Solid Wastes Management

Solid Wastes Management

Solid waste management may be defined as the discipline associated with the control of
generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of solid wastes.

Solid waste problem goes beyond traditional environmental boundaries and contribute to air,
water and land pollution.

Q1. Mention how solid wastes are classified?

a) Point of Origin:

 Domestic waste
 Institutional waste
 Commercial waste
 Industrial waste
 Street waste
 Demolition waste
 Construction waste

b) Nature of the Material:

 Organic waste
 Inorganic waste
 Combustible waste
 Noncombustible waste
 Putrescible waste
 Non-putrescible waste

c) Kinds of Materials:

 Garbage
 Rubbish
 Ashes
 Street refuse
 Dead animals
 Abandoned vehicles
 Industrial wastes
 Demolition wastes
 Construction wastes
 Special wastes
 Sewage treatment residue

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 Solid Wastes Management

Q2. What are different kinds of Solid Waste Materials? Mention their composition and
their sources.

Kind Composition Sources

Kitchen wastes: (wastes from preparation,

cooking and serving of food). Households, restaurants,
Garbage institutions, stores,
Market wastes: (wastes from handling, markets
storage and sale of products)
Combustible: paper, cartons, boxes, barrels,
wood, tree branches, wood furniture, bedding.
Rubbish do
Noncombustible: metals, tin cans, metal
furniture, dirt, glass, crockery, minerals.
Residue from fires used for cooking and
Ashes do
heating and from on-site incineration
Street
Sweepings, dirt, leaves, contents of litter Streets, narrow passages,
receptacles vacant lots, sidewalks
refuse
Dead
Cats, dogs, cows, horses do
animals
Abandoned
Unwanted cars and trucks left on public
do
property
vehicles
Industrial
Food-processing wastes, boiler house cinders,
Factories, power plants
lumber scraps, metal scraps
wastes
Demolition sites to be
Demolition Lumber, pipes, brick, masonry and other
used for new buildings,
construction materials from razed buildings
renewal projects,
wastes and other structures
expressways
Construction
Lumber scrap, pipes, other construction New construction
materials remodeling
wastes
Special Households, hotels,
Hazardous solids and liquids, explosives,
hospitals, institutions,
pathological wastes, radioactive materials
wastes stores, industry
Sewage
Solids from coarse screening and from grit Sewage treatment plants,
Treatment chambers, septic tank sludge septic tanks
residue

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 Solid Wastes Management

Q3. What are the public health effects of solid waste disposal on land? Explain.

An effective solid waste management system is necessary to avoid public health disasters,
spread of disease by insects and vectors and adverse effect on water and air. Solid waste
workers are the most exposed to the risks of parasitic infections and accidents.

(i) Disease vectors and pathways:

 Wastes dumped indiscriminately provide the food and environment for flourishing
populations of vermin, which are the agents of various diseases.
 The pathways of pathogen transmission from wastes to humans are mostly indirect
through insects – flies, mosquitoes and roaches and animals – rodents and pigs.
 Diseases become a public health problem when they are present in the human and
animal population of surrounding communities, or if a carrier transmits the etiological
agent from host to receptor.

(ii) Flies:
 Most common in this category is the housefly, which transmits typhoid,
salmonellosis, gastro-enteritis and dysentery.
 Flies have a flight range of about 10 km, and therefore, they are able to spread their
influence over a relatively wide area.

(iii) Mosquitoes:
 They transmit diseases such as malaria, filaria and dengue fever.
 Since they breed in stagnant water, control measures should centre on the elimination
of breeding places such as tins, cans, tyres, etc.

(iv) Roaches:
 These cause infection by physical contact and can transmit typhoid, cholera and
amoebiasis.
 The problems of roaches are associated with the poor storage of solid waste.

(v) Rodents:
 Rodents (rats) proliferate in uncontrolled deposits of solid wastes, which provide a
source of food as well as shelter.
 They are responsible for the spread of diseases such as plague, murine typhus,
leptospirosis, histoplasmosis, rat bite fever, dalmonelosis, trichinosis, etc.
 The fleas, which rats carry, also cause many diseases.
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 Solid Wastes Management

(vi) Occupational hazards:

 Workers handling wastes are at risk of accidents related to the nature of material and
lack of safety precautions.
 The sharp edges of glass and metal and poorly constructed storage containers may
inflict injuries to workers.
 It is, therefore, necessary for waste handlers to wear gloves, masks and be vaccinated.
The infections associated with waste handling, include:
 skin and blood infections resulting from direct contact with waste and from
infected wounds;
 eye and respiratory infections resulting from exposure to infected dust,
especially during landfill operations;
 diseases that result from the bites of animals feeding on the waste;
 intestinal infections that are transmitted by flies feeding on the waste;
 chronic respiratory diseases, including cancers resulting from exposure to dust
and hazardous compounds.
In addition, the accidents associated with waste handling include:
 bone and muscle disorders resulting from the handling of heavy containers and the
loading heights of vehicles;
 infecting wounds resulting from contact with sharp objects;
 reduced visibility, due to dust along the access routes, creates greater risk of
accidents;
 poisoning and chemical burns resulting from contact with small amounts of hazardous
chemical wastes mixed with general wastes such as pesticides, cleaning solutions and
solvents in households and commercial establishments;
 burns and other injuries resulting from occupational accidents at waste disposal sites
or from methane gas explosion at landfill sites;
 serious health hazards, particularly for children, due to careless dumping of lead-acid,
nickel-cadmium and mercuric oxide batteries.

(vii) Animals:
 Apart from rodents, some animals (e.g., dogs, cats, pigs, etc.) also act as carriers of
disease.

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 Solid Wastes Management

 For example, pigs are involved in the spread of diseases like trichinosis, cysticerosis
and toxoplasmosis, which are transmitted through infected pork, eaten either in raw
state or improperly cooked.
 Solid wastes, when fed to pigs, should be properly treated (cooked at 100 0C for at
least 50 minutes with suitable equipment).

Q4. What are the environmental impacts of solid waste disposal on land? Explain.

(i) Air pollution:

 Burning of solid wastes in open dumps or in improperly designed incinerators emit

pollutants (gaseous and particulate matters) to the atmosphere.
 Environmental consequences of open burning are greater than incinerators, especially
with respect to aldehydes and particulates.
 Emissions from an uncontrolled incinerator system include particulate matter, sulphur
oxides, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, lead and mercury.

(ii) Water and land pollution:

 Water pollution results from dumping in open areas and storm water drains, and
improper design, construction and/or operation of a sanitary landfill.
 Pollution of groundwater can occur as a result of:
 The flow of groundwater through deposits of solid waste at landfill sites;
 Percolation of rainfall or irrigation waters from solid wastes to the water table;
 Diffusion and collection of gases generated by the decomposition of solid
wastes.
 The interaction between leachate contaminants and the soil depends on the
characteristics of the soil.
 The carbon dioxide produced keeps the pH level low, causing the water to dissolve
minerals in the aquifers.
 Consequently, the change in groundwater quality may take place depending on the
characteristics of the aquifer.
 Contamination can spread over considerable distances from the landfill, if the aquifers
are of sand or gravel.
 In clayey soils, the rate of movement is greatly reduced.
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 Solid Wastes Management

 The capacity of clay to exchange ions restricts the movement of metal ions by
capturing them in the soil matrix.
 Changes in its chemical characteristics are due to hardness, iron and manganese
compounds.

(iii) Visual pollution:

 The aesthetic sensibility is offended by the unsightliness of piles of wastes on the

roadside.
 The situation is made worse by the presence of scavengers rummaging in the waste.
 Waste carelessly and irresponsibly discarded in public accesses, along roads and
highways and around communal bins, containers without lids, gives easy access to
animals scavenging for food.

(iv) Noise pollution:

 Undesirable noise is a nuisance associated with operations at landfills, incinerators,

transfer stations and sites used for recycling.
 This is due to the movement of vehicles, the operation of large machines and the
diverse operations at an incinerator site.

(v) Odour pollution:

 Unbearable odours due to the presence of decaying organic matter are characteristic
of open dumps.
 They arise from anaerobic decomposition processes and their major constituents are
particularly offensive.

(vi) Explosion hazards:

 Landfill gas, which is released during anaerobic decomposition processes, contains a

high proportion of methane.
 It can migrate through the soil over a considerable distance, leaving the buildings in
the vicinity of sanitary landfill sites at risk, even after the closure of landfills.

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 Solid Wastes Management

Q5. What are the important options available for solid waste disposal? Explain.

(i) Uncontrolled dumping or non-engineered disposal:

 This is the most common method being practised in many parts of the world, and
India is no exception.
 In this method, wastes are dumped at a designated site without any environmental
control.
 They tend to remain there for a long period of time, pose health risks and cause
environmental degradation.
 Due to the adverse health and environmental impact associated with it, the non-
engineered disposal is not considered a viable and safe option.

(ii) Sanitary landfill:

 It is a fully engineered disposal option in which the selected location or wasteland is

carefully engineered in advance before it is pressed into service.
 Operators of sanitary landfills can minimise the effects of leachate (i.e., polluted
water which flows from a landfill) and gas production through proper site selection,
preparation and management.
 This particular option of waste disposal is suitable when the land is available at an
affordable price, and adequate workforce and technical resources are available to
operate and manage the site.

(iii) Composting:

 This is a biological process of decomposition in which organisms, under controlled

conditions of ventilation, temperature and moisture, convert the organic portion of
solid waste into humus-like material.
 If this process is carried out effectively, what we get as the final product is a stable,
odour-free soil conditioner.
 Generally, the option of composting is considered, when a considerable amount of
biodegradable waste is available in the waste stream and there is use or market for
composts.
 Composting can be either centralised or small-scale.

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 Solid Wastes Management

 Centralised composting plants are possible, if adequate skilled workforce and

equipment are available.
 Small-scale composting practices can be effective at household level, but this needs
public awareness.

(iv) Incineration:

 This refers to the controlled burning of wastes, at a high temperature (roughly 1200 –
1500C), which sterilises and stabilises the waste in addition to reducing its volume.
 In the process, most of the combustible materials (i.e., self-sustaining combustible
matter, which saves the energy needed to maintain the combustion) such as paper or
plastics get converted into carbon dioxide and ash.
 Incineration may be used as a disposal option, when land filling is not possible and
the waste composition is highly combustible.
 An appropriate technology, infrastructure and skilled workforce are required to
operate and maintain the plant.

(v) Gasification:

 This is the partial combustion of carbonaceous material (through combustion) at high

temperature (roughly 1000 0C) forming a gas, comprising mainly carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, water vapour and methane, which can be used
as fuel.

(vi) Refuse-derived fuel (RDF):

 This is the combustible part of raw waste, separated for burning as fuel.
 Various physical processes such as screening, size reduction, magnetic separation,
etc., are used to separate the combustibles.

(vii) Pyrolysis:

 This is the thermal degradation of carbonaceous material to gaseous, liquid and solid
fraction in the absence of oxygen.
 This occurs at a temperature between 200 and 900C.
 The product of pyrolysis is a gas of relatively high calorific value of 20,000 joules per
gram with oils, tars and solid burned residue.

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 Solid Wastes Management

Q6. What are the main Physical and chemical characteristics of municipal solid waste?

Physical Characteristics of MSW (%)

1 Total compostable materials 30-45

Recyclables
Paper
2 6-10
Plastic
Glass
Metal
Others including inert
Inert
Rubber & Leather
3 45-65
Rags
Wooden Matter
Coconut
Chemical Characteristics of MSW
1 Moisture content (%) 22-32

2 High calorific value (kcal/kg) 1520-2000

3 C/N ratio 20-26

4 pH 7-8
Source: National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur

Dr. AJAY BHARTI