Waste and its Management

17
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pla rrs an d c:m
.:s.c :s ge ne rat ed at Ya no us te
do me sn c W.'.lS tt' , Non-biodegradable Was
:::: se· ·er al kin ds It ca n be
ultural wa ste
aus.-..r- al wa ste an d agriL"
e is als o kn ow n
om est ic \"·aste an d ref us
ial s ca rri ed aw;1y
s garbage Wa ste ma ter
cal led sew ag e.
. se~·e:-s ~1 d dra ins 1s
ide d int o tw o
wa ste ma ter ial s ca n be di,
:-oad ca reg on es - Bi od
eg ra da ble wa ste
nd Non-biodegradable
wa ste .

odegradable Waste No n~ bio de gr ad ab le wa

ste incluck::; nil
w: tst e m.'.lft'ri,lls th, lt
cn nn ot lw bto k(•n
nc cs b) fiction of
do wn mt o sim pk r su bs t.1
do no t mc·t gt' \\1 th
mi cro org ,m isr ns . Tlw.,
11 01 igin,11 fo1 m
n,lt urt~ ,m d rl'm .iin 111 tlw
' h,m nfu l to the•
for ) f',l rS . Hc 1w c, tht ') ,\It
in~ be ing s Non
em 1ro nt1H'nt ,m d .11l It,
'lu dt• fl() ll Ill g 111ic
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\\,l S 1t' ,

ftbr eglr1 ss , ,ltld me t.ti s

B'10 es all wa ste
degradable wa ste inc lud tn :-:cg1q.~,1ft• \\ ,1st<' lll.
tlt" ll.l lS
n int o s1mple1 It i~ nr cc sS ,lt\
enais tha t get bro ke n dO\\ . I ,1 <ll <, tk1·1d111g tilt>
H
cro org an ism s. in to dil k1 t·n t g11n1ps
Jb st ances by ac tio n of mi of.
rn r t lw d to dispil:-- t• t Item
-,..rh as b ac ten·a an d fun gi (de co mp os ers ). rm
 mct,v,ty 1
Classify the items given below into biodegradable Biodegradable _.__
N_on biodegradable
and non b1odegr odable mater 1als
Fruits and vegetables peels • plastic bags
glac:;s bottles • ceramic cups metal wastes
• papers • broken wooden chairs ---
• plastic toys
• nylon ropes
• old cotton clothes ----
leather slippers • tin cans

Waste Segregation
Seg rega tion of was te is imp orta nt for
prop erly disp osin g of the vast amo unts of
wast e mate rials . It is the proc ess of sepa ratin g
was te mate rials into biod egra dabl e and non-
biod egra dabl e wast e.
In orde r to enco urag e the citiz ens to
disp ose of was te prop erly , mun icip al
auth ority orga nise s awa rene ss prog ram mes
for segr egat ion of was tes. Now aday s, in
man y citie s, the mun icip al auth orit ies
plac e two larg e bin~ for disp osin g of was te.
Gre en colo ured mea nt for disp osin g of
biod egra dab le was te and the blue colo ured
for disp osin g of non -bio degr adab le was te.
Was te is colle cted from vari ous places. It
is segr egat ed into diffe rent grou ps. The
segr egat ed was tes are sent to wast e disposal
plan ts for disp osin g them acco rdin g to the
type of was te.
Common Met hod s of Disposal of Wastes
The mos t com mon met hod s for managing
was te mat eria ls are - Land fill, Composting
and Inci nera tion .
Landfill
A land fill is a larg e area of land
or
an exc ava ted site that is spec ifica lly
desi gned and buil t to rece ive wast es. It is
a trad ition al and usef ul met hod to manage
larg e amo unts of biod egra dabl e waste.

Green bin Blue bin

for biode grada ble waste fo r non -biodegradable waste

Waste M nagem nt Landfill

In a land fill, garb age is buri ed in such a
Wa ste ma nag em ent i s coll ecti on, way that it does not spoi l the environment.
segr egat ion, tran spo rtat ion a nd disp osal of Gar bage is spre ad out on the landfill and
garb age, sew age and othe r was te prod ucts . cove red with soil whe re it stay s for a long
 fi t 1 11 lftll

Ot

d1l1 n l met hod

bt lo 1c nl process manure which contnms all the e

tur 1\\ occurnng micro
m cts break down
uch as leaves, grass
a soil-like product
a, ed organic materials used
r r growing plants. It acts as
nutrients required for the growth of pl n
Composting of waste. matenals 1s earn d
out in pits called compost pit. The wa t
is thrown in the pit and covered with 011.
The natural process of rotting occurs and
the nutrients present in the waste get
recycled to yield compost.

rJ 2
!TI To observe the process of biodegradation.
ate s requ red Two pots, soil, water, dried leaves, fruit and vegetable peels, waste papers, polythene
bags, and tin cans.
Procedure . 1. Take two pots half filled with soil.
2. Label them B for biodegradable and
NB for non-biodegradable.
3. Put dried leaves, fruit and vegetable
peels and waste papers in the pot
marked B.
4. Put polythene bags and tin cans in the B NB
pot marked NB.

5. Fill the pots with soil and pour water

to make the soil fairly wet.
6. Water the pots daily for the next two
weeks.

7 After two WePks dig up the soil in both

th e pot~ and try to locate the materials. B NB
Ohser 1at1on
.,ub·,tonu,. In pot m k d B h
ar eave almost disintegrated rnd rt>du d tl)
Nherea'... 1 ub"trl " ·
Conclu~ion ., ' ' nee in pot rncukrd NB are almo~t without .rny <1,, nt q J t
Biodegradable r;ub,;t.mu", U<'r (HlllH>'><' 11utu1 ,1lly Nt>ll lm idrur 1d,1bl
.....__,~____
no
: .t:...:,
d:::;
ec~ompor,p un t ~he~•1~1~o~w~1~1._ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __.,~'.::

H<'d1V111 Ill~
Vcrmkompo ■tt.ng iH another method of
, Pill pos t 111g 111 which t hl' biodegradable
\\ ,:stc· 1s l ' llll\ c1 tcd into compost with the
help nf rcdworms .
\ c1 mll·n mpost can be prepared in three
to fPtll "l'l'ks and looks like loose soil. In
tln:s ki nct of composting, redworms break
dn" n th e 01 ga nir ma tter into nutrient rich
m 111\ll"l' which enha n ces the fertility of soil.
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'\ rt d\\ 11t 111 t ,111 e,1l equal lo its own weight in
,1 d,n. II h.1~ no teeth and grinds food with the
help of giz ,irrl. The food becomes compost when
11 f)J'- "t''- th,ough the body of redworm.
I m t1on
Incineration 1s t h e process in which
ga, bc1ge is disposed of by burning it. This
reduc("s the volume of waste and generates
htot that may be used commercially.
lnc1nerat1on
Adverse Effects of Waste Disposal
Methods
As with any othc>r humnn artivity ' c.11]
rl1 cthods of waste monag,·rrwnt
. h:,vc r,rne
negative impact on the (•nv,ronmt nt 1
· ,et
us study some adverse effects of J;inrJfill
and incineration.
A landfill can pose a danger to environment
if it is not properly maintained. Harmful
chemicals can seep underground and
contaminate the groundwater reserves. Foul
smell emanating from the rubbish makes air
unbreathable. The risk of airborne diseases
increases for people living near a landfill.
Landfills also occupy land that can be put
to other uses.
Incineration of non-biodegradable wastes
produces toxic gases like carbon monoxide
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Thes~
gases pose a health hazard for humans as
they mix with rain water to form acid rain.
Controlling Waste
Prevention is better than cure. The best way
to control waste is to reduce the production
of waste. The solution to control waste lies
in 3R's - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Reduce
Reduce the amount of waste you produce.
Buy only what you need and in required
amount. Avoid wasting food by taking small
portions. Eat food items in a washable
plate to avoid use of disposable paper ao<l
plastic plate. Buy products that do not have
. te or
a lot of packaging. Always car ry a JU
 r d r tr
t, mu 1m1 'f
1dc r,f Pp r lo
f J p r
1h common m
aJ p pe r
mcJwfr r) , me
f, or ,,.romple,
pl t1, 1 m,.. ted
n I ,n c,( w t
tr m \\. d r ulp O , e.g. bm n r
a r~ r
I nt to 1 7 tr£ into new pr ud uc t e
r.a e , fu rn it ur e or w at er or ag
ba g . IJVI J
to cr ea te ne
r1Ja 1 remoulded
ta nk ca n
as tt le ' an d ja r . A lu m in iu m
re us e th e wa te gJas :; bo
re cy de d to pr od uc
e
ns er va ti ve an d g aw ay 1th er m et al s ar e
st ea d o f th ro w in an d <. ld
h as po ss ib le . In
. w ca ns or ot he r m et al it em s. O
w ay s to re us e th em br an d ne e us ef ul
ngs , tr y to fi nd cy cl ed to m ak
c gl as se s, bottles,
ba gs ne w sp ap er ar e re
euse em pt y pl as ti ke ti ss ue pa pe r.
r w as hi ng th em
properly. pa pe r pr od uc ts li
d co nt ai ne rs aftP s ev er y
ed dr es se s, bo ok s an
d ot he r
ec yc lin g sa ve s th ou sa nd s of tr ee
on at e yo ur us R co ns er ve s
th em . g cu t do w n. It
gm gs to so m eo ne w ho m ay ne ed ye ar fr om be in
, an d
el on
br ok en fu rn it ur e
to m ak e
u ra l re so ur ce s, sa ve s en er ~y
oo d fr om n at hu s,
·se w
cl es . s gr ee nh ou se ga s em is si on s. T
th er us ab le ar ti re du ce
ls sh ou ld no t be
th ro w n
cl ab le m at er ia
re cy nk
e. T he y sh ou ld be sold to a ju
ecycle s. as ga rb ag nd s
m at er ia ls ar e no t re al ly us el es w ho co lle ct s th es e in bu lk an d se
11 w as te ed de al er
n be re cy cl ed an d us = ~~
om e of th es e ca
-e m fo r re cy cl in g_.·- ~ ~ = = =
-
e o-f- ~, =t,h
.. R ec y cl in g is th e te ch ni qu
f ga'.n
G.Jct,v,ty 3 ed pa per from old newspaper
s.
n recy cl
Aim : Maire your ow 2
tray.
O ld ne w sp ap er s, water, a bowl and a
:
Materials required small pieces.
: 1. Te ar the newspapers into on it.
Procedure wl and pour water
2. Put them in a bo erged in
paper remain subm
• Let the pieces of
water for a day. with your
per and mash well
3. Squeeze the pa ass of
nd s un til it m ak es a big gloppy m
ha
paper pulp lp with
ue ez e e/ ce ss w ater out of the pu
4. Sq
your hands. it
,s th e pu lp on to the tray and spread
5 Pre,:
ly.
out thinly and even
e thF , pa pe r to dr y in a warm place.
• Leav
e pa pe r ,s dr y, gently peel it away
6. When th
from the tray. n
cy cl ed pa pe r is re ady to be used agai
• Your re
es.
for various purpos
 Plastic - A Boon or A Cu •
Plasti c is one of the greate st innov ations of
the millen nium. It is durab le, lightw eight,
reusa ble, recyc lable, and low in cost. It
is every where and has innum erable uses.
It may be diffic ult to imagi ne life witho ut
plasti c.
Altho ugh plast ic has many posit ive
influe nces in every day life but it is harmf ul
for the envir onme nt if not dispo sed of
prope rly. Plast ic is non-b iodeg radab le
mater ial and takes hund reds of years to
degra de or decom pose. It produ ces harm ful
gases when it is burne d. These gases may
becom e the cause of many health probl ems,
inclu ding cance r in huma ns.
Plasti c waste accum ulated in landfi lls leads
to soil pollu tion over the years . Plasti c
bags are respo nsible for the death of stray
anim als, espec ially cattle becau se they
often eat plasti c bags in searc h of food.
The quali ty of some plasti cs may not be
suit a blP for keepi ng eatab les. Cons umin g
food packP d in such plasti c bags could be
harm ful to our healt h.
Plast ic bags throw n carel essly on the
roads ide oftF.n lead to choki ng of drain s
and wate r pipes . This leads to probl ems
in drain age syste m and <ontam inatio n of
water .
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I wry )l rH ,HIIUnd 4 1,0IJ() tr,n
1
., dumpc·rl into rh, wnrld' ,,, , r
d,,,irh of 11 un11 1 r11uc, m.1rin1
Electronic Waste
Electr onic waste· or "c waste " inllud ,.
CJ r]
electr onic applia nr<'s nn<l dPvi< <:·, that urr
no more in use and have b,·en di , a d
r , ,J
as waste .
The electr onic appli ances that cuntnh ut
towar ds e-was te includ e used u,mputer e
laptop s, mobil e phone s, storag e devic:e '
magn etic casse ttes and tapes , etc.
Electronic waste
Electr onic waste s can conta in toxic materials
such as lead, chro mium , cadmi um,
mercu ry, beryl lium, nicke l, and zinc. When
electr onic items are not dispo sed of or
recyc led prope rly, these mater ials can cause
envir onme ntal probl ems. Safely recycling
outda ted and disca rded electr onic items
can prom ote safe mana geme nt of hazardous
comp onen ts and supp ort the recovery and
reuse of valua ble mater ials.
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Nc•.irly SO million ton':i of,. wl1~IC' ,~ crratrd ea h
yew ,1round 1111 world whi1 h is rnuugh to 1
1
,1 lirw of gc1rl>.1gP trU< ks ,1croc;s hJlf the> globe