Impact of socioeconomic status on characterization of household waste in Anantapur Municipal Corporation Region, Andhra Pradesh, India

Managing municipal solid waste (MSW) poses a significant challenge for developing nations grappling with severe pollution issues resulting from the substantial generation of waste. This paper presents an evaluation of MSW generation, considering various socioeconomic groups (SEGs) based on size of family, occupation, education, salary, etc., using a questionnaire survey conducted in the Anantapur Municipality Corporation (AMC) region. The household waste (HW) generation rates varied from 0.305 to 1.65 kg/day. On average, the waste generated in the AMC region amounted to 0.253 kg/capita/day (KCD), with the highest rate observed within the high socioeconomic group (HSEG) at 0.291 KCD. It is noted that across all SEGs, the highest amount of waste generated on Sunday, with kitchen and yard waste being the primary components of MSW. Size of the family was positively correlated with waste generation rates (WGR).The range of HW volatile matter content was 18–26% and moisture content varied from 30 to 45%. From findings, it is evident that 74% of the residents lack sufficient understanding regarding the management of MSW. The results of this study highlighting the waste generation patterns and composition differences across socioeconomic groups, and identifying major gaps in public awareness can assist regulatory bodies and city councils in designing targeted interventions such as source segregation policies, waste minimization strategies, and community-specific awareness programmes.