Solid Waste Management and Resource

Recovery

Dr. A.N.V. Satyanarayana

Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere, and Land Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lectures – Environmental Science

 Introduction
• Historically solid waste management was the
most rudimentary sort even in the most
developed countries in the world

• Garbage (if it collected systematically) will ended

up at the local dump where open burning was
common act to control both the volume and
public health dangers associated with the waste

• Question is how to deal with this problem!!!

 RCRA Wastes
• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) which is the federal statute that governs
solid waste, delineates two categories of waste
- Hazardous
- Non-hazardous

In the present lecture we will look into the non-

hazardous waste only
Classification based on RCRA
 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Material Flows and Environmental Impacts of wastes -
Definitions
 Categories of MSW
• Solid wastes are not liquid or gaseous but durable and
non durable goods, containers and packaging, food
scraps and miscellaneous inorganic wastes

• MSW is solid waste from residential, commercial,

institutional and industrial sources but not include things
like construction waste, automobile bodies, municipal
sludge, combustion waste even though these wastes be
deposited in municipal waste landfills or incinerators

• Rubbish consists of old tin cans, newspaper, packaging

materials, bottles, plastic etc. Both combustible and
noncombustible solid wastes are included, but rubbish
does not include garbage
 Categories of MSW
• Trash is the combustible portion of rubbish

• Generation refers to the amounts of materials and products that

enter the waste stream. Activities that reduce the amount of toxicity
of wastes before they enter the municipal waste system such as
reusing refillable glass bottles or reusing plastic bags are not
included

• Materials recovery is the term used to cover the removal of materials

from the waste stream for purposes of recycling or compositing

• Discards are the solid waste remaining after materials are removed
for recycling or compositing. These are the materials that are burned
or buried. In other words:

Waste Generation = Materials Recovered + Discards

 Solid Waste Management

Management of municipal solid wastes

includes recovery of materials for recycling
and compositing, combustion with or without
energy recovery, and finally disposed in
landfills or other locations
 Integrated Solid Waste Management
This approach is intended to help and guide in
taking decisions about the generation of wastes,
recycling of materials and ultimate disposals of
residues
Source reduction and recycling in almost all
circumstances are given highest priority, name few
as follows:
1.To reduce the amount of solid waste that has to be
burned or buried
2.To reduce pollution associated with mining, use and
disposal of resources
3.To reduce the rate of consumption of scarce
resources
Procedures of Integrated Solid Waste
Management
 Integrated Solid Waste Management
Example:

Is lightweight packaging that uses less material

always better than more substantial packaging?

If the heavier packaging can more easily be

recycled then it is better than the lightweight
materials that go straight to the dump

Reason could be heavyweight materials that would

burn cleanly in a waste-to-energy incinerator, while
toxics in the lightweight packaging might take it
inappropriate for combustion
Management of Generated MSW under
Integrated Solid Waste Management
 Source Reduction in Integrated Solid Waste
Management
Quote: Garbage that not produced does not
have to be collected
Green Product Design Strategies
Under this steps to be taken before manufacturing for
its environmental impacts
1. Material Selection
2. Product System Life Extension
3. Material Life Extension
4. Reduced Material Intensiveness
5. Process Management
6. Efficient Distribution
7. Eco-Labels
Life Cycle Assessment of a Product for ISM