Waste management has been a global environmental issue and has been a very significant problem in today’s world. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation in Kanchipuram has increased from 20 tonnes to 80 tonnes per day within the last 10 years. Due to urbanisation, change in lifestyle and food habits the amount of solid waste has rapidly increased accompanied by the change in composition of solid waste. Considerable amount of waste is being disposed without proper segregation leading to both economic & environmental sufferings. The most common problems associated with improper management of solid waste include disease transmission, odour nuisance, atmospheric, land & water pollution, fire hazards, aesthetical nuisance & economic losses. A survey has been conducted among 215 households, where waste has been collected, segregated & weighted by the help of Hand in Hand - a non government organisation. It has been done for a period of one month to understand the composition of MSW generated and to find out the per capita waste generation. It is better to segregate the waste at the household level where it is generated rather than segregating it centrally which is cumbersome & expensive. The treatment and disposal has to be designed according to the different streams of waste generated rather than going for a single form of treatment. Appropriate planning and proper waste management has to be arrived and put in place after a thorough analysis of ground reality encompassing parameters such as social, economic, financial, legal, technical and environmental which would result in a holistic approach of solid waste management.

Keywords: Waste Management, MSWM, Segregation, Composition, Kanchipuram