Solid Waste And Management

 


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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2 Comments

Anonymous said…
Great !
Hamna Imran said…
Great!