Waste Management and Pollution Contro

Waste management or waste disposal are all the activities and actions required to manage waste
from its inception to its final disposal.[1]This includes amongst other things collection, transport,
treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. It also encompasses the
legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste management encompassing guidance on
recycling.
The term normally relates to all kinds of waste, whether generated during the extraction of raw
materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption of
final products, or other human activities,[1] including municipal (residential, institutional, commercial),
agricultural, and social (health care, household hazardous waste, sewage sludge).[2] Waste
management is intended to reduce adverse effects of waste on health,
the environment or aesthetics.
Waste management practices are not uniform among countries (developed and developing nations);
regions (urban and rural area), and sectors (residential and industrial).[3]

Central principles of waste management

Diagram of the waste hierarchy

There are a number of concepts about waste management which vary in their usage between
countries or regions. Some of the most general, widely used concepts include:

Waste hierarchy
The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste
management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimisation. The waste
hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimisation strategies. The aim of the waste
hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum
amount of waste; see: resource recovery.[4] The waste hierarchy is represented as a pyramid
because the basic premise is for policy to take action first and prevent the generation of waste. The
next step or preferred action is to reduce the generation of waste i.e. by re-use. The next is recycling
which would include composting. Following this step is material recovery and waste-to-energy.
Energy can be recovered from processes i.e. landfill and combustion, at this level of the hierarchy.
The final action is disposal, in landfills or through incineration without energy recovery. This last step
is the final resort for waste which has not been prevented, diverted or recovered.The waste
hierarchy represents the progression of a product or material through the sequential stages of the
pyramid of waste management. The hierarchy represents the latter parts of the life-cycle for each
product.

Life-cycle of a product
The life-cycle begins with design, then proceeds through manufacture, distribution, use and then
follows through the waste hierarchy's stages of reduce, reuse and recycle. Each of the above stages
of the life-cycle offers opportunities for policy intervention, to rethink the need for the product, to
redesign to minimize waste potential, to extend its use.The key behind the life-cycle of a product is
to optimize the use of the world's limited resources by avoiding the unnecessary generation of
waste.

Resource efficiency
Resource efficiency reflects the understanding that current, global, economic growth and
development can not be sustained with the current production and consumption patterns. Globally,
we are extracting more resources to produce goods than the planet can replenish.Resource
efficiency is the reduction of the environmental impact from the production and consumption of these
goods, from final raw material extraction to last use and disposal. This process of resource efficiency
can address sustainability.

Polluter-pays principle
The polluter-pays principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused to the
environment. With respect to waste management, this generally refers to the requirement for a
waste generator to pay for appropriate disposal of the unrecoverable material.

History
Main article: History of waste management

Throughout most of history, the amount of waste generated by humans was insignificant due to
low population density and low societal levels of the exploitation of natural resources. Common
waste produced during pre-modern times was mainly ashes and human biodegradable waste, and
these were released back into the ground locally, with minimum environmental impact. Tools made
out of wood or metal were generally reused or passed down through the generations.
However, some civilizations do seem to have been more profligate in their waste output than others.
In particular, the Maya of Central America had a fixed monthly ritual, in which the people of the
village would gather together and burn their rubbish in large dumps.[6]
Modern era

Sir Edwin Chadwick's 1842 report The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population was influential in
securing the passage of the first legislation aimed at waste clearance and disposal.

Following the onset of industrialisation and the sustained urban growth of large population centres
in England, the buildup of waste in the cities caused a rapid deterioration in levels of sanitation and
the general quality of urban life. The streets became choked with filth due to the lack of waste
clearance regulations.[7] Calls for the establishment of a municipal authority with waste removal
powers occurred as early as 1751, when Corbyn Morris in London proposed that "... as the
preservation of the health of the people is of great importance, it is proposed that the cleaning of this
city, should be put under one uniform public management, and all the filth be...conveyed by
the Thames to proper distance in the country".[8]
However, it was not until the mid-19th century, spurred by increasingly
devastating cholera outbreaks and the emergence of a public health debate that the first legislation
on the issue emerged. Highly influential in this new focus was the report The Sanitary Condition of
the Labouring Population in 1842[9] of the social reformer, Edwin Chadwick, in which he argued for
the importance of adequate waste removal and management facilities to improve the health and
wellbeing of the city's population.
In the UK, the Nuisance Removal and Disease Prevention Act of 1846 began what was to be a
steadily evolving process of the provision of regulated waste management in London.
The Metropolitan Board of Works was the first citywide authority that centralized sanitation regulation
for the rapidly expanding city and the Public Health Act 1875 made it compulsory for every
household to deposit their weekly waste in "moveable receptacles: for disposal—the first concept for
a dust-bin.[10]
Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. 1894 destructor furnace. The use of incinerators for waste disposal became popular
in the late 19th century.

The dramatic increase in waste for disposal led to the creation of the first incineration plants, or, as
they were then called, "destructors". In 1874, the first incinerator was built
in Nottingham by Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd.to the design of Albert Fryer.[8] However, these were met
with opposition on account of the large amounts of ash they produced and which wafted over the
neighbouring areas.[11]
Similar municipal systems of waste disposal sprung up at the turn of the 20th century in other large
cities of Europe and North America. In 1895, New York City became the first U.S. city with public-
sector garbage management.[10]
Early garbage removal trucks were simply open bodied dump trucks pulled by a team of horses.
They became motorized in the early part of the 20th century and the first close body trucks to
eliminate odours with a dumping lever mechanism were introduced in the 1920s in Britain.[12] These
were soon equipped with 'hopper mechanisms' where the scooper was loaded at floor level and then
hoisted mechanically to deposit the waste in the truck. The Garwood Load Packer was the first truck
in 1938, to incorporate a hydraulic compactor.

WASTE: material which can’t be used or sold. The owner must treat it in order to protect the
environment. By European Committee (EC) definition: The waste is an object that the holder: discards;
intends to discard; must discard. • WASTE MANEGEMENT: Human control on the collection, treatment
and disposal of different wastes. Waste Management also carried out to recover resources from the
waste. It is an important area of “Sustainable Development”. • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (by
Brundtland Commission, report (“Our common future”) published in 1987) “Development that meets
the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Pollution and the growing volumes of solid and hazardous wastes are major threats to the environments
and sustainable development of the Pacific islands. Globalisation is accelerating the transition of Pacific
communities towards consumer economies, with increasing urbanisation, migration, and participation in
international trade. This is resulting in an escalation in the generation of solid and liquid wastes, and
these increase the risk of coastal and marine pollution. The lack of controls on imported chemicals and
the lack of capacity for managing pollutants threaten to undermine the quality and health of vulnerable
ecosystems on which Pacific islanders depend.

SPREP is mandated to take action on waste management and the control of pollution. The Secretariat's
focus is to improve Members' technical capacity to manage pollution, solid wastes and hazardous
chemicals through provision of training, technical advice and support. SPREP also encourages the
development of national and regional waste management infrastructure and innovative funding measures,
and the sharing of best practices across the region in order to support environmentally sound and
sustainable waste management and reduce pollution. SPREP also supports renewed efforts in educating
communities through national and other targeted awareness campaigns. With the support of bilateral and
Recycling
Main article: Recycling

Waste not the Waste. Sign in Tamil Nadu, India

Steel crushed and baled for recycling

Recycling is a resource recovery practice that refers to the collection and reuse of waste materials
such as empty beverage containers. The materials from which the items are made can be
reprocessed into new products. Material for recycling may be collected separately from general
waste using dedicated bins and collection vehicles, a procedure called kerbside collection. In some
communities, the owner of the waste is required to separate the materials into different bins (e.g. for
paper, plastics, metals) prior to its collection. In other communities, all recyclable materials are
placed in a single bin for collection, and the sorting is handled later at a central facility. The latter
method is known as "single-stream recycling."[15][16]
The most common consumer products recycled include aluminium such as beverages
cans, copper such as wire, steel from food and aerosol cans, old steel furnishings or equipment,
rubber tyres, polyethylene and PET bottles, glass bottles and jars, paperboard cartons, newspapers,
magazines and light paper, and corrugated fiberboard boxes.
PVC, LDPE, PP, and PS (see resin identification code) are also recyclable. These items are usually
composed of a single type of material, making them relatively easy to recycle into new products. The
recycling of complex products (such as computers and electronic equipment) is more difficult, due to
the additional dismantling and separation required.
The type of material accepted for recycling varies by city and country. Each city and country has
different recycling programs in place that can handle the various types of recyclable materials.
However, certain variation in acceptance is reflected in the resale value of the material once it is
reprocessed.
Waste handling practices
Curbside collection is the most common method of disposal in most European
countries, Canada, New Zealand and many other parts of the developed world in which waste is
collected at regular intervals by specialised trucks. This is often associated with curb-side waste
segregation. In rural areas waste may need to be taken to a transfer station. Waste collected is then
transported to an appropriate disposal facility. In some areas, vacuum collection is used in which
waste is transported from the home or commercial premises by vacuum along small bore tubes.
Systems are in use in Europe and North America.
Main article: Automated vacuum collection

Pyrolysis is used for disposal of some wastes including tires, a process that can produce recovered
fuels, steel and heat. In some cases tires can provide the feedstock for cement manufacture. Such
systems are used in USA, California, Australia, Greece, Mexico, the United Kingdom and in Israel.
The RESEM pyrolysis plant that has been operational at Texas USA since December 2011, and
processes up to 60 tons per day.[13] In some jurisdictions unsegregated waste is collected at the curb-
side or from waste transfer stations and then sorted into recyclables and unusable waste. Such
systems are capable of sorting large volumes of solid waste, salvaging recyclables, and turning the
rest into bio-gas and soil conditioner. In San Francisco, the local government established
its Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance in support of its goal of "Zero waste by 2020",
requiring everyone in the city to keep recyclables and compostables out of the landfill. The three
streams are collected with the curbside "Fantastic 3" bin system – blue for recyclables, green for
compostables, and black for landfill-bound materials – provided to residents and businesses and
serviced by San Francisco's sole refuse hauler, Recology. The City's "Pay-As-You-Throw" system
charges customers by the volume of landfill-bound materials, which provides a financial incentive to
separate recyclables and compostables from other discards. The City's Department of the
Environment's Zero Waste Program has led the City to achieve 80% diversion, the highest diversion
rate in North America.[14] Other businesses such as Waste Industries use a variety of colors to
distinguish between trash and recycling cans.

multilateral partnerships, the goal is for all members to have national waste management and pollution
control policies, strategies, plans and practices in place to minimize terrestrial, atmospheric and marine
pollution, hazardous waste, solid waste and other land-based sources of pollution.

sSolid Waste Management(Municipal Solid Waste)

Introduction

Solid waste is the unwanted or useless solid materials generated from combined residential,
industrial and commercial activities in a given area.

Management of solid waste reduces or eliminates adverse impacts on the environment and human
health and supports economic development and improved quality of life. A number of processes are
involved in effectively managing waste for a municipality. These include monitoring, collection,
transport, processing, recycling and disposal.

Municipal solid waste

 Consists of household waste, construction and demolition debris, sanitation residue, and waste from
streets.
 This garbage is generated mainly from residential and commercial complexes.
 The amount of municipal solid waste has been increasing rapidly.
 The composition of MSW is also changing. Earlier it was mainly food and other biodegradable refuse
but nowadays plastics and aluminium cans form a large chunk of the daily MSW generation.

Classification of MSW

te Managem
eMoisture – An important factor

Collection of MSW

Collection is an expensive part of waste management, and many new devices and methods have
been proposed in order to cut costs.

They are as follows:

 Garbage grinders
 Pneumatic pipes
 Kitchen garbage compactors
 Green cans on wheels
 Transfer stations
 Route optimization

Garbage grinders:

 Garbage grinders reduce the amount of garbage in refuse.

 Frequency of collection could be reduced.
 Twice-a-week collection is only needed in warm weather when garbage decomposes rapidly.
 Garbage grinders do put an extra load on the wastewater treatment plant, but sewage is relatively
dilute and shredded garbage can be accommodated in both sewers and treatment plants.
 The increased burden may be problematic in water-short communities.

tTransfer station:

 A typical system includes several stations, located at various points in a city, to which collection
trucks bring the refuse.
 The drive to each transfer station is relatively short. This is to increase collection efficiency.
 At the transfer station, bulldozers pack the refuse into large containers that are trucked to the
landfill or other disposal facility.
 Alternatively, the refuse may be baled before disposal.

Effects on Health

 Disease vectors are the means by which disease organisms are transmitted, such as water, air, and
food. The two most important disease vectors related to solid waste are rats and flies.
 70,000 flies can be produced in one cubic feet of garbage, and they carry many diseases like
bacillary dysentery.
 Rats not only destroy property and infect by direct bite, but also carry insects like fleas and ticks
that may also act as vectors.
 Infiltration of leachate from MSW disposal into groundwater, particularly drinking water supplies is a
public health issue.
 Leachate may be a major groundwater and surface water contaminant, particularly where there is
heavy rainfall and rapid percolation through the soil.

Sanitary landfills

 Sanitary landfills are engineered operations, designed and operated according to acceptable
standards as opposed to open dumps which are simply places to deposit waste.
 Sanitary landfilling is the compaction of refuse in a lined pit and the covering of the compacted
refuse with an earthen cover.
 A landfill continues to subside after closure, so that permanent structures cannot be built onsite
without special foundations.
 Closed landfills have potential uses as golf courses, playgrounds, tennis courts, winter recreation, or
parks and green belts.
 The sanitary landfilling operation involves numerous stages, including siting, design, operation, and
closing.

Process of landfilling

 The liner is made of plastic and a layer of clay that further reduces the chance of leakage into the
groundwater of the liquid produced by the landfill during the decomposition of the waste.
 The liquid produced is collected by pipes laid into the landfill as it is constructed.
 Gases produced by the decomposing waste must be collected and either vented or collected and
burned.
 When the landfill is full, a cover must be placed on it such that the seepage of rainwater into the
landfill is minimized.
 Vegetation must then be established on the landfill, and its effect on groundwater must be
monitored by wells sunk around it.

 Refuse is unloaded, compacted with bulldozers, and covered with compacted soil.
 The landfill is built up in units called cells.
 The daily cover is between 6 and 12 inches thick depending on soil composition.
 The final cover of at least 2 feet thick is used to close the landfill.