What is solid waste?

• Solid waste is defined as any

• garbage,

• refuse,

• sludge from waste treatment plant,

• air pollution control facility and other materials,

• including solid, semisolid, by commercials, mining and agricultural operations from community activities ( Moeller, 2005).

Solid and Hazardous Waste

• Much of the world continues to inappropriately dispose of refuse which:

• (1) invites the production of insects;

• (2) becomes a source of contamination to groundwater;

• (3) pollutes ambient air when combusted;

• (4) facilitates the spread of debris around the dumping site;

• (5) lowers property values about the site; and

• (6) encourages the spread of disease from microorganisms and toxic chemicals.

Characteristics of wastes

• Corrosive: these are wastes that include acids or bases that are capable of corroding metallic things.

• Ignitability: this is waste that can create fires under certain condition, e.g. waste oils and solvents

• Reactive: these are unstable in nature, they cause explosions, toxic fumes when heated.

• Toxicity: waste which are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed.

Types of waste

• Non Hazardous waste: refuse, garbage, sludge, municipal trash.

• Hazardous waste: solvents acid, heavy metals, pesticides, and chemical sludges

• Radioactive: high and low-level radioactive waste

• Mixed waste: Radioactive organic liquids, radio active heavy metals. ” ( Moeller, 2005).

SWM Pyramid

Reduce waste

• Methods of waste reduction include

• manufacturing products with less packaging,

• encouraging customers to bring their own reusable bags for packaging,

• By practicing “Reduce”, the need for raw materials is reduced and therefore, the cost for purchasing and transporting of raw materials is reduced.

• Also, this will help in reducing the amount of waste being disposed off.Reuse waste

• Reusing prevents waste disposal via the reuse of waste products such as plastic water bottles or used clothes.

• After reusing, waste products do not necessary need to have their original functions.

• The plastic water bottles can be used as pots for planting plants.

• There is a reduced need for disposal.

• Energy and raw materials are also saved.

Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new products in order to:

• prevent waste of potentially useful materials,

• reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials,

• reduce consumption of fossil fuels and energy usage,

• reduce

• Soil or Land pollution producing less Solid Waste,

• air pollution (from incineration) and

• water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for effluent treatment and waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

• Recyclable materials include many kinds of

• glass,

• paper,

• metal,

• plastic,

• textiles, and

• electronics.

• Materials to be recycled are brought to a collection center, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials.

• Textile recycling is the method of reprocessing used clothing, fibrous material and clothing scraps from the manufacturing process.

• Textiles in municipal solid waste are found mainly in discarded clothing, although other sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and nondurable goods such as sheets and towels.

• It avoids many polluting and energy intensive processes that are used to make textiles from fresh materials.

• The requirement of landfill space is reduced.

• Synthetic Fibers don't decompose in landfilling.

Woolen garments decompose but produce methane, which contributes to global warming.

Pressure on fresh resources is reduced.

Leads to balance of payments as we buy fewer materials for our requirements.

Lesser energy is consumed while processing, as items don't need to be re-dyed or scoured.

Waste water reduces as it does not have to be thoroughly washed with large volumes of water as it is done for, say, raw wool.

Demand is reduced for Textile Chemicals like dyes and fixing agents.

Recycled products of textiles

• Rugs,• Toys,• Scrap Quilts,• Shoes,• Pillow covers,• Table Cloth,• Kitchen Cloth,• Jacket Insulation material,• Hand Bags,• Etc

• Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and used as a fertilizer for soil improvement.

• The process of composting simply requires making a heap of wetted organic matter (leaves, food waste) and waiting for the materials to break down into soil after a period of weeks or months.

• Modern composting is a multi-step, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air and carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials.

• The decomposition process is aided by cutting up the plant matter, adding water and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning the mixture.

• Worms and fungi further break up the material. • Aerobic bacteria manage the chemical process by converting the inputs into heat, carbon

dioxide and ammonium which is further converted by bacteria into plant-nourishing nitrites and nitrates.

• It is used in gardens , and agriculture. • The compost itself is beneficial for the land in many ways, including as a Soil Conditioner ,

a fertilizer, and as a natural pesticide for soil.

Science Daily (July 16, 2009) — Waste from the textiles industry could with the assistance of earthworms and some animal manure become a rich compost for agriculture, according to a report in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.

According to a report on published on Monday October 6, 2006, by international Fiber Centre.

Under the guidance of Professor Taherzadeh, School of Engineering, University of Borås Sweden, PhD students have evaluated the possibilities of producing ethanol and biogas from textile waste and as a result of their innovative research,

found a method to produce half a kilo of ethanol from a kilo of denim.

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials.

Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, smoke , and heat energy.

The smoke must be cleaned of gaseous and particulate pollutants before they are dispersed into the atmosphere.

Incineration with energy recovery is one of several waste to energy (WtE) technologies.

It reduces the solid mass of the original waste by 80–85% and the volume by 95-96 %, depending on composition and degree of recovery of materials.

Incineration has particularly strong benefits for the treatment of certain waste types in areas such as:

clinical or medical wastes and

certain hazardous wastes where pathogens and toxins can be destroyed by high temperatures.

Also for include chemical multi-product plants with diverse toxic or very toxic streams, which cannot be routed to a conventional treatment plant.

A landfill site is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment.

Organic substances “biodegrade” when they are broken down by other living organisms (such as enzymes and microbes) into their constituent parts, and in turn recycled by nature as the building blocks for new life.

The process can occur aerobically (with the aid of oxygen) or anaerobically (without oxygen).

Substances break down much faster under aerobic conditions, as oxygen helps break the molecules apart.

Modern sanitary landfills are used to recover energy.

The natural anaerobic decomposition of the waste in the landfill produces landfill gases which include Carbon Dioxide, methane and traces of other gases.

Methane can be used as an energy source to produce heat or electricity. Thus some landfills are fitted with landfill gas collection (LFG) systems to capitalise on the methane being produced.

The process of generating gas is very slow, for the energy recovery system to be successful there needs to be large volumes of wastes.

Recended Reading

• http:// library.thinkquest.org/07aug/01963/3rs.html

• U.S Environmental Protection Agency

• http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/index.htm • http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/index.htm • Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental Health (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA:Harvard University

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