Solid Waste

“Solid waste” shall refer to all discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous
institutional and industrial waste, street sweepings, construction debris, agricultural waste, and
other non-hazardous/non-toxic solid waste. – RA 9003.

Types of Solid Waste

Municipal solid waste
Industrial solid waste
Biomedical waste or hospital waste

CLASSIFICATIONS OF SOLID WASTE

Compostable/ Biodegradable Waste

Compostable wastes are biodegradable wastes such as food waste, garden waste and animal
waste.
Examples are:

Fruit and vegetable peelings, leftover foods, vegetable trims, fish/fowl/meat/animal entrails/, soft
shells, seeds, leaves, etc.,

Recyclable Waste

Recyclable materials refer to any waste material retrieved from the waste stream and free from
contamination that can still be converted into suitable beneficial use.

Examples are:

Newspaper, ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals, corrugated cardboard, aluminum, tin cans,
glass, papers, etc.,

Special/ Hazardous Waste

Special waste refers to bulky and household hazardous wastes.

Examples are:

Paints, thinner, household batteries, lead-acid batteries, spray canisters, bulky wastes, consumer
electronics (which refer to worn-out, broken and other discarded items), white goods (which
refer to large worn-out or broken household appliances), oil, tires, etc.,
Residual Waste

Residual wastes are solid waste materials that are non-compostable and non-recyclable.

Examples are:

(a) Sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, worn-out rugs, ceramics, candy

wrappers/sachets, cartons which contain a plastic lining usually used for milk and
juice containers, etc.,

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOLID WASTE

Composition
Moisture content
Particle size
Chemical composition
Density

3 FACETS OF SOLID WASTE PROBLEM

Source
Agriculture
Fisheries
Household
Commerce and Industry

Collection - the act of removing solid waste from the source or from a communal storage
point

Disposal- the discharge, deposit, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any solid waste
into or in any land
EFFECTS OF SOLID WASTE

Unsanitary conditions
Epidemic outbreaks
Many diseases may spread and cause loss of human lives
Intolerable odor

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

- refers to the discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer
and transport, processing, and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that is in accord with the
best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other
environmental considerations, and that is also responsive to public attitudes.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT CONCEPT

3R’s
Reduce – to lessen the waste
Re-use- the process of recovering materials intended for the same or different purpose
without the alteration of physical and chemical characteristics
Recycle-the treatment of used or waste materials through a process of making them suitable
for beneficial use and for other purposes, and includes any process by which solid waste
materials are transformed into new products in such a manner that the original products may
lose their identity, and which may be used as raw materials for the production of other goods
or services

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY

- refers to any resource recovery system or component thereof; any system, program, or
facility for resource conservation; any facility for the collection, source separation, storage,
transportation, transfer, processing, treatment, or disposal of solid waste.

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL

Disposal of solid wastes is defined as placement of the waste so that it no longer impacts
society or the environment. The wastes are either assimilated so that they can no longer be
identified in the environment, as by incineration to ash, or they are hidden well enough so
that they cannot be readily found. Solid waste may also be processed so that some of its
components may be recovered, and used again for a beneficial purpose. Collection, disposal,
and recovery are all part of the total solid waste management system.
The objective of solid waste disposal as the placement of solid waste so that it no longer
impacts society or the environment. At one time, this was fairly easy to achieve: dumping
solid waste over city walls was quite adequate. In modern civilization, however, this is no
longer possible, and adequate disposal is becoming increasingly difficult.

Sanitary landfill
- refers to a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner
that exerts engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts arising from
the development and operation of the facility
- compaction of refuse in a lined pit and covering of the compacted refuse with an earthen
cover