SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND ITS PROCESS

Garbage arising from human or animal activities, that is abandoned as unwanted and useless is referred as solid waste. Generally, it is generated from industrial, residential and commercial activities in a given area, and may be handled in a variety of ways. However, waste can be categorized based on materials such as paper, plastic, glass, metal and organic waste. Solid waste disposal must be managed systematically to ensure environmental best practices.

Solid waste disposal and management is a critical aspect of environmental hygiene and it needs to be incorporated into environmental planning.

 

Solid waste disposal and management includes planning, administrative, financial, engineering and legal functions. It is typically the job of the generator, subject to local, national and even international authorities.

Also, Solid waste management is a term that is used to refer to the process of collecting and treating solid wastes. It also offers solutions for recycling items that do not belong to garbage or trash. As long as people have been living in settlements and residential areas, garbage or solid waste has been an issue. Waste management is all about how solid waste can be changed and used as a valuable resource.

Solid waste management should be embraced by each and every household, including the business owners across the world. The industrialization has brought a lot of good things and bad things as well. One of the adverse effects of industrialization is the creation of solid waste.

Methods of Solid Waste Disposal and Management:

• Solid Waste Open Burning
  Solid waste open burning is not the perfect method in the present scenario.
• Sea Dumping Process
  This sea dumping process can be carried out only in coastal cities. This is very costly procedure and not environment friendly.
• Solid wastes sanitary landfills
  Solid wastes sanitary landfills process is simple, clean and effective. In this procedure, layers are compressed with some mechanical equipment and covered with earth, leveled, and compacted. A deep trench of 3 to 5 m is excavated and micro-organisms act on the organic matter and degrade them. In this procedure, refuse depth is generally limited to 2m. Facultative bacteria hydrolyze complex organic matter into simpler water soluble organics
• Incineration method
  Incineration method is suitable for combustible refuse. High operation costs and construction are involved in this procedure. This method would be suited in crowded cities where sites for land filling are not available. It can be used to reduce the volume of solid wastes for land filling.
• Composting process
  Composting process is similar to sanitary land-filling and it is popular in developing countries. Decomposable organic matter is separated and composted in this procedure. Yields are stable end products and good soil conditioners. They can be used as a base for fertilizers.
• Disposal by Ploughing into the fieldsDisposal by ploughing into the fields are not commonly used. These disposals are not environment friendly in general.
• Disposal by hog feedingDisposal by hog feeding is not general procedure in India. Garbage disposal into sewers including BOD and TSS increases by 20-30%. Refuse is ground well in grinders and then fed into sewers.
• Salvaging procedureMaterials such as metal, paper, glass, rags, certain types of plastic and so on can be salvaged, recycled, and reused.
• Fermentation/biological digestionBiodegradable wastes are converted to compost and recycling can be done whenever possible. Hazardous wastes can be disposed using suitable methods.

Solid waste management is associated with the control of waste generation, its storage and collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal in a manner that is in accordance with the best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, public attitude and other environmental considerations. The following points are explained briefly below.

Waste generation :

Wastes are generated at the start of any process, and thereafter, at every stage as raw materials are converted into goods for consumption. The source of waste generation determines quantity, composition and waste characteristics. For example, wastes are generated from households, commercial areas, industries, institutions, street cleaning and other services. The most important aspect of this part of the Solid waste management system is the identification of waste.

Waste Storage :

Storage is a key functional element because collection of wastes never takes place at the source or at the time of their generation. The heterogeneous wastes generated in residential areas must be removed within 8 days due to shortage of storage space and presence or biodegradable material. Onsite storage is of primary importance due to aesthetic consideration, public health and economics involved. Some of the option for storage are plastic containers, conventional dustbins (of households), used oil drums, large storage bins (for institutions and commercial areas or servicing depots), etc. Obviously, these vary greatly in size, form and material.

Waste Collection :

This includes gathering of wastes and hauling them to the location, where the collection vehicle is emptied, which may be transfer station (i.e, intermediate station where wastes from smaller vehicles are transferred to larger ones and also segregated), a processing plant or a disposal site. Collection depends on the number of containers, frequency of collection, types of collection services and routes. Typically, collection is provided under various management arrangements, ranging from municipal services to franchised services, and under various forms of contracts.

Waste disposal :

Disposal is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes, whether it may be residential wastes, semi-solid wastes from municipal and industrial treatment plants, incinerator or other substances that have no further use to the society. Thus, land use planning becomes a primary determinant in the selection, design and operation of landfill. A modern sanitary landfill is a method of disposing solid waste without creating a nuisance and hazard to public health.

Generally, engineering principles are followed to confine the wastes to the smallest possible area, reduce them to the lowest particle volume by compaction at the site and cover them after each days operation to reduce exposure to vermin. One of the most important functional elements of solid waste management, therefore relates to the final use of reclaimed land. Being generic in its form, this system is applicable to all regions, irrespective of their relative state of development.