What Is
Solid Waste?
A solid waste
is any material that is discarded by being “Abandoned”. The term abandoned
means thrown away. A material is abandoned if it is disposed of, burned,
incinerated, or sham recycled.
What Is Solid Waste Management?
Solid-waste
management is the collecting, treating, and disposing of solid material that is
discarded because it has served its purpose or is no longer useful. Improper
disposal of municipal solid waste can create unsanitary conditions and these
conditions in turn can lead to pollution of the environment and to outbreaks of
vector-borne diseases that is, the diseases which are spread by rodents and
insects. The tasks of solid-waste management present complex technical
challenges. They also pose a wide variety of administrative, economic, and
social problems that must be managed and solved.
Sources of
Solid Waste
The sources
of solid waste include residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial
activities. Certain types of wastes that cause immediate danger to exposed
individuals or environments are classified as hazardous waste. All
non-hazardous solid waste from a community that requires collection and
transport to a processing or disposal site is called refuse or municipal
solid waste (MSW).
Refuse includes garbage and rubbish. Garbage
is mostly decomposable food waste; rubbish is mostly dry material such
as glass, paper, cloth, or wood. Garbage is highly putrescible or decomposable,
whereas rubbish is not. Trash is rubbish that includes bulky items such as old
refrigerators, couches, or large tree stumps. Trash requires special collection
and handling.
Construction
and demolition (C&D) waste (or debris) is a significant component of total solid waste
quantities (about 20 percent in the United States), although it is not considered
to be part of the MSW stream. However, because C&D waste is inert and
nonhazardous, it is usually disposed of in municipal sanitary landfills.
Solid Waste
Characteristics
Solid-waste
characteristics vary considerably among communities and nations. American
refuse is usually lighter, for example, than European or Japanese refuse. In
the United States paper and paperboard products make up close to 40 percent of
the total weight of MSW; food waste accounts for less than 10 percent. The rest
is a mixture of yard trimmings, wood, glass, metal, plastic, leather, cloth,
and other miscellaneous materials. In a loose or uncompacted state, MSW of this
type weighs approximately 120 kg per cubic metre 200 pounds per cubic yard).
These figures vary with geographic location, economic conditions, season of the
year, and many other factors. Waste characteristics from each community must be
studied carefully before any treatment or disposal facility is designed and
built.
Keywords: Solid Waste, Solid Waste Management, Municipal Solid Waste, Hazardous Waste, Rubbish, Trash
About the
Author: Wardah Razzaq is an Environmentalist, a Certified Climate Reality
Leader and Mentor, Green Blogger, Environmental and Climate Change Activist,
Environmental and Climate Writer/Author, Researcher, and an International
Mentor at the New York Academy of Sciences. Her ambition is to raise awareness
among the masses regarding various environmental issues and about their
multifarious impacts and solutions via my piece of writings.
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