ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

by: (Sgd.) HEHERSON T. ALVAREZ

1. Each office is required to practice proper solid waste
management in compliance with the Ecological Solid
Waste Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act 9003).
Segregation of wastes in color-coded containers (starting at
the division level) shall be done as follows:

a. Biodegradable waste – food wastes, yard wastes, etc.

(green)

b. Non-biodegradable/Recyclable wastes – paper, plastic,

styrofoam, tin cans, bottles, etc. (red)

c. Non-recyclable/residual wastes – used/worn out rugs,

ceramics, soiled plastics, candy wrappers, etc. (blue)

d. Special/Hazardous Wastes – used fluorescent

lamps/bulbs, batteries, spray canisters, etc. (black)
Each container should be properly labeled and equipped
with lid to prevent the escape of foul odors and entry of
vermin.
479

2. Burning of waste is strictly prohibited. Minimize waste

through recycling such as reuse of the back portion of
copy/bond paper for drafting and photocopying documents.

3. Wrap broken glasses or sharp or pointed objects to be

thrown in the trash can to avoid incidents of injury to
cleaners.
BIODEGRADABLE AND COMPOSTABLE ALTERNATIVES TO
CONVENTIONAL PLASTICS
by : J. H. Song, R. J. Murphy

There are many technologies available for the treatment of conventional plastic packaging waste
(Tukker 2002) from household waste including: integrated collection and incineration with
energy recovery, selective combustion of plastics with high calorific value (e.g. in cement kilns)
and use as a reducing agent in blast furnaces or as feedstock for recycling.
Approximately 1 million tonnes of non-bottle domestic mixed plastic packaging waste arise in
the UK each year, and this is estimated to increase between 2 and 5 per cent per annum (WRAP
2006, 2008). A ‘Waste Hierarchy’ proposed by the UK government (DEFRA 2007) as guidance
for selecting the options to minimize the impact of waste recognizes reduction and reuse as the
most favourable options where the aim is to minimize the material consumption or divert
materials from waste streams.
The impacts of biodegradable bioplastics, when entering the waste stream and handled by current
available options (recycling, incineration and landfill), are assessed briefly below. As BDPs
enable a potential option for waste treatment through composting as a way to recover the
materials and to produce a useful product as compost, particular attention will be given to
composting biopolymers.

Recycling
Biodegradable plastics that enter the municipal waste stream may result in some complications
for existing plastic recycling systems. For example, the addition of starch or natural fibres to
traditional polymers can complicate recycling processes (Scott 1995; Hartmann & Rolim 2002).
Although it is feasible to mechanically recycle some bioplastic polymers such as PLA a few
times without significant reduction in properties (Claesen 2005), the lack of continuous and
reliable supply of bioplastic polymer waste in large quantity presently makes recycling less
economically attractive than for conventional plastics. Finally, for certain applications such as
food packaging (e.g. in modified atmosphere packaging of meat products), multilayer lamination
of different biopolymers may be necessary to enhance barrier properties, just as in conventional
plastics (Miller 2005), and this will compromise recyclability of the scrap during packaging
manufacture and of post-consumer waste. The recycling of plastics is considered in more detail
elsewhere in this volume (Hopewell et al. 2009).
Separating waste
SEPARATING WASTE
BY JAI SHANKAR

The simplest and smartest way to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable waste being
generated by us every day is to separate the waste in our homes itself. At some places,
we can spot two different colored dustbins- one blue and one green, put up for use.
Those are kept to keep the biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste separated from
each other. The blue bins are meant for all the non-decomposable waste like metals
scraps, metal cans and plastics. Note that these things are non-biodegradable, but they
are recyclable and can be profitably converted into new articles without using insane
amounts of energy and resources. The green bins are usually used for waste such as
kitchen waste, paper products, cardboard or boxboard. These items decompose in a
small span of time and do not pose a serious threat to the environment like synthetic
materials. One shall start putting up two dustbins in their house too to keep the waste
from each other.
Recycle
Recycle
Once the waste is separated, one can go through all the items in the blue bin and look for
possible recycling methods. For example, aluminium cans and soda bottles can be creatively
used at home for some DIY projects such as for making pen stands, craft supply organizers, etc.
If you cannot recycle some materials at your home, then you can consult your local garbage
collection organization and recycling programs. In recycling plants, the old metal scraps are used
to produce new materials using much less energy as compared to what is required for the
production of new metal articles.
Adopt greener and more eco-friendly ways of living
Adopt greener and more eco-friendly ways of living
When it comes to reducing the using of non-biodegradable materials, we all need to make a few
little changes in our lifestyle that can go a long way in preserving the environment from
deteriorating. Here are a few such things.
Avoid using polybags and
Biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable by Rab Nawaz

Biodegradable
Biodegradable wastes are such waste materials which are and can be degraded by natural factors
like microbes (e.g. bacteria, fungi and few more), abiotic elements like temperature, UV, oxygen,
etc. Some examples of such wastes are food materials, kitchen wastes and other natural wastes.
Microorganisms and other abiotic factors together break down complex substances into simpler
organic matters which eventually suspend and fade into soil. The whole process is natural which
can be rapid or slow. Therefore the environmental issues and risks caused by biodegradable wastes
are low.
But the huge dumping of waste can raise some threats to life sooner or later. To avoid this, some
people practice composting. In composting, the biodegradable wastes are dumped into a pit and
covered for a period. Due to the action of microbes, they will decompose and will be used as
manure for cultivation purpose. This will reduce the amount of waste at landfills.

What is Biodegradable Waste?

Biodegradable waste is a type of waste, typically originating from plant or animal sources, which
may be degraded by other living organisms.
Biodegradable waste can be commonly found in municipal solid waste as green waste, food waste,
paper waste, and biodegradable plastics. Other biodegradable wastes include human waste,
manure, sewage, slaughterhouse waste.

Non-Biodegradable
Unlike biodegradable wastes, non-biodegradable cannot be easily handled. Non-biodegradable
wastes are those who cannot be decomposed or dissolved by natural agents. They remain on earth
for thousands of years without any degradation. Hence the threat caused by them is also more
critical. A notable example is the plastics which are a commonly used material in almost every
field. To give these plastics a long lasting effect, improved quality plastics are being put to use.
This made them more temperature resistant and more durable even after use. Other examples are
cans, metals, and chemicals for agricultural and industrial purposes. They are the main causes of
air, water and soil pollution and diseases like cancer.
Since non-biodegradable wastes are not eco-friendly, they need to be replaced. As a part of a
development of alternatives, scientists have brought forward many ides like biodegradable plastics,
etc. They incorporated some biodegradable materials with plastics and made them easily and
rapidly degradable. But this is quite an expensive procedure.

What is Non-Biodegradable waste?

Waste which cannot be decomposed by biological process is known as “Non-biodegradable
wastes”. Most of the inorganic waste is non-biodegradable. Non-biodegradable wastes which can
be recycled are known as “Recyclable waste” and those which cannot be recycled are known as
“Non-recyclable waste”.
Waste sorting - A look at the separation and sorting techniques in
today’s European market by Claudine Capel

European citizens will not have failed to notice that the sorting of waste, particularly at a
household level, is becoming increasingly important. While the various EU countries currently
take different stances on how and which waste to separate, the trend will be to separate as
much useful waste as possible and deal with it in the most appropriate manner.

Separating the different elements found in waste streams is essential for enabling the recovery
of useful materials, minimizing the amount of material sent to landfill and allowing recyclable
materials to find a new incarnation. Companies sort and recycle materials in order to extract
value, but those operating in EU Member States are also bound by EU rules and regulations
relating to the environment.

Separation technologies
Waste disposal companies dealing with the sorting of materials will commonly use one or more
of these five methods:

• Trommel separators/drum screens These separate materials according to their particle size.
Waste is fed into a large rotating drum which is perforated with holes of a certain size. Materials
smaller than the diameter of the holes will be able to drop through, but larger particles will
remain in the drum.

• Eddy current separator This method is specifically for the separation of metals. An ‘eddy
current’ occurs when a conductor is exposed to a changing magnetic field. Put simply, it is an
electromagnetic way of dividing ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

• Induction sorting Material is sent along a conveyor belt with a series of sensors underneath.
These sensors locate different types of metal which are then separated by a system of fast air
jets which are linked to the sensors.

• Near infrared sensors (NIR) When materials are illuminated they mostly reflect light in the near
infrared wavelength spectrum. The NIR sensor can distinguish between different materials
based on the way they reflect light.

• X-ray technology X-rays can be used to distinguish between different types of waste based on
their density.
 " EFFECTIVENESS OF NFHS SEGREGATION POLICY
FOR THE BIODEGRADABLE AND NON
BIODEGRADABLE WASTE MATERIALS"

PROBLEMS:

1) the policy is effective?

2) what is the details of policy?

3) what is the effect of the policy?

OBJECTIVES:

1) to know if its effective.

2) to know what is the policy.

3) to see the effect of the policy.