PROJECT

ON
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
[BLUEPRINT]
WHAT IS WASTE?
The unwanted or unusable materials that are thrown away after the primary use are called waste.
Waste can be liquid, solid, or gas.

SOURCES OF WASTE
Wastes are generated from several sources such as domestic, industries, agriculture, and
commercial activities.

(i) Domestic Wastes

The waste materials produced from our households in our daily activities are called
domestic waste. These include:

 Kitchen waste like vegetables, fruits, and other food waste.

 Sewage-human excreta and waste from bathrooms and kitchens.
 Garbage-newspapers, rags, hair, house dust.
 Others-plastic bags, bottles, tins, etc.
In general, domestic waste is referred to as refuse. About 90% of domestic waste is
directly dumped on land thereby increasing land or soil pollution.

(ii) Industrial Wastes

All Industries generate waste materials. The wastes typically include ashes, rubbish,
building material wastes, toxic wastes, metal containers, plastic containers, paints, oils,
and other complex synthetic materials.

 Mining operations leave tailings (rocks of little or no value) as waste.

 Metallurgical industries release waste like slag and scrap metal.
 Paper and pulp mills release effluents containing wood chips, bits of bark,
cellulose fibres, and a number of chemicals.
 Oil refineries and petrochemical units release a mixture of wastes containing
hydrocarbons, organic acids, and sulphur compounds.
 Food processing units such as dairy, breweries, and meatpacking units release
organic wastes.

(iii) Agricultural Wastes

Modern techniques employed in agriculture and the use of a variety of chemicals have
contributed to the production of large quantities of agricultural waste.

1. Agricultural wastes include crop residues like husk and straws, farm animal
waste, and chemicals like pesticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, and
fertilizers.
2. These wastes can enter the water table as runoff from agricultural fields.
3. Chemicals used in agriculture are toxic in nature.
(iv) Commercial Wastes
A lot of waste is generated from commercial establishments such as restaurants, hotels,
markets, offices, printing shops, auto repair shops, medical institutions, and hospitals.

TYPES OF WASTE:
There are mainly two types of waste:

BIODEGRADABLE WASTE: The waste which can be decompose by the action

of microorganisms are called biodegradable waste. For example, domestic
sewage, newspapers, and vegetable matter are biodegradable and undergo rotting.
NON-BIODEGRADABLE WASTE: The wastes that cannot be decomposed
easily are called non-biodegradable wastes. These wastes do not undergo rotting.
For example, polythene bags, plastics, glass, aluminium cans, iron nails. Plastic
waste management is the need of the hour.

WHAT IS WASTE MANAGEMENT?

Waste management can be clearly defined as the collection, transport, recovery, and
disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management
process. However, the newer concept of waste management talks about the 7R’s –
Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Regulate and Research.

NEED FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT

The main motive of waste management is to reduce the adverse effects of waste on
human health as well as on the environment. Our environment is degrading. It isn’t going
to be a long time before our Earth becomes incapable of sustaining the vast amount of
waste generated and the harmful effects it has.
In such a scenario, the importance of waste management cannot be stressed enough.
Countries all over the world are finally waking up to the dangers of not handling their
waste properly.

7 R’ s of Waste Management

TYPES OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

There are various types of waste management:

1. Solid Waste Management

2. Liquid Waste Management
3. Biomedical Waste Management

Solid Waste Management

The term solid waste refers to all discarded and thrown away solid and semi-solid wastes arising

from human and animal activities. These may be classified as municipal wastes, industrial waste,

and hazardous waste. The use and throw culture of advanced societies has led to a tremendous

increase in the generation of solid waste. To overcome the major causes of solid waste, we have

to practice the rules of no littering zone, separate the dry waste and wet waste and dump it into

the municipal vans, avoid usage of plastic, etc.

Six Main Functional Elements of a Solid Waste Management System:

 Waste Generation

 On-site Handling (sorting, storage and processing)

 Collection

 Transfer and Transport

 Processing and Recovery

 Disposal

 Waste Handling and Separation, Storage and Processing

1. The best place or source to collect waste materials for reuse and recycling
from the homeowners.
2. The separation of newspaper, cardboard, bottles, yard wastes, aluminium cans,
ferrous materials, and especially hazardous wastes.
3. Waste processing can reduce the volume of waste, recycle the usable materials
and change the shape of solid wastes.
4. The common on-site processing operations used are:
 Food waste: grinding and releasing it into the sewer system
 Component separation
 Compaction: decrease the volume up to 70%
 Incineration, yard waste composting, etc.
 TYPES OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
 Landfill: It involves buying the waste in vacant locations around the
city. The dumping site should be covered with soil to prevent
contamination.
Benefits: A sanitary disposal method if managed effectively.
Limitations: A reasonably large area is required.

 Incineration: It is the controlled oxidation (burning/ thermal

treatment) of mostly organic compounds at high temperatures to
produce thermal energy, CO2, and water.
Benefits: Burning significantly reduces the volume of combustible
waste.
Limitations: Smoke and fire hazards may exist.

 Composting: It is a natural process of recycling organic matter like

leaves and food scraps into beneficial fertilizers that can benefit both
soil and plants.
Benefits: It is beneficial for crops and is an environment-friendly
method.
Limitations: Requires high-skilled labour for large-scale operations.

 Recycling: It is a process of converting waste material into new

material. Examples: wood recycling, and glass recycling.
Benefits: It is environment-friendly.
Limitations: It is expensive to set up and not reliable in case of an
emergency.

 Vermicomposting: It is a bio-conversion technique that is commonly

used to handle solid waste. Earthworms feed on organic waste to
reproduce and multiply in number, vermicompost, and vermiwash as
products in this bio-conversion process.
 Benefits: It reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and enhances
plant growth.
Limitations: It is time consuming, cost-ineffective, and requires extra
care.

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

 Every day goods such as product packaging, yard trimmings, furniture, clothing,
bottles, cans, food, newspaper, appliances, electronics, and batteries make up the
municipal solid waste.
 With rising urbanisation and change in lifestyle, the amount of municipal waste is also
rising.
 It is roughly classified into five categories:
1. Recyclable Material: Glasses, bottles, cans, paper, metals, etc.
2. Composite Wastes: Tetra packs, toys.
3. Biodegradable Wastes: Kitchen waste, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and leaves.
4. Insert Waste: Rocks, debris, construction material.
5. Domestic Hazardous and Toxic Waste: E-waste, medication, light, bulbs,
etc.
 Municipal solid waste management is the need of the hour and is important for the
safety of public health and better environmental quality.

Harmful Effects of Solid Waste

 Bad odour of waste
 Production of toxic gases
 Degradation of natural beauty
 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Soil pollution
 Spread of diseases
 Effect on biodiversity