Trash to Trouble: Revealing the Environmental Costs of Poor Waste Management in Durgapur- Gatha Cognition

Original Research Paper

Article Title :

Trash to Trouble: Revealing the Environmental Costs of Poor Waste Management in Durgapur

Journal Title :

Journal of Geographical Studies

Author(s) :

MD MAINUL SK

Volume :

9 (2025)

Issue :

Pages :

69-90

DOI :

https://dx.doi.org/10.21523/gcj5.25090105

Keywords :

spatial analysis , Air Quality Index , Water Quality Index , Surface Water Contamination , Groundwater quality , Environmental Impact Assessment , Solid Waste Management

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Rapid industrial, urbanisation and population growth have recently led to increased pressure on the solid waste management infrastructure of Durgapur city, resulting in negative impacts to water and air quality. The study assesses the environmental impacts of insufficient solid waste disposal activities on the groundwater, surface water and air. The results indicate that areas around open dumping sites are severely deteriorated with high groundwater, surface water pollution and increased particulate matter in the air especially in winter. These findings suggest that buffer zones, containment infrastructure and improved air quality monitoring will be needed to regulate air pollution from this sector. The study highlights for the policymakers and urban planners to consider a sustainable waste management framework which would help to ensure the protection of the environment and public health of the Durgapur.

Improper solid waste disposal severely contaminates groundwater and surface water.

High concentrations of Cd, Hg, and Pb exceed BIS drinking water limits near dump sites.

Surface water bodies in Durgapur show degraded quality due to leachate and runoff intrusion.

High PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ levels indicate severe air pollution from open waste burning.

Strong correlation (R² = 0.85–0.88) observed between waste sites and environmental pollution.

Recommends engineered landfills, waste segregation, and GIS-based monitoring for policy action.

Article Title :

Trash to Trouble: Revealing the Environmental Costs of Poor Waste Management in Durgapur

Crossref citations:

Views: 20

Altmetric :

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Deus, R. M., Mele, F. D., Bezerra, B. S. and Battistelle, R. A. G., 2020. A municipal solid waste indicator for environmental impact: Assessment and identification of best management practices. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242, 118433 .

Dey, U., Sarkar, S., Duttagupta, S., Bhattacharya, A., Das, K., Saha, S. and Mukherjee, A., 2022. Influence of Hydrology and Sanitation on Groundwater Coliform Contamination in Some Parts of Western Bengal Basin: Implication to Safe Drinking Water. Frontiers in Water, 4, 875624 .

Dutta, T. and Chaudhuri, H., 2024. Impact of industrial hotspots on Tamla nala and Nunia nala confluence–a tributary of the Damodar River. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 196(5), 1-16 .

Igwegbe, C. A., López-Maldonado, E. A., Landázuri, A. C., Ovuoraye, P. E., Ogbu, A. I., Vela-García, N. and Białowiec, A., 2024. Sustainable municipal landfill leachate management: Current practices, challenges, and future directions. Desalination and Water Treatment, 100709 .

Iqbal, A., Liu, X. and Chen, G. H., 2020. Municipal solid waste: Review of best practices in application of life cycle assessment and sustainable management techniques. Science of The Total Environment, 729, 138622 .

Izah, S. C., Ogwu, M. C., Etim, N. G., Shahsavani, A. and Namvar, Z., 2024. Short-term health effects of air pollution. In The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg .

Karagozoglu, M. B. and Asar, M., 2023. Physico-chemical characteristics of leachate from landfills and its impact on surface water quality: Case study in Osmaniye/Turkey. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 9(4), 125 .

Kaushik, C. P., Ravindra, K., Yadav, K., Mehta, S. and Haritash, A. K., 2006. Assessment of ambient air quality in urban centres of Haryana (India) in relation to different anthropogenic activities and health risks. Environmental monitoring and assessment, 122, 27-40 .

Khan, S., Anjum, R., Raza, S. T., Bazai, N. A. and Ihtisham, M., 2022. Technologies for municipal solid waste management: Current status, challenges, and future perspectives. Chemosphere, 288, 132403 .

Kiehbadroudinezhad, M., Merabet, A. and Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, H., 2024. Landfill source of greenhouse gas emission. In Advances and Technology Development in Greenhouse Gases: Emission, Capture and Conversion (123-145). Elsevier .

Li, P., Karunanidhi, D., Subramani, T. and Srinivasamoorthy, K., 2021. Sources and consequences of groundwater contamination. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology, 80, 1-10 .

Mukherjee, C., Denney, J., Mbonimpa, E. G., Slagley, J. and Bhowmik, R., 2020. A review on municipal solid waste-to-energy trends in the USA. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 119, 109512 .

Peter, A. E. and Nagendra, S. S., 2021. Dynamics of PM 2.5 pollution in the vicinity of the old municipal solid waste dumpsite. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 193, 1-16 .

Sethy, T., Sk, M. M., Patra, T. R. and Numan, M., 2024. Is biomining a feasible solution for E-waste management? International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 13(2), 3621–3627 .

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Sharma, H. B., Vanapalli, K. R., Samal, B., Cheela, V. S., Dubey, B. K. and Bhattacharya, J., 2021. Circular economy approach in solid waste management system to achieve UN-SDGs: Solutions for post-COVID recovery. Science of the Total Environment, 800, 149605 .

Sharma, S., Nagpal, A. and Kaur, I., 2019. Appraisal of heavy metal contents in groundwater and associated health hazards posed to human population of Ropar wetland, Punjab, India and its environs. Chemosphere, 227, 179-187 .

Siddiqua, A., Hahladakis, J. N., and Al-Attiya, W. A. K., 2022. An overview of the environmental pollution and health effects associated with waste landfilling and open dumping. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(39), 58514-58536 .

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Singh, S. K., Chokhandre, P., Salve, P. S. and Rajak, R., 2021. Open dumping site and health risks to proximate communities in Mumbai, India: A cross-sectional case-comparison study. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 9, 34-40 .

Sk, M. M., 2024a. Assessing vulnerability of a solid waste management system through GIS and the Rank Sum method: A case study of Durgapur city, India. Advances in Environmental Technology, 11(1), 36-62 .

Sk, M. M., 2024b. Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste landfill, Durgapur, India. International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 31(5). 200-216 .

Sk, M. M., Ali, S. A. and Ahmad, A., 2020b. Optimal sanitary landfill site selection for solid waste disposal in Durgapur city using geographic information system and multi-criteria evaluation technique. KN-Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information, 70, 163-180 .

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