The present study was carried out at Yusmarg, a forest ecosystem and tourist resort, in the Kashmir valley during 2012 with the objectives of determining the municipal solid waste (MSW) generation rates per capita and on a daily basis, and assessing the existing MSW system. It was estimated that daily generation of MSW at Yusmarg by tourists, as well as residents, was 107.74 kg; on average, the MSW generated at each site was about 36.48 kg/day. The per capita generation of MSW was highest (0.97 kg/person/day) at site 1 followed by 0.288 kg/person/day at site 2 and 0.201 kg/person/day at site 3, with an average per capita MSW generation rate of 0.484 kg/person/day. Manual segregation of the collected wastes showed that it comprised some recyclable, combustible, compostable and inert materials. Among the different waste categories, 56% of waste was recyclable materials, 29% was compostable wastes, 9% was combustible wastes and 6% was inert materials. The present study infers that MSW management in Yusmarg was inappropriate, and infrastructure, skilled manpower and a proper scientific disposal mechanism is lacking in the area. In order to conserve the forest wealth of the area there is a great need to focus on the solid waste problem of the tourist resort.
Keywords: Municipal solid waste; Yusmarg; combustible; composting; forest ecosystem.