WASTE MANAGEMENT
NEED FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste management is a necessity because
1.The rapid growth of population and industries leads to a serious problem of
pollution. Pollution is also disturbing natural ecological balance. So it has to be
managed.
2.Increasing urbanization lead to overcrowding of cities, which causes lack of space
for disposal of wastes.
3.If not managed hospital waste ,nuclear waste etc can be hazardous .
4. If managed properly a whole of biodegradable waste and a big amount of other
kind of wastes can be reduced or reused .
HOW THE WASTE CAN BE MANAGED
There are two ways to solve the universal problem of waste.
1.To reduce the generation of waste.
2. To find suitable way to turn waste in to wealth .Hence the concept of 3 R,s i.e
reduce ,reuse and recycle play an important role in the modern waste
management strategy .
REDUCING WASTE
polythene and replacing them by cloth or paper bags.
2.Learning to use products which do not generate to much of waste and are eco
friendly .For eg using LPG instead coal at home .
3.Using washable table napkins instead of paper napkins .
REUSING WASTE
There are many things that can be reused with little change appearance like
1.Converting old piece of cloth in to bag , cushions ,dolls door mats etc .
2.Some solid waste from industries like fly ash can be used as cement substitute or
filing up low line areas or making bricks .
3.Making new notebook from un used pages of old note books .
RECYCLING OF WASTES
Recycling is processing the waste in to row material usable in other useful
materials .This both ways reduces the waste by reusing or recycling it .
Domestic wastes ,office waste ,plastics ,paper ,metal ,textiles can be recycled .
Recycling is beneficial only if cost of reprocessing is covered by the demand of the
product. For eg Baggasse is used for manufacturing paper .
ADVANTAGES OF RECYCLING
1.It helps conserve the natural resources that other wise would be used by
manufacturers .
2.It also help in reducing the amount of waste generated .
METHODS OF SAFE DISPOSALE OF WASTE
SEGREGATION
The waste from residential areas ,hotels ,commercial areas must be segregated at
source in to biodegradable and non biodegradable waste .
Biodegradable wastes are those that can be decomposed naturally in a short span
of time . For eg vegetable peels .
Non biodegradable waste are those that can not be decomposed naturally. For eg
plastics.
Biomedical wastes, industrial wastes containing harmful chemicals, nuclear wastes
and E-wastes should be treated separately.
DUMPING/ LANDFILLS
Landfills are large areas on the outskirts of cities where waste is disposed and
covered with earth.
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERD FOR SELECTING THE SITE OF LANDFILLS
1.Land requirement and its cost
2.accessibility- Should be located centrally or near the source of waste generated.
3.Climate- frequency of rainfall, velocity and direction of prevailing wind.
In Delhi most of the city’s garbage is dumped into the Okhla landfills and Timarpur
plant where it is used to generate cooking gas and electricity.
DISADVANTAGES OF LANDFILLS
1.The landfills gives out a bad odors and affect the people living nearby.
2.Landfills involve in contamination of surrounding water supplies ,aquifers and
soil by LEACHATE.
LEACHATE is formed when rainwater leaks into the land fills .Chemical processes
turn it acidic. This acidic water dissolve toxic chemicals from household cleaners,
sprays, paints etc. The resulting leachate through the bottom of landfills and
contaminate ground water.
3.Another serious problem associated with landfill is their creation of explosive
methane gas. This can be life threating and can leak into the surrounding soil
damaging plants.
COMPOSTING
Composting is the converting biodegradable organic wastes into useful manure.
Process of composting involves decomposition of organic wastes into humus which
is a good fertilizer for the plants.
EARTHWORMS are also added in the compost pit to help convert the waste into
decomposed matter. Their droppings also enrich the compost.
PROCESS OF COMPOSTING
Two ways of making compost are ANAEROBIC(Without the help of oxygen) and
AEROBIC(With the help of oxygen).
Anaerobic process is less prone to odor production. This process produces biogas
which is 55% methane and 45% CO2.
It can be upgraded to 90% methane for vehicular use. This methane can also be
used for cooking, heating, or electrical power generation.
Aerobic composting is a bit expensive, produces bad odor and produces green
house gases. It involves bacteria, fungi and actinomycites. These microbes
assimilate the sugar, starch and organic acids , decomposes the matter into
humus.
ADVANTAGE OF COMPOSTING
1.Conversion of organic waste into valuable fertilizer.
2.Reduction of quantity of wates.
3.Recycling of organic materials and nutrients back into the soil.
4.It’s a natural waste disposal system.
5.It increases water holdind capacity of soil.
