Which of the following points about urban waste are correct?

A. All Indian cities collect and dispose more than 95 percent of their solid waste.
B. Solid wastes cause health hazard.
C. Untreated wastes ferment slowly and release toxic biogas to the atmosphere.
D. It leads to water pollution.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

B, C, D only

Urban areas are generally marked by overcrowding, congestion, inadequate facilities to support the fast growing population and consequent poor sanitary conditions and foul air. Environmental pollution by solid wastes has now got significance because of enormous growth in the quantity of wastes generated from various sources. Solid waste refers to a variety of old and used articles, for example stained small pieces of metals, broken glassware, plastic containers, polythene bags, ash, floppies, CDs, etc., dumped at different places. These discarded materials are also termed as refuse, garbage and rubbish, etc., and are disposed of from two sources : (i) household or domestic establishments, and (ii) industrial or commercial establishments. The household wastes are disposed off either on public lands or on private contractors’ sites, whereas the solid wastes of industrial units are collected and disposed off through public (municipal) facilities at low lying public grounds (landfill areas). The huge turn out of ashes and debris from industries, thermal power houses and building constructions or demolitions have posed problems of serious consequences. Solid wastes cause health hazard through creation of obnoxious smell, and harbouring of flies and rodents, which act as carriers of diseases like typhoid, diphtheria, diarrhoea, malaria and cholera, etc. These wastes cause frequent nuisance as and when these are carelessly handled, spread by wind and splittered through rain water.

Concentration of industrial units in and around urban centres gives rise to disposal of industrial wastes. The dumping of industrial waste into rivers leads to water pollution. River pollution from city-based industries and untreated sewage leads to serious health problems downstream.

Urban waste disposal is a serious problem in India. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, etc., about 90 per cent of the solid waste is collected and disposed. But in most of other cities and towns in the country, about 30 to 50 per cent of the waste generated are left uncollected which accumulate on streets, in open spaces between houses and in wastelands leading to serious health hazards. These wastes should be treated as resource and utilised for generating energy and compost. Untreated wastes ferment slowly and release toxic biogas to the atmosphere, including methane.