selected and suggested common barriers for different types of waste like hospital,
municipal and paper waste are:
• budgetary allocation by municipalities for solid waste management
• bulk of spending on collection and transportation
• lack of budget on processing or treatment
• tremendous processing and disposal of municipal solid waste
• lack of perfect disposal
• lack of institutional and financial capability
• lack of viable business module in the sector
• dependence of municipalities on state and central government for budget
• identification of suitable site
• willingness to pay for waste (reluctance to change and adopt)
• awareness and training program
• lack of proper technology.
After finding these common wastes then to find most influential barrier that hinder the
proper implication of waste management, the common barriers are analysed by
PROMETHEE II method and crosschecked or compared by VIKOR analysis. Preference
function-based outranking method is a special type of MCDM tool that can provide a
ranking ordering of decision offers.

4.1 Method 1 – PROMETHEE II

Step 1 Decision matrix was normalised using the following equation:

Rij = ⎣⎡ X ij − min ( X ij ) ⎦⎤ ⎣⎡ max ( X ij ) − min ( X ij ) ⎦⎤ (i = 1, 2, K , n; j = 1, 2, K , m)

where Rij is the performance measure of ith barrier with respect to jth criterion.
Step 2 Evaluative differences of ith barrier were calculated with respect to other
barriers. This step involved the calculation of differences in criteria values
between different barriers pair-wise.
Step 3 Preference function Pj (i, i′) was calculated using the following equation:
Pj ( i, i ′ ) = 0 if Rij ≤ Ri′j

Pj ( i, i ′ ) = ( Rij − Ri ′j ) if Rij > Ri′j

Step 4 Aggregated preference function was calculated taking into account the weight
criterion. Aggregated preference function:
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 479

∏ ( i, i′) = ⎣⎢⎡∑ W j × Pj ( i, i ′ ) ⎤ ∑
m m
Wj
j =1 ⎦⎥ j =1

where Wn was the relative importance (weight) of ith criterion.

Step 5 Leaving and entering outranking flows were determined as follows. Leaving (or
positive) flow for ith barrier:
1
∑ ∏ ( i, i ′ )
n
φ + (i ) = ( i ≠ i′)
n −1 i ′=1

Entering (or negative) flow for ith barrier:

1
∑ ∏ ( i′, i )
n
φ − (i ) = ( i ≠ i′)
n −1 i ′=1

Here n was the number of barriers.

Step 6 Net outranking flow for each barrier was calculated using:

φ(i ) = {φ+ (i )} − {φ− (i )}

Step 7 Ranking of all the considered barriers was determined depending on the values
of φ(i). The higher value of φ(i), the more important was the barrier to be looked
upon. Thus, the most important barrier to be looked upon was the one having the
highest φ(i) value.
Table 8 Numerical data for barrier selection

Municipal
Hospital Paper
solid
waste waste
waste
Weights 4 4.67 2.5
A Budgetary allocation by municipalities for solid waste 4 3.67 3.5
management
B Bulk of spending on collection and transportation 3.33 2.67 3.17
C Lack of budget on processing or treatment 3.83 2.83 3.17
D Tremendous processing and disposal of municipal 3 3 3.67
solid waste
E Lack of perfect disposal 2.83 3 4.33
F Lack of institutional and financial capability 3.67 3.17 3.33
G Lack of viable business module in the sector 3 3.67 3.67
H Dependence of municipalities on state and central 4 3.5 3.67
government for budget
I Identification of suitable site 3.16 3.5 3.17
J Willingness to pay for waste 2.67 3.5 3.67
K Awareness and training program 4.33 3.5 4.67
L Lack of proper technology 3.33 3.33 4
480 S. Satapathy et al.

Table 9 Normalised decision matrix

Barriers Hospital waste Municipal solid waste Paper waste

A 0.801205 1 0.22
B 0.39759 0 0
C 0.698795 0.16 0
D 0.198795 0.33 0.333333
E 0.096385 0.33 0.773333
F 0.60241 0.5 0.106667
G 0.198795 1 0.333333
H 0.801205 0.83 0.333333
I 0.295181 0.83 0
J 0 0.83 0.333333
K 1 0.83 1
L 0.39759 0.66 0.553333

Table 10 Preference functions for all the pairs of alternatives

Barrier pair Hospital waste Solid municipal waste Paper waste

AB 0.404 1 0.22
AC 0.103 0.84 0.22
AD 0.603 0.67 0
.. .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
LH 0 0 0.22
LI 0.103 0 0.553
LJ 0.398 0 0.22
LK 0 0 0

Table 11 Aggregated preference functions for all the pairs of alternatives

L 0.2 0 0.1 0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.3 NA

86 07 49 73 42 15 71 71 86
46 43 23 05 14 38 07 07 69
4 1 9 3 9 9 4 4 6
K 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 NA 0
71 71
07 07
4 4
J 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 NA 0.5 0.1
57 42 49 70 32 15 42 86 05 07 91
91 16 95 90 85 57 33 84 64 38 76
4 7 5 4 6 7 7 6 4
Note: NA = not available.
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 481

Table 11 Aggregated preference functions for all the pairs of alternatives (continued)

I 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 NA 0.0 0.4 0.1
01 36 44 74 73 33 45 55 74 76 60
51 52 31 53 00 88 60 73 53 27 65
3 6 5 8 5 4 6 4
H 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 NA 0 0 0.2 0.0
71 98 71 20 49
07 47 07 54 23
4 8 4 6 9
G 0.2 0.0 0.1 0 0.0 0.1 NA 0.2 0.0 0 0.4 0.1
15 70 78 98 44 15 34 36 20
57 90 69 47 31 57 37 12 50
7 4 3 8 5 7 8 4 1
F 0.3 0 0.0 0.0 0.1 NA 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.1
05 34 50 49 59 59 37 88 80 66
59 37 58 06 62 81 96 55 35 71
5 8 2 4 2 8 8 4
E 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.0 NA 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.2
32 07 15 36 52 17 61 80 09 83 46
57 78 57 52 27 00 50 30 04 57 11
8 9 7 6 4 1 4 4 2 2 5
D 0.4 0.0 0.1 NA 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.2
96 71 79 98 15 80 24 43 09 45 58
05 26 05 47 74 47 97 77 04 52 82
2 2 1 8 8 5 8 8 2 4 7
C 0.4 0 NA 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.3
37 45 44 66 25 91 80 54 12 32
31 60 08 09 72 53 11 64 07 81
4 4 2 7 1 1 6 6 7 1
B 0.6 NA 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.4
11 74 12 10 06 92 66 47 21 86 00
99 68 49 97 40 61 21 01 54 75 06
6 2 8 6 1 4 3 9 3
A NA 0 0 0.0 0.1 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.2 0.0
25 23 25 25 25 45 74
29 76 29 29 29 83 53
1 9 1 1 1 7
A B C D E F G H I J K L
Note: NA = not available.
Table 12 Net outranking flow values for different barrier alternatives

BARRIERS Φ+(i) Φ–(i) Φ(i) Rank

A 3.687151 0.5453 3.141851 2
B 0.428648 4.630752 –4.2021 12
C 1.284082 3.389999 –2.10592 10
D 0.615935 3.123215 –2.50728 11
E 1.478424 3.242282 –1.76386 9
F 1.50735 2.032641 –0.52529 7
482 S. Satapathy et al.

Table 12 Net outranking flow values for different barrier alternatives (continued)

BARRIERS Φ+(i) Φ–(i) Φ(i) Rank

G 2.372964 1.514547 0.858417 4
H 3.102865 0.510411 2.592454 3
I 1.500268 1.976571 –0.4763 6
J 1.553715 2.40334 –0.84963 8
K 5.381155 0.142148 5.239007 1
L 2.001218 1.402569 0.598649 5

From PROMETHEE II method the most important barrier found was ‘awareness and
training programme’.
To find the important barrier in waste management further VIKOR analysis is done.

4.2 Method 2 – VIKOR analysis

The VIKOR method is a MCDM or multi-criteria decision analysis method originally
developed by Serafim Opricovic for solving decision problems with conflicting criteria,
assuming that compromising is acceptable for conflict resolution. The barriers are
calculated as per the established criteria and the decision maker gets an inference which
is closest to the ideal. This method ranks barriers and determines the solution named
compromise which is the closest to the ideal.
Step 1 The positive ideal solutions f j∗ and negative ideal solutions f j− were
calculated.
f j∗ = max fij
i =1,K, m

f j− = min fij
i =1,K, m

where j = 1, n.
Step 2 Values of Si and Ri were calculated by using the following formulae.

∑ w j ( f j∗ − fij ) ( f j∗ − f j− )
n
Si =
j =1

Ri = max j =1,K, n ⎡⎣ w j ( f j∗ − fij ) ( f j∗ − f j− )⎤⎦

Step 3 The values of Qi were evaluated by the following equation.

Qi = {v ( Si − S ∗ ) ( S − − S ∗ )} + {(1 − v) ( R j − R∗ ) ( R − − R∗ )}

where
S ∗ = min i =1,K, m Si ; S − = max i =1,K, n Si ,

R∗ = min i =1,K, m Ri ; R − = max i =1,K, n Ri

where v is the weight which was taken to be 0.5.

 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 483

Step 4 The barriers were ranked by arranging S, R and Q in ascending order.

Step 5 If the following two statements are satisfied simultaneously, then the scheme
with minimum value of Q in ranking is considered the optimal compromise
solution. Such as,
Statement 1: the barrier Q(A(1)) has an acceptable advantage.

Q ( A(2) ) − Q ( A(1) ) ≥ 1 (m − 1)

where, A(2) is the barrier with the second position in the ranking list by and m is
the no. of barriers.
Statement 2: the barrier Q(A(1)) is stable within the decision-making process; in
other words, it is also best ranked in Si and Ri.
If Statement 1 is not satisfied, that means Q(A(m)) – Q(A(1)) < 1/(m – 1), then
barriers A(1), A(2), …, A(m) all are the compromise solution, there is no
comparative advantage of A(1) from others. But, for the case of maximum values,
the corresponding barriers are the compromise solution. If statement 2 is not
satisfied, the stability in decision making is deficient while A(1) has a
comparative advantage. Therefore, A(1) and A(2) will have the same compromise
solution.
Step 6 The barrier which is the most important to be looked upon was selected by
choosing Q(A(m)) as a best compromise solution with the minimum value of Qi.
Table 13 Numerical data for barrier selection and their corresponding weights

Municipal
Hospital Paper
solid
waste waste
waste
Weights 4 4.67 2.5
A Budgetary allocation by municipalities for solid waste 4 3.67 3.5
management
B Bulk of spending on collection and transportation 3.33 2.67 3.17
C Lack of budget on processing or treatment 3.83 2.83 3.17
D Tremendous processing and disposal of municipal solid 3 3 3.67
waste
E Lack of perfect disposal 2.83 3 4.33
F Lack of institutional and financial capability 3.67 3.17 3.33
G Lack of viable business module in the sector 3 3.67 3.67
H Dependence of municipalities on state and central 4 3.5 3.67
government for budget
I Identification of suitable site 3.16 3.5 3.17
J Willingness to pay for waste 2.67 3.5 3.67
K Awareness and training program 4.33 3.5 4.67
L Lack of proper technology 3.33 3.33 4
484 S. Satapathy et al.

Table 14 The values of S, R and Q for all barriers

A B C D E F G H I J K L
S 2.745 9.58 7.628 8 7.31 6.159 4.871 3.256 6.113 6.461 0.794 5.114
R 1.95 4.67 3.923 3.205 3.614 2.335 3.205 1.667 2.819 4 0.794 2.41
Q 0.26 1 0.793 0.721 0.735 0.504 0.543 0.253 0.564 0.736 0 0.454

Table 15 The ranking of the barriers by S, R and Q in ascending order

S-rank K A H G L I F J E C D B
S 0.79 2.74 3.25 4.87 5.11 6.11 6.15 6.46 7.31 7.62 8 9.58
4 5 6 1 4 3 9 1 8
R-rank K H A F L I G D E C J B
R 0.79 1.66 1.95 2.33 2.41 2.81 3.20 3.20 3.61 3.92 4 4.67
4 7 5 9 5 5 4 3
Q-rank K H A L F G I D E J C B
Q and 0 0.25 0.26 0.45 0.50 0.54 0.56 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.79 1
overall 3 4 4 3 4 1 5 6 3
rank

From both, PROMETHEE II and VIKOR analyses the most important barriers are found
are awareness and training programme, bulk of spending on collection and transportation
and dependence of municipalities on state and central government for budget. These
barriers are not only help to solve waste management issue but also helps in framing
policies for proper waste management.

5 Conclusions, future scope and limitations

NGOs and different other organisations should create awareness among the people about
waste generation, waste disposal and its harmful effects on the environment as well as on
their health. With the help of MCDM methods, the most important barrier to be looked
upon was found to be ‘awareness and training program’. Ranking of these barriers from
both the methods show that the most important barrier to be looked upon is awareness
and training program followed by budgetary allocation by municipalities for solid waste
management and dependence of municipalities on state and central government for
budget. The result of this research should help to provide the government a solution to
improve in the areas in which they lack in the field of waste disposal and management.
This may lead to resolving of problems connected with the waste management and it may
act as a guideline for the government. This shall not only help the government but also
the people to get aware of the harmful effects of wastes on their health and their
surroundings. Awareness and training programme will create an impact on the people and
they would also start reducing the production of wastes. Although this research provides
insight to frame new policies against waste management, still the case or no of barriers
may vary by more no of expert analysis data. In future more analysis can be done in
different countries and all over India to find the barriers and anew modified waste
management model can be framed and tested to hide and resolve the problem of waste
management.
 Prioritising the barriers of waste management as per Indian perspective 485

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