Question

The costliest functional element in an urban centralized Municipal Solid Waste management infrastructure for a typical Indian Tier I city is ________.

• A. biological treatment
• B. collection and transport
• C. disposal in a sanitary landfill
• D. thermal treatment

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Breakdown of costs in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management. In a typical centralized MSW management system, the major functional elements include: Collection and transport Biological treatment (e.g., composting) Thermal treatment (e.g., incineration) Disposal in a sanitary landfill Among these, collection and transport account for the highest cost due to the following reasons: Extensive labor and operational requirements. High fuel consumption for transport vehicles. Large-scale infrastructure required for collection. 

Step 2: Compare costs of other components. Biological treatment: Less expensive than collection and transport, as it primarily involves local facilities. 
Thermal treatment: Costly but less frequent in Tier I cities due to limited use of incineration plants. 

Disposal in a sanitary landfill: Costly but less significant compared to collection and transport costs.