University of Cebu

Group Members: De los Reyes, Chrisneil E.

Engbino, Mae Claire
Villarin, Jocyn

Subject: Elective 3 1:30-2:30 (MWF)

Modular Activity No.2

I. Title: Key Technologies for Solid Waste Management (SWM)

II. Objective(s): To discuss the proper collection, handling, transformation, handling in landfills
and key technologies with the use of incinerators and composting

III. Reference: (please include Book or Journal References)

 Jerry A. Nathanson (2010) https://www.britannica.com/technology/solid-waste-
management
 Anurit Kanti (2012) http://www.businessworld.in/article/5-Best-Waste-Management-
Practices-And-Innovations-Across-The-Globe/08-02-2018-140091/

IV. Discussion: (Theoretical Framework)

Solid-waste management, 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 disease that is, diseases
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. A technological approach to solid-waste
management began to develop in the latter part of the 19th century. Watertight garbage cans
were first introduced in the United States, and sturdier vehicles were used to collect and
transport wastes. A significant development in solid-waste treatment and disposal practices
was marked by the construction of the first refuse incinerator in England in 1874. By the
beginning of the 20th century, 15 percent of major American cities were incinerating solid
waste. Even then, however, most of the largest cities were still using primitive disposal
methods such as open dumping on land or in water.

Proper Collection

Proper solid-waste collection is important for the protection of public health, safety, and
environmental quality. It is a labour-intensive activity, accounting for approximately three-
quarters of the total cost of solid-waste management. Public employees are often assigned to
 University of Cebu

the task, but sometimes it is more economical for private companies to do the work under
contract to the municipality or for private collectors to be paid by individual home owners. A
driver and one or two loaders serve each collection vehicle. These are typically trucks of the
enclosed, compacting type, with capacities up to 30 cubic metres (40 cubic yards). Loading
can be done from the front, rear, or side. Compaction reduces the volume of refuse in the truck
to less than half of its loose volume. If the final destination of the refuse is not near the
community in which it is generated, one or more transfer stations may be necessary. A transfer
station is a central facility where refuse from many collection vehicles is combined into a larger
vehicle, such as a tractor-trailer unit. Open-top trailers are designed to carry about 76 cubic
metres (100 cubic yards) of uncompact waste to a regional processing or disposal location.
Closed compactor-type trailers are also available, but they must be equipped with ejector
mechanisms. In a direct discharge type of station, several collection trucks empty directly into
the transport vehicle. In a storage discharge type of station, refuse is first emptied into a
storage pit or onto a platform, and then machinery is used to hoist or push the solid waste into
the transport vehicle. Large transfer stations can handle more than 500 tons of refuse per day.

Waste Management Transformation

It must be noted that even though the following piece enlists commendable innovations in
waste management, all these are very contextual and locality specific. An isomorphic mimicry
of these practices may not be successful, unless adapted with indigenous knowledge.

1. Deposit-refund scheme for cans and drinking bottles in EU and UK is a commendable

scheme for waste management, as it incentivizes the consumer to return the bottle or can for
which he/she is compensated, and it reduces pressure on landfills, increasing the life cycle of
the product. The deposit refund scheme if applied to all products will greatly increase the rate
of recycling, and it is easily replicable across different localities and regions, as the mechanism
remains the same.

2. Kamikatsu in Japan is one of the role models when it comes to waste management, as they
proclaim themselves to be a ‘zero-waste’ region by 2020. With recycling being the core of most
of their operations, the residents segregate their waste into 34 categories. 80% of the waste is
recycled in the region, while only 20% goes to landfills. There are no garbage trucks, so each
resident has to wash, sort, and bring their trash to the recycling centre—which residents admit
took some time getting used to. A worker oversees the sorting process at the centre, making
sure trash goes into the right bins. Some used items are taken to businesses to be resold or
repurposed into clothing, toys, and accessories.

3. Sweden has set a benchmark when it comes to waste management and recycling. About
99% of the waste in Sweden is recycled and only 1% goes to landfills. In fact, their landfills are
so empty that apparently, Sweden has to import waste from other countries. Of the 4.4 million
 University of Cebu

tons of household waste produced by the nation every year, 2.2 million are converted into
energy by a process called waste-to-energy (WTE). Before this process starts, home and
business owners filter and separate the waste into hazardous wastes and recyclable material,
which are then sent to different waste-management systems, like incinerators and recycling,
and a small amount to landfills. The furnaces in WTE plants are loaded with garbage, and then
burnt to generate steam which is further used to spin turbines in order to produce electricity.
The waste that is recycled is essentially used as a resource, converted into district heating,
electricity, biogas, and biofertilizer.

4. The coastal town of Alappuzha, famous for its backwaters and intricate network of canals
and lagoons, has found a spot in a United Nations (UN) report of five global cities that have
successfully tackled solid waste management. Alappuzha, which has a population of 0.174
million and produces 58 tonnes of solid waste a day, has been implementing a project called
Nirmala Bhavanam Nirmala Nagaram (Clean Homes Clean City) since November 2012. The
city has adopted decentralised waste management and is pushing for 100 per cent
segregation in all the 23 wards of the city. Moreover, as many as 80 per cent households now
have biogas plants and decentralised composting system.

5. Specific innovations in USA, Germany, Australia, Brazil and Columbia are gearing towards
sustainable waste management. USA has an eco-friendly robotic machine in the Baltimore
River, which is powered by the sun and river currents, and it cleans debris and waste from the
river and deposits it in a dumpster barrage built into the machine. Germany has a company
which produces biodegradable leaf plates to curb plastic pollution. There are SmartBelly bins
in Australia are ‘smart bins’ which segregate waste at the collection point and then compost
and treat the waste as well, and connect individual bins to garbage collectors, streamlining the
waste management process efficiently. Rosenbaum, a design studio in Brazil is encouraging
people to use plastic waste to decorate and beautify their houses. Columbia has ECOBOT-
vending machines, which give rewards such as movie tickets and vouchers and monetary
compensation for every time someone deposits a plastic bottle or bottle caps. There is a need
for diffusion of such technology to all places, given that these can be easily adaptable to
localized scenarios.

Composition and Properties

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; these are discussed in the article hazardous-waste
management. 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
 University of Cebu

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 non-hazardous, it is
usually disposed of in municipal sanitary landfills.

Incineration

Burning is a very effective method of reducing the volume and weight of solid waste,
though it is a source of greenhouse gas emissions. In modern incinerators the waste is burned
inside a properly designed furnace under very carefully controlled conditions. The combustible
portion of the waste combines with oxygen, releasing mostly carbon dioxide, water vapour, and
heat. Incineration can reduce the volume of uncompact waste by more than 90 percent,
leaving an inert residue of ash, glass, metal, and other solid materials called bottom ash. The
gaseous by-products of incomplete combustion, along with finely divided particulate material
called fly ash, are carried along in the incinerator airstream. Fly ash includes cinders, dust, and
soot. In order to remove fly ash and gaseous by-products before they are exhausted into the
atmosphere, modern incinerators must be equipped with extensive emission control devices.
Such devices include fabric bag house filters, acid gas scrubbers, and electrostatic
precipitators. (See also air pollution control.) Bottom ash and fly ash are usually combined and
disposed of in a landfill. If the ash is found to contain toxic metals, it must be managed as a
hazardous waste.

Municipal solid-waste incinerators are designed to receive and burn a continuous supply
of refuse. A deep refuse storage pit, or tipping area, provides enough space for about one day
of waste storage. The refuse is lifted from the pit by a crane equipped with a bucket or grapple
device. It is then deposited into a hopper and chute above the furnace and released onto a
charging grate or stoker. The grate shakes and moves waste through the furnace, allowing air
to circulate around the burning material. Modern incinerators are usually built with a
rectangular furnace, although rotary kiln furnaces and vertical circular furnaces are available.
Furnaces are constructed of refractory bricks that can withstand the high combustion
temperatures.

Composting

Composting offers a method of processing and recycling both garbage and sewage sludge in
one operation. As more stringent environmental rules and siting constraints limit the use of
solid-waste incineration and landfill options, the application of composting is likely to increase.
The steps involved in the process include sorting and separating, size reduction, and digestion
of the refuse.
 University of Cebu

 Sorting and shredding

The decomposable materials in refuse are isolated from glass, metal, and other
inorganic items through sorting and separating operations. These are carried out
mechanically, using differences in such physical characteristics of the refuse as size,
density, and magnetic properties. Shredding or pulverizing reduces the size of the
waste articles, resulting in a uniform mass of material. It is accomplished with hammer
mills and rotary shredders.

 Digesting and processing

Pulverized waste is ready for composting either by the open windrow method or
in an enclosed mechanical facility. Windrows are long, low mounds of refuse. They are
turned or mixed every few days to provide air for the microbes digesting the organics.
Depending on moisture conditions, it may take five to eight weeks for complete
digestion of the waste. Because of the metabolic action of aerobic bacteria,
temperatures in an active compost pile reach about 65 °C (150 °F), killing pathogenic
organisms that may be in the waste material.

Open windrow composting requires relatively large land areas. Enclosed

mechanical composting facilities can reduce land requirements by about 85 percent.
Mechanical composting systems employ one or more closed tanks or digesters
equipped with rotating vanes that mix and aerate the shredded waste. Complete
digestion of the waste takes about one week.
 University of Cebu

Management of
Solid waste is one of the greater challenges for development all over the world. It is not only
because SWM impact on the environment or health, but poor implementation of SWM hinders
the nation’s progress towards Sustainable Development (SD). Accordingly there is a need for
more comprehensive strategies for SWM within development processes. It is important to
improve SWM for Sustainable Development through environmental conservation. The
conceptual issues of this study will include the SWM practices to mitigate its impact on
environmental and socio economic development, the perception of the people about SWM,
and assess the impact of solid waste management on the environment and sustainable
development. Furthermore, the study focuses on SWM not only as a government
responsibility.
 University of Cebu

V. Conclusion

Despite the various new technologies that are emerging for solid waste disposal,
landfilling still remains the most common solution. The establishment and closure of landfills
could pose a potential hazard to ground water, due to leachate seepage, and air quality due to
gases released. Unless proper maintenance and management is sustained for a fairly long
time, public health may be compromised as a result. Such management is costly and
potentially dangerous if faulty. Thus, a safer and more sustainable approach may be
minimizing the number of landfills constructed and insuring their longevity so as not to continue
taking viable land for waste disposal. It is therefore critical to divert waste from landfills through
reduction and recycling. Although these experts are in consensus that landfilling waste is the
most economical disposal method, they also agree that more recycling and resource reduction
should be attained to reduce the continuous need for landfills. That said, not all counties have
recycling ordinances, the main reasons being political opposition and lack of funding for
personnel to propose, monitor and enforce regulations. The various counties and
municipalities will have to collaborate to reach a comprehensive solution that addresses solid
waste disposal regionally.