Solid Waste Pollution

Submitted By – Kuldeep Singh(046)

Ankit Kumar Das(047)
CSE 2nd Sem (2011)
Amity school of engg. & technology

What is solid waste ?

•Each household generates garbage or waste day in and day out.
Items that we no longer need or do not have any further use for
fall in the category of waste, and we tend to throw them away.
•With the progress of civilization, the waste generated became of a
more complex nature.
•The increase in population was also largely responsible for the
increase in solid waste.

Types of solid wastes

Solid waste can be classified into different types
depending on their source:
• Municipal waste,
• Industrial waste, and
• Biomedical waste or hospital waste.

Municipal solid waste

•Municipal solid waste consists of household waste, construction
and debris, and waste from streets.
•This garbage is generated mainly from residential and
commercial places.
•With the change in lifestyle and food habits, the amount of
municipal solid waste has been increasing rapidly and its
composition changing.

Garbage: the four broad

categories
•Organic waste: kitchen waste, vegetables, flowers,
leaves, fruits.
•Toxic waste: old medicines, paints, chemicals, bulbs,
spray cans, fertilizer and pesticide containers, batteries,
shoe polish.
•Recyclable: paper, glass, metals, plastics.
•Soiled: hospital waste such as cloth soiled with blood
and other body fluids

WHAT ARE THE FFECTS OF IMPROPER DISPOSAL

OF SOLID WASTE?
The type and amount of solid waste with improper disposal
methods , increases the risk of health effects in humans, causes
damage to eco-systems and accelerates the destruction of the
environment.

Some of these environmental effects

are:
•Pollution of surface and ground water
•Clogging of drains.
•Open decomposition (rotting) that can lead to the development of
unpleasant odor.
•Breeding of vectors e.g. flies and rats.
•Increase risk of diseases such as: Typhoid- Malaria- Yellow fever
•Litters the land and makes it look ugly.

Treatment and disposal of municipal

waste
• Open dumps refer to uncovered areas that are used to dump
solid waste of all kinds. The waste is untreated, uncovered, and
not segregated. It is the breeding ground for flies, rats, and other
insects that spread disease. The rainwater run-off from these
dumps contaminates nearby land and water thereby spreading
disease. In some countries, open dumps are being phased out.

Landfill
 Facility in which solid waste from municipal and/or
industrial sources is disposed; sanitary landfills are those
landfills that are operated in accordance with current
environmental protection standards.
 Incineration plants - This process of burning waste in large
furnaces is known as incineration. Both the fly ash and the ash
that is left in the furnace after burning have high
concentrations of dangerous toxins such as dioxins and heavy
metals. Disposing of this ash is a problem. The ash that is
buried at the landfills leaches the area and cause severe
contamination. Burning garbage is not a clean process as it
produces tones of toxic ash and pollutes the air and water. In
fact, at present, incineration is kept as the last resort and is
used mainly for treating the infectious waste.

 Composting - composting is one of the oldest forms of

disposal. It is the natural process of decomposition of organic
waste that yields manure or compost, which is very rich in
nutrients. Composting is a biological process in which micro-
organisms, mainly fungi and bacteria, convert degradable
organic waste into humus like substance. This finished
product, which looks like soil, is high in carbon and nitrogen
and is an excellent medium for growing plants.

 It is allowing trimmings, vegetable/fruit peels and scraps and

other organic materials to decompose naturally under
controlled conditions, after which the product can be used as
garden manure.
 Composting also reduces the amount of material reaching
landfills, space is saved and landfills can last longer.
 Compost your yard trimmings and food scraps.
 Design of the Aerated Pile Composting system

WHAT WE CAN DO!

•Continue the same old habit of disposal in new places ?

Certainly Not!
•We have to recognize the consequences of improper solid waste
disposal on the environment and our health and change our
attitudes.
•It is time we start disposing our solid waste in the right places,
such as:
• · landfills
• · incinerators
• · bins
•In addition we can practice The Three R’s!

When we look at the 3R concept within the production cycle, we

can see a number of ways in which 'reduce, reuse, recycle'
aspects can be incorporated.
 (I) REDUCE
•The process of decreasing the amount of waste generated
at each step of product development or use.
•The amount of solid waste produced can be reduced by
buying products.
•Without extra packaging e.g. plastic and paper wrapping.
•That can be used more than once.
•That last longer.
•Old newspapers, magazines and bottles can be sold to the man
who buys these items from homes.
•In your own home you can contribute to waste reduction and
the recycling and reuse of certain items.

(II) REUSE
We can reuse many things before we throw them away.
Therefore we could:
 •Reuse bags (paper and plastic), containers, paper and other
items.
•Sell or donate things you no longer use to people who will
use them, e.g. clothing and shoes.
•Repair shoes, boots, handbags and other items before you
consider ‘throwing away’.
•Convert cans and plastic containers into plant pots.

(III) RECYCLE
•To separate a given waste material from other wastes and to
process it so that it can be used again in a form similar to its
original use.
•Recycling involves the collection of used and discarded
materials processing these materials and making them
into new products.
•It reduces the amount of waste that is thrown into the community
dust bins thereby making the environment cleaner and the air
more fresh to breathe.

Pollution Prevention Practices can Help

•Improve the quality of your products and services.
•Reduce inventory costs by using fewer raw materials.
•Reduce hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal and/or
treatment costs.
•Reduce wastewater disposal and/or treatment costs.

Waste Management
What is the Solid Waste
Management Hierarchy