SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

 The term "solid waste management" refers to the entire collection, treatment, and disposal
procedure for solid waste.
 Wastes are gathered from various sources and disposed of during the waste management
process.
 Waste is collected, transported, treated, analyzed, and disposed of in this process.
 It must be closely monitored to ensure that tight regulations and norms are adhered to.

Solid Waste - Different Categories

Biodegradable Waste: Food and kitchen garbage, green waste, and paper are examples of
biodegradable waste (most can be recycled, although some difficult to compost plant material may
be excluded).
Recyclable Materials: Paper, cardboard, glass, bottles, jars, tin cans, aluminium cans, aluminium
foil, metals, certain polymers, textiles, clothing, tyres, batteries, and so on are all recyclable materials.
Inert Waste: Inert waste is waste that is neither chemically nor biologically reactive and will not or
only slowly degrade. Construction and demolition waste, soil, pebbles, and rubble are examples of
inert waste.
Electrical and Electronic Waste (WEEE): WEEE includes electrical appliances, light bulbs,
washing machines, TVs, laptops, screens, mobile phones, alarm clocks, and watches, among other
items.
Composite Wastes: Textile waste, for example, is a composite waste. Food and drink cartons from
Tetra Pack, as well as waste plastics such as toys and plastic garden furniture.
Hazardous waste: Most paints, chemicals, tyres, batteries, light bulbs, electrical equipment,
fluorescent lamps, aerosol spray cans, and fertilizers are considered hazardous waste.
Toxic waste: Pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are examples of toxic waste. Biomedical waste,
pharmaceutical medications that have expired, and so on are also included in this category.

Types of Solid Waste

Municipal Solid Waste

 Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a type of waste composed of everyday items dumped by the
public and is also known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in the United
Kingdom.
 The municipal solid waste composition differs significantly from municipality to municipality
and changes considerably over time.
 In municipalities with a well-developed waste recycling system, persistent wastes such as
plastic film and non-recyclable packaging materials make up the majority of the waste
streams.
 Industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, medical waste, radioactive waste, and sewage sludge
are mostly excluded from municipal solid waste categories.
 Within a specific area, the municipality is responsible for waste collection.
 The word "residual waste" refers to trash that has not been segregated or transferred for
processing and has come from domestic sources.

Hazardous Waste
 The term "hazardous waste" refers to a type of unsafe item. Since industrial and hospital waste
includes poisonous compounds, they are considered hazardous.
  Hazardous wastes are toxic, extremely flammable, or explosive, and can be very harmful to
humans, animals, and plants.
 Old batteries, shoe polish, paint tins, old pharmaceuticals, and medicine bottles are examples
of household waste that might be classified as hazardous waste.
 Metals, Chemicals, Paper, pesticides, Dye, Refining, and Rubber Goods Sectors are important
sources of hazardous waste in the industrial sector.
 Direct contact with hazardous waste compounds such as mercury and cyanide can be lethal.

Hospital Waste
 Hospital waste is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of humans or
animals, as well as during research, biological production, and testing.
 Soiled waste, disposables, anatomical waste, cultures, abandoned pharmaceuticals, chemical
wastes, disposable syringes, swabs, bandages, body fluids, human excreta, and other wastes
may be included under this category.
 These are highly infectious and can pose a major hazard to human health if not handled
scientifically and selectively.
 Discarded blood, sharps, unwanted microbiological cultures and stocks, identifiable body
parts (including amputation-related body parts), other human or animal tissue, used bandages
and dressings, discarded gloves, and other medical supplies that may have come into contact
with blood and body fluids are all examples of infectious hospital waste.
 According to surveys conducted by several organizations, India's healthcare facilities are not
paying enough attention to waste management.
 Following the publication of the Bio-medical Waste (Handling and Management) Rules,
1998, these facilities are gradually streamlining the waste segregation, collection, treatment,
and disposal processes.

Disposal of solid waste

 The disposal of solid waste has been a problem for as long as people have lived in
communities and residential areas due to their improper disposal.
 However, there are many methods namely: Open Dump, Landfill, Sanitary Landfill,
Incineration Plants, Incineration, Incinerator, Pyrolysis, Composting, and Vermiculture.

Open Dumps
 An open dumping site is one where solid waste is disposed of in a way that does not safeguard
the environment, is subject to open burning, and is exposed to the elements, vectors, and
scavengers.
  Although some open dumps are cleared soon after they are made, most will remain for an
indefinite period of time if the location is positioned in the wilderness or in a public space
with insufficient public services.
 The discharge of toxic pollutants and heavy metals into the air and water, the increased
presence of disease vectors such as rodents and insects, and physical risks such as hypodermic
needles, noxious fumes, and/or piercing objects are all potential hazards of open dumping.
 The open dumps are also used in the energy-generating sector
 Carbon dioxide and methane are created when waste accumulates and begins to decompose.
These gasses can be extracted, purified, and used to generate energy.
 An officially designated municipal solid waste landfill or sanitary waste landfill is not an
open dump.

Landfills
 A landfill is a man-made pit dug into the ground in which solid waste is stacked, compacted,
and covered before being disposed of.
 About 146.1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste were landfilled in 2018.
 Landfills hold both residential and commercial waste. Plastic or tin packaging can also be
found in landfills.
 The majority of household waste delivered to landfills is organic waste, such as food, paper,
cardboard, or wood.
 A protective lining beneath the waste in a landfill helps to keep dangerous chemicals from
escaping into the groundwater and contaminating drinking water.
 This also stops flies and rats from multiplying.
 Over the compacted garbage is a layer of earth. To reduce the risk of leaking, landfills should
use soil with low permeability.
 Some landfills utilize hardening materials like cement or asphalt to seal each layer of garbage.
 Landfills are typically found in places where there is no risk of flooding or high groundwater
levels.

Sanitary Landfills
 The modern sanitary landfill is considerably more than just a landfill or an open dump.
 This is because waste materials in the sanitary landfill are treated in a more controlled manner
in order to protect the quality of groundwater in the vicinity.
 Approximately, 37% of waste is disposed of globally in a landfill, with 8% of that going to
sanitary landfills with landfill gas collection systems.
 A sanitary landfill can be described as a more secure and well-organized waste management
system.
 The major goal of sanitary landfills is to keep wastes safe by limiting the amount of harm
caused by accumulated waste and allowing for safe decomposition.
 Garbage and soil are alternately layered to speed up decomposition.
 Since decomposition produces methane, a harmful gas, it is collected at the landfill and used
to generate electricity rather than being discharged into the atmosphere.
 A clay lining separates the waste from the environment at the sanitary landfill.
 Furthermore, it involves well-designed engineering approaches for protecting the
environment from solid or liquid waste contamination.
 When the sanitary landfill is full, impermeable clay is used to seal it up, and the area can then
be used for other purposes if it is sealed safe.

Incineration
  Incineration is the process of burning waste in big furnaces at high temperatures.
 Around 2,500 incineration plants are currently operational around the world. They have a
yearly trash disposal capability of roughly 420 million tonnes.
 Incineration is the conversion of organic materials into bottom ash, flue glasses, particles, and
heat that can be utilized to produce electricity.
 It is a landfill reduction approach that reduces trash volume by 95-96 percent.
 In countries like Japan, where land is scarce, incinerating or thermally treating waste is very
common.
 Incinerators built just a few decades ago in some nations did not always have a materials
separation system in place to eliminate toxic, bulky, or recyclable items before burning.
 However, burning waste is not a good method since it produces tonnes of harmful ash and
pollutes the air and water, and it also releases ashes. In fact, incineration is now reserved as a
last option and is mostly utilized to manage infectious waste.

Pyrolysis
 Pyrolysis is the process of exposing compounds to extremely high temperatures in
comparatively inert environments in order to speed up their thermal decomposition.
 Prior to processing the residual trash in a pyrolysis reactor, mechanical preparation and
separation of glass, metals, and inert materials is performed on solid wastes.
 It's vital to remember that pyrolysis causes a chemical change in the substance being
pyrolyzed (the chemical compositions of the initial reactant feedstock and the final product
are different).
 Pyrolysis is a phrase with Greek roots that basically translates to "fire separation."
 Pyrolysis technique enables the conversion of municipal solid wastes, agricultural residues,
scrap tyres, non-recyclable plastics, and other non-recyclable materials into clean energy.
 It provides an appealing method of transforming urban waste into goods that may be used to
generate heat, power, and chemicals.

Composting
 Composting is a biological process that allows the organic element of waste to decay under
carefully controlled conditions.
 The organic waste material is decomposed by microbes, which reduces its volume by up to
50%.
 Compost or humus is the name for this stabilized product. It has the texture and odor of potting
soil and can be used as a soil conditioner or mulch.
 Composting allows for the simultaneous digestion and recycling of waste and sewage sludge.
 Composting is projected to become increasingly popular as more rigorous environmental
regulations and site constraints limit the use of solid-waste incineration and landfill options.
 Sorting and segregating the waste, size reduction, and waste digestion are all processes in the
process.
 Compostable materials include fruits, vegetables, dairy products, cereals, bread, unbleached
paper napkins, coffee filters, eggshells, meats, and newspapers.
 Plastics, grease, glass, and metals, such as plastic utensils, condiment packages, plastic wrap,
plastic bags, foil, silverware, drinking straws, bottles, polystyrene, and chemicals, cannot be
composted.

Vermiculture
 As the name implies, vermiculture is the artificial rearing of specific earthworm species that
actively decompose food waste into nutrient-rich compounds (manure).
 These earthworms have the ability to absorb decomposing organic matter and flush it out of
their system as worm dung, a nutrient-rich compound.
 The basic purpose of vermiculture is to produce vermicompost.
 Worm castings are technically worm waste and are a fine, nutrient-rich organic soil
supplement.
 Vermicompost, on the other hand, is made up of castings, bedding scraps, and other organic
material.
 Though the names are often used interchangeably, they are both worm manure and are
beneficial to soil health.
 Vermitech is a term used to describe the use of earthworms in composting, soil
bioremediation, and other activities.