LITERATURE REVIEW

Solid waste management has become one of a major concern in environmental

issues. This is particularly true to urban areas where population is rapidly growing and
amount of waste generated is increasing like never before. Current earth’s population
is 7.7 billion and it is estimated that almost half of this population lives in urban areas
(Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United
Nations Secretariat, 2019). Waste generation increase proportionally to this
population number and income, creating the needs of effective management.
Urbanization and industrialization leads to new lifestyles and behavior which also
affects waste composition from mainly organic to synthetic material that last longer
such as plastics and other packaging material.

Waste management (or waste disposal) are the activities and actions required to
manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection,
transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of
the waste management process. Waste can be solid, liquid, or gaseous and each type
has different methods of disposal and management. Waste management deals with all
types of waste, including industrial, biological and household. In some cases waste
can pose a threat to human health. Waste is produced by human activity, for example
the extraction and processing of raw materials. Waste management is intended to
reduce adverse effects of waste on human health, the environment or aesthetics.
Waste management practices are not uniform among countries
(developed and developing nations); regions (urban and rural areas),
and residential and industrial sectors can all take different approaches. A large portion
of waste management practices deal with municipal solid waste (MSW) which is the
bulk of the waste that is created by household, industrial, and commercial activity.

The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle, which
classifies waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms
of waste minimisation. The waste hierarchy is the cornerstone of most waste
minimization strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum
practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of end waste;
see: resource recovery. The waste hierarchy is represented as a pyramid because the
basic premise is that policies should promote measures to prevent the generation of
waste. The next step or preferred action is to seek alternative uses for the waste that
has been generated i.e. by re-use. The next is recycling which includes composting.
Following this step is material recovery and waste-to-energy. The final action is
disposal, in landfills or through incineration without energy recovery. This last step is
the final resort for waste which has not been prevented, diverted or recovered. The
waste hierarchy represents the progression of a product or material through the
sequential stages of the pyramid of waste management. The hierarchy represents the
latter parts of the life-cycle for each product.

Reuse is a recoverable materials that are organic in nature, such as plant material,
food scraps, and paper products, can be recovered through composting and digestion
processes to decompose the organic matter. The resulting organic material is then
recycled as mulch or compostfor agricultural or landscaping purposes. In addition,
waste gas from the process (such as methane) can be captured and used for generating
electricity and heat (CHP/co-generation) maximizing efficiency. The intention of
biological processing in waste management is to control and accelerate the natural
process of decomposition of organic matter.

Recycling is a resource recovery practice that refers to the collection and reuse of
waste materials such as empty beverage containers. The materials from which the
items are made can be reprocessed into new products. Material for recycling may be
collected separately from general waste using dedicated bins and collection vehicles, a
procedure called kerbside collection. In some communities, the owner of the waste is
required to separate the materials into different bins (e.g. for paper, plastics, metals)
prior to its collection. In other communities, all recyclable materials are placed in a
single bin for collection, and the sorting is handled later at a central facility. The latter
method is known as "single-stream recycling." The most common consumer products
recycled include aluminium such as beverage cans, copper such as wire, steel from
food and aerosol cans, old steel furnishings or equipment, rubber tyres, polyethylene
and PET bottles, glass bottles and jars, paperboard cartons, newspapers, magazines
and light paper, and corrugated fiberboard boxes.

The management of waste is a key component in a business' ability to

maintain ISO14001 accreditation. The standard encourages companies to improve
their environmental efficiency each year by eliminating waste through resource
recovery practices. One way to do this is by adopting resource recovery practices
like recycling materials such as glass, food scraps, paper and cardboard, plastic
bottles and metal. Recycled materials can often be sold to the construction industry.
Many inorganic waste streams can be used to produce materials for construction.
Concrete and bricks can be recycled as artificial gravel.

Composting has been used as a means of recycling organic matter back into the
soil to improve soil structure and fertility. The composting process has received much
attention in recent years because of pollution concerns and the search for
environmentally sound methods for treating waste. Waste volumes continue to rise,
which leads to loss of resources and increased environmental risks. Open dumping
and sanitary landfill is a major method for waste disposal, the Land filling of
biodegradable waste is proven to contribute to environmental degradation, mainly
through the production of highly polluting leachate and methane gas. Composting
aims to stabilization of waste for land filling , volume and mass reduction of solid
waste and return of organic substances to the natural cycle. This paper reviews
information on the composting for treating waste as a means of addressing the
environmental pollution concerns.

Composting helps to optimize nutrient management and the land application of

compost may contribute to combat soil organic matter decline and soil erosion (Van
Camp et al, 2004). Compost land application completes a circle whereby nutrients and
organic matter which have been removed in the harvested produce are replaced
(Diener et al ,1993).The recycling of compost to land is considered as a way of
maintaining or restoring the quality of soils, mainly because of the fertilizing or
improving properties of the organic matter contained in them. Furthermore, it may
contribute to the carbon sequestration and may partially replace peat and fertilizers
(Smith et al, 2001).Compost application to agricultural land needs to be carried out in
a manner that ensures sustainable development. Management systems have to be
developed to enable to maximize agronomics benefit, whilst ensuring the protection
of environmental quality. The main determinant for efficient agronomics use is
nitrogen availability, high nitrogen utilization in agriculture from mineral fertilizers is
well established and understood, whereas increasing the nitrogen use efficiency of
organic fertilizers requires further investigation (Amlinger et al, 2003).
 Composting of agricultural waste and municipal solid waste has a long history
and is commonly employed to recycle organic matter back into the soil to maintain
soil fertility. The recent increased interest in composting however has arisen because
of the need for environmentally sound waste treatment technologies. Composting is
seen as an environmentally acceptable method of waste treatment (Yvette B etal,
2000). It is an aerobic biological process which uses naturally occurring
microorganisms to convert biodegradable organic matter into a humus like product.
The process destroys pathogens, converts N from un stable ammonia to stable organic
forms, reduces the volume of waste and improves the nature of the waste. It also
makes waste easier to handle and transport and often allows for higher application
rates because of the more stable, slow release, nature of the N in compost (Fauziah
etal, 2009). The effectiveness of the composting process is influenced by factors such
as temperature, oxygen supply (i.e. aeration) and moisture content. There are two
fundamental types of composting aerobic and anaerobic.

For aerobic, composting is the decomposition of organic wastes in the presence of

oxygen (air); products from this process include CO2, NH3, water and heat. This can
be used to treat any type of organic waste but, effective composting requires the right
blend of ingredients and conditions. These include moisture contents of around
60-70% and carbon to nitrogen ratios (C/N) of 30/1. Any significant variation inhibits
the degradation process. Generally wood and paper provide a significant source of
carbon while sewage sludge and food waste provide nitrogen. To ensure an adequate
supply of oxygen throughout, ventilation of the waste, either forced or passive is
essential. (Yvette B etal, 2000). For anaerobic, composting is the decomposition of
organic wastes in the absence of O2, the products being methane (CH4), CO2, NH3
and trace amounts of other gases and organic acids. Anaerobic composting was
traditionally used to compost animal manure and human sewage sludge, but recently
is has become more common for some municipal solid waste (MSW) and green waste
to be treated in this way (Yvette B etal, 2000).

Reference

1. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management
3. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/135660/10/10_chapter%203.pdf

4. http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/3829/3/3_CHAPTER_2__LITERATURE_REVIE
W.pdf

5. http://www.ipcbee.com/vol12/24-C10006.pdf