Water Contamination by Municipal Solid Wastes and Sustainable Management Strategies

The primary sources of water are groundwater and surface water. Water is a crucial resource that is used in various ways in our daily lives, including for residential, agricultural, transportation, industrial, and health care purposes. Surface and ground water quality is influenced by numerous causes, each of which necessitates comprehensive investigation. The pollution of these water sources would make them unsuitable for drinking and could be expensive and challenging to purify. The management of municipal solid waste poses a significant difficulty in numerous countries, particularly in developing nations experiencing rapid population increase. In developing nations, municipal solid wastes are primarily disposed of in landfills, creating a significant environmental hazard. The severity of this threat is contingent upon both the composition and volume of leachate and gases. Nevertheless, the sustainable treatment of such waste poses a significant challenge in numerous nations at present. Various nations, especially those that are highly developed, have implemented diverse approaches within the waste management hierarchy to ensure sustainable management of their municipal solid waste. The selection of solutions is typically influenced by local variables. This chapter discusses water contamination by municipal solid waste and potential strategies for sustainable municipal solid waste management in respect to waste management hierarchy. Technological solutions, waste reduction, reuse, recycling, decomposition, and energy recovery have been recognized as feasible sustainable management alternatives for mitigating the risk of surface and groundwater contamination.