22/07/2021 What is Solid Waste Management?

Sources and Methods of Solid Waste Management - Conserve Energy Future

According to Britannica,

“Solid-waste management, the collecting, treating, and disposing of solid

material that is discarded because it has served its purpose or is no longer useful.
Improper disposal of municipal solid waste can create unsanitary conditions, and
these conditions in turn can lead to pollution of the environment and to
outbreaks of vector-borne disease—that is, diseases spread by rodents and
insects.”

Contents [hide]

Categories of Waste 1. Litter Surroundings

Various Sources of Solid Waste 2. Impact on Human Health
1. Residential 3. Disease-causing Pests
2. Industrial 4. Environmental Problems
3. Commercial 5. Soil and Groundwater Pollution
4. Institutional 6. Emission of Toxic Gases
5. Construction and Demolition 7. Impact on Land and Aquatic
Areas Animals 
6. Municipal Services Methods of Solid Waste Management
7. Treatment Plants and Sites 1. Sanitary Landfill
8. Agriculture 2. Incineration
9. Biomedical 3. Recovery and Recycling
Effects of Poor Solid Waste 4. Composting
Management 5. Pyrolysis

Categories of Waste

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1. Organic waste: Kitchen waste, waste from food preparation, vegetables,

flowers, leaves, fruits, and market places.
2. Combustibles: Paper, wood, dried leaves, packaging for relief items etc.
that are highly organic and having low moisture content.
3. Non-combustibles: Metal, Tins, Cans, bottles, stones, etc.
4. Toxic waste: Old medicines, paints, chemicals, bulbs, spray cans,
fertilizer and pesticide containers, batteries, shoe polish.
5. Recyclables: Paper, glass, metals, plastics.
6. Ashes or Dust: Residue from fires that are used for cooking.
7. Construction waste: Rubble, roofing, broken concrete etc.
8. Hazardous waste: Oil, battery acid, medical waste, industrial waste,
hospital waste.
9. Dead animals: Carcasses of dead livestock or other animals.
10. Bulky waste: Tree branches, tires etc.
11. Soiled waste: Hospital waste such as cloth soiled with blood and other
body fluids.

The types of litter and their approximate degeneration time

[table id=1 /]

Various Sources of Solid Waste

Every day, tonnes of solid waste are disposed of at various landfill sites. This
waste comes from homes, offices, industries and various other agricultural
related activities.

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These landfill sites produce foul smell if waste is not stored and treated
properly. It can pollute the surrounding air and can seriously affect the health
of humans, wildlife and our environment. The following are major sources of
solid waste:

1. Residential
Residences and homes where people live are some of the major sources of
solid waste. The garbage from these places includes food wastes, plastics,
paper, glass, leather, cardboard, metals, yard wastes, ashes and special wastes
like bulky household items such as electronics, tires, batteries, old mattresses
and used oil.

See also  Can You Recycle Nail Polish Bottles? (And Are They

Biodegradable?)

Most homes have garbage bins where they can throw away their solid wastes in
and later, the bin is emptied by a garbage collecting firm or person for
treatment.

2. Industrial
Industries are known to be one of the biggest contributors to solid waste. They
include light and heavy manufacturing industries, construction sites, fabrication
plants, canning plants, power and chemical plants.

These industries produce solid waste in the form of housekeeping wastes, food
wastes, packaging wastes, ashes, construction and demolition materials, special
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wastes, medical wastes as well as other hazardous wastes.

3. Commercial

Commercial facilities and buildings are yet another source of solid waste today.
Commercial buildings and facilities, in this case, refer to hotels, markets,
restaurants, godowns, stores and office buildings.

Some of the solid wastes generated from these places include plastics, food
wastes, metals, paper, glass, wood, cardboard materials, special wastes and
other hazardous wastes.

4. Institutional
The institutional centers like schools, colleges, prisons, military barracks and
other government centers also produce solid waste. Some of the common solid
wastes obtained from these places include glass, rubber waste, plastics, food
wastes, wood, paper, metals, cardboard materials, electronics as well as various
hazardous wastes.

5. Construction and Demolition Areas

Construction and demolition sites also contribute to the solid waste problem.
Construction sites include new construction sites for buildings and roads, road
repair sites, building renovation sites and building demolition sites.

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Some of the solid wastes produced in these places include steel materials,
concrete, wood, plastics, rubber, copper wires, dirt and glass.

6. Municipal Services
The urban centers also contribute immensely to the solid waste crisis in most
countries today. Some of the solid waste brought about by the municipal
services include street cleaning, wastes from parks and beaches, wastewater
treatment plants, landscaping wastes and wastes from recreational areas,
including sludge.

7. Treatment Plants and Sites

Heavy and light manufacturing plants also produce solid waste. They include
refineries, power plants, processing plants, mineral extraction plants and
chemical plants.

Among the wastes produced by these plants, there are industrial process
wastes, unwanted specification products, plastics, metal parts, just to mention a
few.

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8. Agriculture
Crop farms, orchards, dairies, vineyards and feedlots are also sources of solid
wastes. Among the wastes they produce are agricultural wastes, spoiled food,
pesticide containers and other hazardous materials.

9. Biomedical
This refers to hospitals and biomedical equipment and chemical manufacturing
firms. In hospitals, there are different types of solid wastes produced.

Some of these solid wastes include syringes, bandages, used gloves, drugs,
paper, plastics, food wastes and chemicals. All these require proper disposal or
else they will cause a huge problem for the environment and the people in
these facilities.

Effects of Poor Solid Waste Management

1. Litter Surroundings

Due to improper waste disposal systems, particularly by municipal waste

management teams, wastes heap up and become a menace. While people
clean their homes and places of work, they litter their surroundings, which
affect the environment and the community.

See also  Steps to Get Your Business on the Path to Zero Waste

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2. Impact on Human Health

Improper waste disposal can affect the health of the population living nearby
the polluted area or landfills. The health of waste disposal workers and other
employees involved with these landfill facilities are also at a greater risk.

Exposure to wastes that handled improperly can cause skin irritations,

respiratory problems, blood infections, growth problems, and even
reproductive issues.

3. Disease-causing Pests

This type of dumping of waste materials forces biodegradable materials to rot

and decompose under improper, unhygienic and uncontrolled conditions.

After a few days of decomposition, a foul smell is produced, and it becomes

a breeding ground for different types of disease-causing insects as well as
infectious organisms. On top of that, it also spoils the aesthetic value of the
area.

4. Environmental Problems
Solid wastes from industries are a source of toxic metals, hazardous wastes, and
chemicals. When released to the environment, the solid wastes can cause
biological and physicochemical problems to the environment that may affect or
alter the productivity of the soils in that particular area.

5. Soil and Groundwater Pollution

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Toxic materials and chemicals may seep into the soil and pollute the
groundwater. During the process of collecting solid waste, hazardous wastes
usually mix with ordinary garbage and other flammable wastes making the
disposal process even harder and risky.

6. Emission of Toxic Gases

When hazardous wastes like pesticides, batteries containing lead, mercury or
zinc, cleaning solvents, radioactive materials, e-waste and plastics mixed up
with paper and other non-toxic scraps are burned they produce dioxins, furans,
polychlorinated biphenyls, and other gases. These toxic gases have the
potential of causing various diseases, including cancer.

7. Impact on Land and Aquatic Animals 

Our carelessness with our waste and garbage also affects animals, and they
suffer the effects of pollution caused by improperly disposed of wastes and
rubbish.

Consuming styrofoam and cigarette butts have been known to cause deaths in
marine animals. Animals are also at risk of poisoning while consuming grasses
near contaminated areas or landfills as the toxins seep into the soil.

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Source: Canva

Methods of Solid Waste Management

There are different methods of solid waste management. The following are
some of the recognized methods:

1. Sanitary Landfill
This is the most popular solid waste disposal method used today. Garbage is
basically spread out in thin layers, compressed and covered with soil or plastic
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foam. 

Modern landfills are designed in such a way that the bottom of the landfill is
covered with an impervious liner, which is usually made of several layers of
thick plastic and sand. This liner protects the groundwater from being
contaminated because of leaching or percolation.

When the landfill is full, it is covered with layers of sand, clay, topsoil and gravel
to prevent seepage of water.

Advantage: If landfills are managed efficiently, it is an ensured sanitary waste

disposal method.

Constraint: It requires a reasonably large area.

2. Incineration
This method involves the burning of solid wastes at high temperatures until the
wastes are turned into ashes. Incinerators are made in such a way that they do
not give off extreme amounts of heat when burning solid wastes. 

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Incinerators that recycle heat energy through furnace and boiler are

called waste-to-energy plants. These waste-to-energy systems are more
expensive to set up and operate compared to plain incinerators because they

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require special equipment and controls, highly skilled technical personnel, and
auxiliary fuel systems.

This method of solid waste management can be done by individuals,

municipalities and even institutions. The good thing about this method is the
fact that it reduces the volume of waste up to 20 or 30% of the original volume.

Advantage: The volume of combustible waste is reduced considerably by

burning waste. In the case of off-site pits, it is an appropriate method to
minimize scavenging.

Constraint: It can cause smoke or fire hazard and also emits gaseous
pollutants.

3. Recovery and Recycling

Recycling or recovery of resources is the process of taking useful but discarded
items for the next use. Plastic bags, tins, glass and containers are often recycled
automatically since, in many situations, they are likely to be scarce
commodities.

Traditionally, these items are processed and cleaned before they are recycled.
The process aims at reducing energy loss, consumption of new material
and reduction of landfills. The most developed countries follow a strong
tradition of recycling to lower volumes of waste.

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Advantage: Recycling is environmentally friendly.

Constraint: It is expensive to set up, and in most emergencies, there is limited

potential.

4. Composting
Due to a lack of adequate space for landfills, biodegradable yard waste is
allowed to decompose in a medium designed for the purpose. Only
biodegradable waste materials are used in composting. 

It is a biological process in which micro-organisms, specifically fungi and

bacteria, convert degradable organic waste into substances like humus. This
finished product, which looks like soil, is high in carbon and nitrogen. Good
quality environmentally friendly manure is formed from the compost that is an
excellent medium for growing plants and can be used for agricultural purposes.

Advantage: Composting is environmentally friendly as well as beneficial for

crops.

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Constraint: It requires intensive management and experienced personnel for

large scale operation.

5. Pyrolysis
This is a method of solid waste management whereby solid wastes are
chemically decomposed by heat without the presence of oxygen. It usually
occurs under pressure and at temperatures of up to 430 degrees Celsius. The
solid wastes are changed into gasses, solid residue of carbon and ash and small
quantities of liquid.

Advantage: This will keep the environment clean and reduce health and

settlement problems.

Constraint: The systems that destroy chlorinated organic molecules by heat

may create incomplete combustion products, including dioxins and furans.
These compounds are highly toxic in the parts per trillion ranges. The residue it
generates may be hazardous wastes, requiring proper treatment, storage, and
disposal.

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