Introduction:
Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable
materials. Waste is any substance that is
discarded after primary use, or is worthless,
defective, and of no use. Waste management is a
serious issue in today's world. The major principle
of waste management is the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse
and Recycle. In our daily lives, we produce large
amounts of waste which we don't decompose
easily. It is important to understand the different
categories of waste and their sources to address
issues like pollution and hygiene in our
communities.
Waste management or waste disposal includes
the processes 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 and
waste-related laws, technologies, and economic
mechanisms.
Waste can be solid, liquid, or gas; each type has
different disposal and management methods.
Waste management deals with all types of waste,
including industrial, biological, household,
municipal, organic, biomedical, and radioactive
wastes. In some cases, waste can pose a threat
to human health. Waste management is intended
to reduce the adverse effects of waste on human
health, the environment, planetary resources,
and aesthetics.
Body:
As said earlier, waste (or wastes) are unwanted
or unusable materials and there are mainly 5
major categories of waste:
Domestic Waste
Industrial Waste
Agricultural Waste
Municipal Waste
e-waste (Electronic Waste)
Domestic Waste:
Domestic Waste is disposable materials
generated by households. This waste can be
comprised of non-hazardous waste and
hazardous waste. Non-hazardous waste can
include food scraps, paper, bottles, etc.
which can be recycled or composted.
Examples of hazardous waste include
batteries and household cleaners. Hazardous
waste must be handled safely to ensure that
they are disposed of properly and cause no
harm.
Industrial Waste:
Industrial waste is manufacturing waste from
various processes, such as sludges, product
residues, kiln dust, slags, and ashes. The
majority of industrial waste comes from three
types of industries: metallurgy, non-
metallurgy, and food processing industries.
The waste may differ from industry to
industry according to the raw materials used,
the manufacturing processes, and the
product outlets.
Agricultural Waste:
Agricultural waste is any type of rubbish
produced through agricultural activities such
as farming. Natural agricultural waste
products can include the likes of manure
from animals, while farm plastic waste is also
common and includes packaging and
containers for storing chemicals used across
the business. Agricultural waste examples
include waste medical containers, brake
fluids, anything used on animals, fertiliser
bags etc.
Municipal Waste:
Municipal waste is defined as waste collected
and treated by or for municipalities. It covers
waste from households, including bulky
waste, similar waste from commerce and
trade, office buildings, institutions and small
businesses, street sweepings, the contents of
litter containers, and market cleansing waste
if managed as household waste. The
definition excludes waste from municipal
sewage networks and treatment and from
construction and demolition activities.
e–WASTE:
Electronic waste or e-waste describes
discarded electrical or electronic devices.
Used electronics which are destined for
refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage
recycling through material recovery, or
disposal are also considered e-waste.
Informal processing of e-waste in developing
countries can lead to adverse human health
effects and environmental pollution.
The wastes are of so many types. Their disposal
also requires different suitable methods. These
methods mainly include:
Segregation
Dumping
Compositing
Drainage
Treatment Of Effluents
Incineration
Scrubbers
Electrostatic Precipitators
Segregation:
Waste segregation means dividing waste into
dry and wet. Dry waste includes wood and
related products, metals and glass. Wet
waste typically refers to organic waste
usually generated by eating establishments.
Dumping:
Dumping is the process in which solid wastes
are dumped in a low-lying area and as a
result of bacterial action, refuse decreases
considerably in volume and is converted
gradually into humus.
Composting:
Composting is the natural process of
decomposition and recycling of organic
material into a humus-rich soil amendment
known as compost.
Drainage:
Drainage is the process in which when water
is captured, it must be adequately processed
for waste before it can be outlet into a body
of water or reused.
Treatment Of Effluents:
Treatment Of Effluents is the process in
which all the wastewater collected from
water-using operations is combined and
treated as a single effluent stream.
Incineration:
Incineration is the process of burning
hazardous materials at temperatures high
enough to destroy contaminants. Incineration
is conducted in an “Incinerator”.
Scrubbers:
Scrubbers are a system that is used to
remove harmful materials from industrial
exhaust gases before they are released into
the environment.
Electrostatic Precipitators:
An electrostatic precipitator removes
particles from a gas stream by using
electrical energy to charge particles either
positively or negatively. The charged
particles are then attracted to collector
plates carrying the opposite charge.
Conclusion:
The waste humans generate has been
detrimental to our environment for quite some
time now. Humans are generating too much
trash and cannot deal with it sustainably. Waste
that is not biodegradable and cannot be properly
recycled is filling our oceans and landfills. Let’s
take plastic waste as an example. A recent study
found that of the 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic
waste that has been produced, only 9% of that
plastic waste had been recycled. Altogether, the
amount of waste generated affects the
environment in multiple ways: its contribution to
the worsening climate crisis, its negative impact
on wildlife and the natural environment, and its
detriment to our very own public health. Its
solution needs to be found very soon or else
humanity is done for.
