THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING

INTRODUCTION:

 SOLID WASTE:
Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater
treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other
discarded materials including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material, resulting
from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community
activities, but does not include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage. In Short, Solid
wastes are any discarded or abandoned materials. Solid wastes can be solid, liquid and semi-
solid or containerized gaseous material. Solid waste is the unwanted or useless solid materials
generated from human activities in residential, industrial or commercial areas. It may be
categorized in three ways. According to its:
origin (domestic, industrial, commercial, construction or institutional) 
Hazard potential (toxic, non-toxin, flammable, radioactive, infectious etc).

Solid Waste Management reduces or eliminates the adverse impact on the

environment & human health. A number of processes are involved in effectively managing
waste. These include monitoring, collection, transport, processing, recycling and disposal. The
quantum of waste generated varies mainly due to different lifestyles, which is directly
proportional to socio economic status of the urban population. 

 Types of Solid Waste

It can be classified into different types depending on their source:
 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): It consists of household waste, construction and
demolition debris (CnD), sanitation residue, and waste from streets, generated
mainly from residential and commercial complexes. As per the MoEF it
includes commercial and residential waste generated in municipal or notified
areas in either solid or semi-solid form excluding industrial hazardous wastes
but including treated bio-medical wastes.
 Industrial Solid Waste (ISW): In a majority of cases it is termed as hazardous waste
as they may contain toxic substances, are corrosive, highly inflammable, or react when
exposed to certain things e.g. gases.

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  Biomedical waste or hospital waste: It is usually infectious waste that may include
waste like sharps, soiled waste, disposables, anatomical waste, cultures, discarded
medicines, chemical wastes, etc., usually in the form of disposable syringes, swabs,
bandages, body fluids, human excreta, etc. These can be a serious threat to human health
if not managed in a scientific and discriminate manner.
.

FIG1:TYPES OF SOLID WASTE

 Defining Solid Waste

Solid waste is broadly comprised of non-hazardous domestic,
commercial and industrial refuse including household organic waste, hospital and institutional
garbage, street sweepings, and construction wastes. Domestic solid waste includes all solid
wastes generated in the community and generally includes food scraps, containers and
packaging, discarded durable and non-durable goods, yard trimmings, miscellaneous inorganic
debris, including household hazardous wastes.

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1. Residential: Includes waste generated in household units, such as food and fruit peels,
rubbish, ashes etc

2. Industrial: Has two components hazardous, which is toxic; corrosive; flammable; a strong
sensitizer or irritant and may pose a substantial present or potential danger to human health or
the environment when improperly processed, stored, transported, or disposed of or otherwise
managed. Nonhazardous which includes inert and essentially insoluble industrial solid waste,
usually including, but not limited to, materials such as rock, brick, glass, dirt, and certain
plastics and rubber, etc., that are not readily decomposable.

3. Commercial: Waste produced by wholesale, retail or service establishments, such as

restaurants, stores, markets, theaters, hotels and warehouses.

4. Institutional: Waste that originates in schools, hospitals, research institutions and public
buildings.

5. Construction and demolition: Waste building material and rubble resulting from
construction, remodeling, repair, and demolition operations on houses, commercial buildings,
pavements and other structures.

6. Municipal services: Sludge from a sewage treatment plant which has been digested and
dewatered and does not require liquid handling equipment etc.

7. Process: Treatment plant wastes principally composed of residual sludge.

8. Agricultural: Spoiled food wastes, agricultural wastes, rubbish, hazardous wastes.

 Waste Sources

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 Fig2: Waste Sources

 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) refers to a systematic
process that comprises of waste segregation and storage at source, primary collection,
separation, secondary storage, transportation, secondary segregation, resource recovery,
processing, treatment, and final disposal of solid waste. Landfills are created by land dumping.
Land dumping methods vary, most commonly it involves the mass dumping of waste into a
designated area, usually a hole or sidehill but landfills may have negative impacts on soil, water
and air.

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 Fig3 : Landfills

Landfills must be at just one place in a city but In India, it is found at many places. The Water
of River Ganga is pure but it will be impure because it is made landfill on the river banks at
North India and actions must be taken in this regard by Municipal officers.

Fig4:Landfills made on the bank of rivers in India

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  CURRENT STATUS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT
 Introduction
India is the second largest nation in the world, with a population of 1.21 billion, accounting for
nearly 18% of world’s human population, but it does not have enough resources or adequate
systems in place to treat its solid wastes. Its urban population grew at a rate of 31.8% during
the last decade to 377 million, which is greater than the entire population of US, the third largest
country in the world according to population.

Big cities collect about 70 - 90% of MSW generated, whereas smaller cities and towns collect
less than 50% of waste generated. More than 91% of the MSW collected formally is landfilled
on open lands and dumps. It is estimated that about 2% of the uncollected wastes are burnt
openly on the streets. About 10% of the collected MSW is openly burnt or is caught in landfill
fires. Such open burning of MSW and landfill fires together releases 22,000 tons of pollutants
into the lower atmosphere of Mumbai city every year. The pollutants include carbon monoxide
(CO), carcinogenic hydro carbons (HC) (includes dioxins and furans), particulate matter (PM),
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2)

 Cause of Increase in Solid Waste

 Unawareness in society
 Modernization
 Urbanization
 Increase in industrials manufacturing
 Population growth

 Population Growth
.
Indian population increased by more than 181 million during 2001 – 2011, a 17.64%
increase in population, since 2001. Even though this was the sharpest decline in population
growth rate registered post-Independence the absolute addition during 2001-2011 is almost as
much as the population of Brazil, the fifth most populous country in the world. The third most
populous nation after China and India is US, with a population of 308.7 million, which is only
a quarter of India’s population. Urban population in India alone, which is 377 million, exceeds
this figure. Indian urban population increased by 31.8 % during 2001 – 2011, which implies an
annual growth rate of 2.8% during this period

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 Fig5: Population Growth in millions in India

 Urbanization

Fig6.: Fast Urban Population Increase

 Poly Bag Ban

The Government of India and the New Delhi Pollution Control Board issued a series of
directions imposing a blanket ban on plastic carry bags at various sites in the country. The
Pollution control board issued a circular restricting plastic carry bags in specific areas in the
country. All manufacturers, distributors and users were directed to comply with the guidelines

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of the Board regarding use of plastic carry bags to avoid regulatory sanctions as provided under
Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and also legal actions as warranted under
Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Compliance, however, has been very
sporadic throughout the country.
 Impacts of solid waste on environment
 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Loss of biodiversity
 Epidemic diseases
 Soil quality degradation

 Waste Storage and Segregation

Practice of waste to be stored at source of waste generation till collected (for its treatment and
disposal) is essential as it helps enable waste to be collected at a pre decided time before it is
indiscriminately thrown on streets causing pollution.

Fig7: Waste Storages

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  Non Disposable e-waste

Fig8: Non Disposable e-waste

 Reduction in waste generation

“Prevention is better than cure”, so goes an old adage, and it is one of the best
method to deal with the problem of solid waste. By preventing (reducing) the generation of
waste itself, we can minimize other problems (namely, disposal) related to waste to a great
extent. In order to reduce waste generation several methods or tool can be applied, some of
which may be:

 Promotion of local grown products and less reliance on packaged food products go a
long way in reducing wastes.
 Education can play a critical role by creating awareness regarding the waste and related
issues among the masses. In a developing country framework, reduction in waste
generation should be targeted towards producers; because of excessive packaging, more
waste is created. From the consumers‟ side, reduction in waste can be generated by
educating the consumers on ways to prevent waste; for instance asking the consumers

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 to use a reusable bag for shopping rather than rely on goods being bagged in numerous
poly bags, can significantly reduce the use of poly bags which are the main source of
waste in numerous developing countries.
 Recycle
Although recycling is one of the most important aspects of waste management in the developed
nations, due to the composition of waste and other factors, recycling may not be much of an
option in terms of developing country. Separation of waste materials at the household level is
perhaps a universal phenomenon; more so in developing countries where separation of
anything valuable is undertaken with care, which prevents valuables and reusable materials
from being discarded. The existence of waste pickers, scavengers etc, recover other valuable
materials from entering the waste stream. Especially in developing countries, itinerant buyers
play a vital role in recovering materials for recycling; they buy every material that has some
monetary value, news papers, plastic bottles, old shoes etc. It is however, evident that some
improvement in these traditional systems can be brought about. A formalized waste recycling
or recovery system supported by local municipality can go a long way in ensuring health safety
for the workers, chances of better income for the rag pickers, scavengers and small time
merchants dealing with waste. Recycling waste can be a viable economic option even for some
urban cities, where the nature and characteristics of waste is quite similar to the developed
nations. In case of waste composition not favoring recycling, other options (recovery, diversion
etc.) should be seriously considered. In the event that local municipal governments are unable
to provide recycling facility due to lack of funds, private partnerships need to be encouraged
and looked into as a viable option.

Fig9: 3R Technique

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  Solid Waste Treatment by Incineration
Incineration is the process of burning of wastes under controlled conditions, usually carried out
in an enclosed structure. Although incineration has high rate of waste reduction (80-95%), there
are many issues that make incineration not so viable an option in developing countries. Solid
waste incineration plants tend to be among the most expensive solid waste management
options, being highly capital-intensive and require high maintenance costs they may be beyond
the reach of many of the lesser developing countries [6]. As compared to other solid waste
management options, incineration requires comparatively higher technically trained operators,
and careful maintenance (World Bank 1999); which may not be practical or feasible for the
developing countries. Besides this, there is a huge environmental hazard component of
incineration; generally most of the developing countries are densely populated and any
incineration operation near human habitat can pose a great threat to human life and environment
because of emissions. Use of scrubbers in incineration can reduce the threat greatly. However,
it requires huge financial contribution, which may not be possible for developing countries to
bear.

HEALTH PROBLEMS:

Serious public health problems arise due to uncollected solid waste and waste often leading to
many infectious diseases including water borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Such
incidence of diseases puts additional burden on the scanty health services available in resource
poor developing countries. Insect and rodent vectors are attracted to the waste and one may
recall that as many as 200,000 people had to flee after the outbreak of pneumonic plague in
Surat in Western India. Contamination of ground water by disease causing organisms from
water seeping through dumps is likely to include the viruses of hepatitis, poliomyelitis and
gastroenteritis [6]; thus such water contamination may have long run health effects apart from
dysentery and cholera. The U.S. Public Health Service identified 22 human diseases that are
linked to improper solid waste management. The most immediate health threat due to solid
waste in developing countries is to the waste workers, rag pickers and scavengers. Waste
workers and rag pickers in developing countries are seldom protected from direct contact and
injury. The codisposal of hazardous and medical wastes with municipal wastes pose serious
health threat. Exhaust fumes from waste collection vehicles, dust stemming from disposal
practices, and open burning of waste also contribute to overall health problems.

 CONCLUSION:
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Solid waste disposal and management is both an urban and rural problem. Every person is a
potential generator of waste and thus a contributor to this problem. To generate waste is one
thing, the type of waste generated is another and yet also the way the generated waste is
managed or disposed of is quite a different issue . This Project considers the solid waste
management system in India order to develop a framework for management in future. The
objectives of this project were to describe and explain the current waste management system
and practices, influence of waste management. The objectives were addressed primarily
through semi-structured interviews and discussions with various stakeholders along with non-
participatory method tools. The study analyzed the current solid waste management system and
identified the strengths and the weaknesses of the system. It was observed that the current solid
waste management system practiced is unsustainable. There is no provision for the segregation
of waste. The collection and transportation of waste is inadequate and inappropriate. Officially,
there is no provision for composting or recycling of the waste. Majority of the waste is dumped
in open landfill and people are not involved in solid waste decision making process or the solid
waste management system. Further, the study also analyzed the newly proposed solid waste
management system. It was found that the newly proposed system is better than the existing
system; the new proposal outlines a framework of two stream waste segregation system. The
proposed waste collection and transportation system is an improvement on the current system.
Composting of biodegradable waste is an important feature of the proposal. The proposed
system, however, omitted critical points which need to be addressed in order to develop a
sustainable solid waste management system.

 REFERENCES:

[1] Zerbock Olar, 2003: Urban Solid Waste Management: Waste Reduction in Developing
Nations. Michigan Technological University. Accessed Online March 12th 2018.
http://www.cee.mtu.edu/peacecorps/documents_july03/Waste_reduction_and_icineration_FI
NAL.pdf
[2] Kuniyal J. C., A. P. Jain and A. S. Shannigrahi., 1998: Public Involvement in Solid Waste
Management in Himalayan Trails in and Around the Valley of Flowers, India, Mountain
Forum. 24(3-4): 299-322.
[3] Materials Management Program. Accessed Online March 12, 2018
https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8732.html

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[4] Chakrabarty Milindo, 2002,Towards an Operational Definition of Sustainable
Development. Available online at
http://www.indiana.edu/~workshop/papers/chakrabarti022502.pdf Assessed on March 12,
2018
[5] Jain A.P., 1994: Solid waste management in India. G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan
Environment and Development, India. Monthly News Letter. 3(1): 229-241.
[6] Medina Martin 2002: Globalization, Development, and Municipal Solid Waste
Management in Third World Cities. Available online at
http://www.gdnet.org/pdf/2002AwardsMedalsWinners/OutstandingResearchDevelopment/m
artin_medina_martinez_paper.pdf accessed online March 12, 2018
[7] Waste Sources Treatment Ecology Presentation Visuals
https://www.slideshare.net/infoDiagram/waste-sources-treatment-ecology-presentation-
visuals accessed online at March 12, 2018
[8] National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, NEERI. Air Quality Assessment,
Emissions Inventory and Source Apportionment Studies: Mumbai. New Delhi Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 2010.
[9] European Environment Agency. Municipal Waste Generation Per Capita in Western
Europe (EU-15), New Member States (EU-12), EU Countries (EU-27) and total in Europe
(EU-27 Turkey, Croatia, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland). European Environment Agency.
[10] Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Position
Paper on the Solid Waste Management Sector in India. Public Private Partnerships in India.
[Online]
[11] Venkateshwaran Sandhya, 1994: Ecological, Economic and Social Dimensions,
Economic and Political Weekly, November 5-12.

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