Managing Our Waste Environmental Science

• Waste management is all those
activities and action required to

manage waste from its inception to
its final disposal.
• This includes amongst other things,
collection, transport, treatment and
disposal of waste together with
monitoring and regulation.
• It also encompasses the legal
and regulatory framework that
relates to waste management
• ‘Waste management’ shall mean “the collection,
transport, recovery and disposal of waste, including
the supervision of such operations and aftercare of
disposal sites”
….European Union Directive on waste
• However the newer concepts of ‘Waste management’

talk about ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle of waste’ over
and above waste disposal.
• ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS:
 Surface water contamination
 Ground Water contamination
 Soil contamination
 Air contamination
• ECONOMIC EFFECTS:
 Municipal wellbeing
 Recycling revenue
• Saves limited natural
resources.
. Saves energy.
• Provides raw materials for
industry and creates jobs
• Saves landfill space.
THE 3 R’s – 3.
• Reuse envelopes.
•
Reuse
Reuse packaging materials.
• Use remanufactured or surplus office
equipment.
• Use rechargeable batteries.
• Use rechargeable fax and printer
cartridges.
• Compost grass clippings and food
waste.
• Donate toys and other items to
charity.
Sources of
Wastes
Household
s
Industr
y
Sources of
Wastes
Agriculture
Fisheries
11
Method of
disposa
l
1. LAND
•
• FILL
It is the most traditional method of waste disposal.
Waste is directly dumped into disused quarries, mining voids or borrow pits.
• Disposed waste is compacted and covered with soil
• Gases generated by the decomposing waste materials are often burnt to generate
power.
• It is generally used for domestic waste.
ADVANTAGES
 site is a cheap waste disposal option for the local council.
 Jobs will be created for local people.
 Lots of different types of waste can be disposed of by landfill in comparison
to other waste disposal methods.
 The gases given off by the landfill site could be collected and used for
generating power.
DISADVANTAGES
 The site will look ugly while it is being used for landfill.
 Dangerous gases are given off from landfill sites that cause local air pollution
and contribute to global warming.
 Local streams could become polluted with toxins seeping through the ground
from the landfill site.
 Once the site has been filled it might not be able to be used for
redevelopment as it might be too polluted.
• Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of
solid waste.
• waste materials are converted into ash, fuel gas, heat.
• The ash is mostly formed by the inorganic constituents of the waste and
gases due to organic waste.
• the heat generated by incineration is used to generate electric power.
ADVANTAGE

S
Minimum of land is needed compared to other disposal methods.
 The weight of the waste is reduced to 25% of the initial value.
 No risk of polluting local streams and ground waters as in landfills.
 Incineration plants can be located close to residential areas.
 Gases are used to generate power
DISADVANTAGES
 Expensive
 Required skilled labour.
 The chemicals that would be released into the air could be strong pollutants and
may destroy ozone layer (major disadvantage).
 high energy requirement.
3.
COMPACTION
 The waste is compacted or compressed. It also breaks up large or fragile
items of waste.
MAKING
• Biogas typically refers to a mixture of
Biog different gases produced by the
breakdown of organic matter in the
as absence of oxygen. Biogas can be
produced from raw materials such as
agricultural waste, manure,
municipal waste, plant material,
sewage, green waste or food waste.
It is a renewable energy source and
in many cases exerts a very small
carbon footprint.
PROBLEMS WITH
PLASTIC
 Disposal of waste plastic is a major problem
 It is non-biodegradable

Burning of these waste plastic bags causes
environmental pollution.
 It mainly consists of low-density
polyethylene

To find its utility in bituminous mixes for
road construction, laboratory performance
studies were conducted on bituminous mixes.
Laboratory studies proved that waste plastic
enhances the property of the mix.

Improvement in properties of bituminous
mix provides the solution for a useful disposal
MAKING PLASTIC ROADS
Plastic use in road
construction is not new.
Recent studies in this direction
have shown some hope in
terms of using plastic-waste in
road construction i.e., Plastic
roads. Plastic roads mainly
use plastic carry-bags,
disposable cups and bottles
that are collected from
garbage dumps as an
important ingredient of the
construction material
• Promote waste prevention and minimization by
encouraging production of reusable consumer goods and
biodegradable products.
WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICIES
• Environment protection act, 1986
• Hazardous waste rule 1989
• Bio-medical waste rule 1998
• Municipal solid waste rule 2000
• Waste management act 1996

 Itis found that with increase in the global
population and the rising demand for food
and other essentials, there has been a rise in
the amount of waste being generated daily by
each household. Waste that is not properly
managed, especially liquid and solid waste
from households and the community, are at
serious health hazard and lead to the spread
of infectious diseases.

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• Waste management is all those

activities and action required to

• However the newer concepts of ‘Waste management’

• Environment protection act, 1986

• Hazardous waste rule 1989

• Bio-medical waste rule 1998

• Municipal solid waste rule 2000

• Waste management act 1996

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