Solid Waste Management

B.Tech. 2nd Semester

Environmental Studies (CYCI-104)

Dr. Vimal Kumar

(Assistant Professor)
Department of Chemistry
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
WASTE.....?
Waste (also known as rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, junk)
is any unwanted or useless materials.
OR
“Any materials unused and rejected as worthless or
unwanted”

“A useless or profitless activity; using or expending or

consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly”
 At the end of 19th century (Industrial
revolution) there was rise in the world of
consumers.

 The increase in population and

urbanization was also largely responsible
for the increase in solid waste
 TYPES OF WASTE

• Solid Waste
• Liquid Waste
• Gaseous Wastes
• Animal by-products
• Biodegradable waste
• Biomedical waste
 SOLID WASTE
“Non-liquid, non-soluble materials ranging from municipal
garbage to industrial wastes that contain complex and
sometimes hazardous substances”

TYPES OF SOLID WASTE

Broadly there are 3 types of waste
 Household waste is generally classified as Municipal
waste
 Industrial waste as Hazardous waste
 Biomedical waste or Hospital waste as Infectious waste
 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE
Municipal solid waste consists of:
• Household waste
• Construction and demolition debris
• Sanitation residue
• Waste from streets
Challenges related to solid waste Management

 With rising urbanization and change in lifestyle and food

habits, the amount of municipal solid waste has been
increasing rapidly and
 Its composition changing with time
 The existing landfills are neither well equipped or well
managed and are not lined properly to protect against
contamination of soil and groundwater.
 Waste is contaminating soil and groundwater
 HAZARDOUS WASTE

• Industrial and hospital waste is considered

hazardous as they may contain toxic substances.
• Hazardous wastes could be highly toxic to humans,
animals, and plants. As they are...
• Corrosive, Highly inflammable, or explosive
• React when exposed to certain things e.g. gases
 Some examples of household wastes
that can be categorized as hazardous

• old batteries
• shoe polish
• paint tins
• old medicines
• medicine bottles.
• Hospital waste contaminated by chemicals used in
hospitals is considered hazardous.
• These chemicals include formaldehyde and phenols,
which are used as disinfectants.
• In the industrial sector, the major generators of
hazardous waste are the metal, chemical, paper,
pesticide, dye, refining, and rubber goods industries.
• Direct exposure to chemicals in hazardous waste
such as mercury and cyanide can be fatal.
 CAUSES OF SOLID WASTE
The main sources for solid wastes are domestic, commercial,
industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastes.
The composition of a city waste is as follows:
• Paper, wood, cardboard 53 %
• Garbage 22 %
• Ceramics, glass, crockery 10 %
• Metals 8 %
• Rubber, plastics, discarded textiles 7 %
Composition of City Waste
 Increase in the quantity of solid waste is
due to
• Overpopulation,
• Affluence (material comfort)
• Technological advancement
 EFFECTS OF SOLID WASTE
a) Health Hazard
• If solid wastes are not collected and allowed to accumulate,
they may create unsanitary conditions.
• This may lead to epidemic outbreaks.
• Diseases like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, plague, jaundice,
or gastro-intestinal may spread
• In addition, improper handling of the solid wastes is a
health hazard for the workers who come in direct contact
with the waste
b) Environmental Impact
• If the solid wastes are not treated properly,
decomposition and putrefaction (decay)
may take place.
• The organic solid waste during
decomposition may generate obnoxious
(intolerable) odors.
 WASTE MANAGEMENT

Four R’s (Refuse, Reuse, Recycle and Reduce)

REFUSE: Instead of buying new containers from the
market, use the ones that are in the house.
Refuse to buy new items though you may think they
are prettier than the ones you already have.

REUSE: Don’t use disposable, single use materials. Instead

make the habits for reusable materials, eg. Avoid use of
Disposable crockery, cutlery etc.
Use shopping bags made of cloth or jute, which can be used
over and over again
RECYCLE: Segregation of waste i.e. Dry waste , wet waste,
electronic waste for convenient recycling

REDUCE: Reduce the generation of unnecessary waste, e.g. Carry your

own shopping bag when you go to the market and put all your
purchases directly into it
 CONTROL MEASURES

The main purpose of solid waste management is to minimize

the adverse effects on the environment.
The steps involved are:

 Collection of solid wastes

 Disposal of solid wastes
 Utilization of wastes
 COLLECTION OF SOLID WASTES

• Collection of waste includes collecting the waste,

transporting it to a centralized location, and then
moving it to the site of disposal.

• The collected waste is then separated into

Hazardous Non-hazardous materials
 DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTES

Before the final disposal of the solid wastes, it is processed to

recover the usable resources and to improve the efficiency of
the solid waste disposal system.

The main processing technologies are compaction,

Incineration, Manual separation.
Disadvantages:
1. Large area is required
2. Land availability is away from the town, transportation
costs are high
3. Leads to bad odor, if landfill is not properly managed.
4. Land filled areas will be sources of mosquitoes and flies
requiring application of insecticides and pesticides at
regular intervals.
5. Causes fire hazard due to formation of methane in wet
weather.
 METHODS OF DISPOSAL
Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying the
waste, and this remains a common practice in most
countries.
Landfills were often established in
• Abandoned or unused quarries,
• Mining voids
• Borrow pits
Advantages:
1. It is simple and economical
2. Segregation of wastes is not required
3. Land filled areas can be reclaimed and used for
other purposes
4. Converts low-lying, marshy waste-land into useful
areas.
5. Natural resources are returned to soil and recycled.
 Vermicomposting
Vermicompost is the product of the decomposition process
using various species of worms, like earthworms, to create a
mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding
materials, and vermicast. Vermicast is the end-product of the
breakdown of organic matter by earthworms.
ADVANTAGES:
1. Manure added to soil increases water retention and ion-
exchange capacity of soil.
2. Can be used to treat several industrial solid wastes.
3. Manure can be sold thereby reducing cost of disposing
wastes
DISADVANTAGES:
1. Non-consumables have to be disposed separately
2. The technology has not caught-up with the farmers and
hence does not have an assured market.
 INCENERATION

• Incineration is a disposal method in which solid organic

wastes are subjected to combustion so as to convert them
into residue and gaseous products.
• This process reduces the volumes of solid waste to 20 to
30 percent of the original volume.
• Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment
systems are sometimes described as "thermal
treatment".
ADVANTAGES:
1. Residue is only 20-25% of the original and can be used as clinker after
treatment
2. Requires very little space
3. Cost of transportation is not high if the incinerator is located within
city limits
4. Safest from hygienic point of view
DISADVANTAGES:
1. Its capital and operating cost is high.
2. Operation needs skilled personnel.
3. Formation of smoke, dust and ashes needs further disposal and that
may cause air pollution.
 For Queries?

Contact

Dr. Vimal Kumar

(Assistant Professor)

Department of Chemistry
Mb. and Whats App. No. 8968155223
Email: bhardwajvk@nitj.ac.in