swm

Solid waste management

Solid waste management is a term that is used to refer to the process of collecting and treating
solid wastes. It also offers solutions for recycling items that do not belong to garbage or trash.
As long as people have been living in settlements and residential areas, garbage or solid
waste has been an issue.
What is the solid waste?
Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water
supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded materials
including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from industrial,
commercial, mining and agricultural operations, ...
Why waste management is a problem?
Disposing of waste has huge environmental impacts and can cause serious problems. In the
UK much is buried in landfill sites – holes in the ground, sometimes old quarries, sometimes
specially dug. ... Leachate produced as waste decomposes may cause pollution.

An Introduction to Solid Waste

Management
What Is Solid Waste?

Before introducing solid waste management, let's start with a discussion of the material being
managed — solid waste. Solid waste refers to the range of garbage arising from animal and
human activities that are discarded as unwanted and useless. Solid waste is generated from
industrial, residential and commercial activities in a given area, and may be handled in a
variety of ways.

As such, landfills are typically classified as sanitary, municipal, construction and demolition
or industrial waste sites. Waste can be categorized based on material, such as plastic, paper,
glass, metal, and organic waste. Categorization may also be based on hazard potential,
including radioactive, flammable, infectious, toxic, or non-toxic. Categories may also pertain
to the origin of waste, such as industrial, domestic, commercial, institutional or construction
and demolition.

Regardless of the origin, content or hazard potential, solid waste must be managed
systematically to ensure environmental best practices. As solid waste management is a
critical aspect of environmental hygiene, it needs to be incorporated into environmental
planning.

What Is Solid Waste Management?

Solid Waste Management is defined as the discipline associated with control of generation,
storage, collection, transport or transfer, processing and disposal of solid waste materials in a
way that best addresses the range of public health, conservation, economics, aesthetic,
engineering and other environmental considerations.

In its scope, solid waste management includes planning, administrative, financial,

engineering and legal functions. Solutions might include complex inter-disciplinary relations
among fields such as public health, city and regional planning, political science, geography,
sociology, economics, communication and conservation, demography, engineering and
material sciences.

Solid waste management practices can differ for residential and industrial producers, for
urban and rural areas, and for developed and developing nations. The administration of non-
hazardous waste in metropolitan areas is the job of local government authorities. On the other
hand, the management of hazardous waste materials is typically the job of the generator,
subject to local, national and even international authorities.

Objectives of Waste Management

The primary goal of solid waste management is reducing and eliminating adverse impacts of
waste materials on human health and environment to support economic development and
superior quality of life.

6 Functional Elements of the Waste Management System

There are six functional components of the waste management system as outlined below:

1. Waste generation refers to activities involved in identifying materials which are no longer
usable and are either gathered for systematic disposal or thrown away.
2. Onsite handling, storage, and processing are the activities at the point of waste generation
which facilitate easier collection. For example, waste bins are placed at the sites which
generate sufficient waste.
3. Waste collection, a crucial phase of waste management, includes activities such as placing
waste collection bins, collecting waste from those bins and accumulating trash in the
location where the collection vehicles are emptied. Although the collection phase involves
transportation, this is typically not the main stage of waste transportation.

1. Waste transfer and transport are the activities involved in moving waste from the local
waste collection locations to the regional waste disposal site in large waste transport
vehicles.
2. Waste processing and recovery refer to the facilities, equipment, and techniques employed
both to recover reusable or recyclable materials from the waste stream and to improve the
effectiveness of other functional elements of waste management.
3. Disposal is the final stage of waste management. It involves the activities aimed at the
systematic disposal of waste materials in locations such as landfills or waste-to-energy
facilities.

Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM)

ISWM is an increasingly important term in the field of waste management. It refers to the
selection and use of appropriate management programs, technologies, and techniques to
achieve particular waste management goals and objectives.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that ISWA is composed of waste
source reduction, recycling, waste combustion, and landfills. These activities can be done in
either interactive or hierarchical way.

Integrated Solid Waste Management

(ISWM) - An Overview

Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) represents a contemporary and systematic

approach to solid waste management. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
defines ISWM as a complete waste reduction, collection, composting, recycling, and disposal
system. An efficient ISWM system considers how to reduce, reuse, recycle, and manage
waste to protect human health and the natural environment.

It involves evaluating local conditions and needs. Then choosing, mixing and applying the
most suitable solid waste management activities according to the condition.

The Importance of ISWM as a Waste Management Approach

With rapid population expansion and constant economic development, waste generation both
in residential as well as commercial/industrial areas continues to grow rapidly, putting
pressure on society's ability to process and dispose of this material. Also, inappropriately
managed solid waste streams can pose a significant risk to health and environmental
concerns. Improper waste handling in conjunction with uncontrolled waste dumping can
cause a broad range of problems, including polluting water, attracting rodents and insects, as
well as increasing floods due to blockage in drains. As well, it may bring about safety hazards
from explosions and fires. Improper solid waste management can also increase greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions, thus contributing to climate change.

Having a comprehensive waste management system for efficient waste collection,

transportation, and systematic waste disposal—together with activities to reduce waste
generation and increase waste recycling—can significantly reduce all these problems. While
nothing new, an ISWM approach provides the opportunity to create a suitable combination of
existing waste management practices to manage waste most efficiently.

Functional Elements of Integrated Solid Waste Management

The four components or functional elements of ISWM include source reduction, recycling
and composting, waste transportation and landfilling. These waste management activities can
be undertaken either in interactively or hierarchically.

Following are brief discussion of each of these functional elements of ISWM:

Source Reduction, also known as waste prevention, aims at reducing unnecessary waste
generation. Source reduction strategies may include a variety of approaches, such as:
  products that are designed for recycling, durable, sustainable goods and, where possible, in
concentrated form.
 reusable products, including reusable packaging, as reuse and increasingly becomes an
important component of the circular economy.
 refurbishing of goods to prolong product life, another important element of the circular
economy model.
 redesign of goods and utilize less or no packaging.
 reduction of food spoilage and waste through better attention to food processing and
storage
 avoidance of goods that don’t last long and can’t be reused or recycled, such as Halloween
decorations.
 Waste source reduction helps us to lessen waste handling, transportation, and disposal costs
and eventually reduces methane generation.

Recycling and Composting are crucial phases in the entire ISWM process. Recycling
includes the accumulation, sorting and recovering of recyclable and reusable materials, as
well as the reprocessing of recyclables to produce new products. Composting, a component
of organics recycling, involves the accumulation of organic waste and converting it into soil
additives. Both recycling and composting wastes have a number of economic benefits such as
they create job opportunities in addition to diverting material from the waste stream to
generate cost-effective sources of material for further use. Both recycling and composting
also significantly contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste Transportation is another waste management activity that must be integrated

systematically with other waste management activities to ensure smooth and efficient waste
management.

Typically this includes the collection of waste from curbside and businesses, as well as from
transfer stations where waste may be concentrated and reloaded onto other vehicles for
delivery to the landfill.

Waste Disposal, in particular through the use of landfills and combustion, are the activities
undertaken to manage waste materials that are not recycled. The most common way of
managing these wastes is through landfills, which must be properly designed, well-
constructed and systematically managed.

Resources

Integrated Solid Waste Management for Local Governments: A Practical Guide. Published in
June 2017 by the Asian Development Bank, this practical guide covers the main topics
related to integrated solid waste management, including over 40 case studies involving all
facets of ISWM programs.

What is the importance of waste management?

The most important reason for waste collection is the protection of the environment and the
health of the population. Rubbish and waste can cause air and water pollution. Rotting
garbage is also known to produce harmful gases that mix with the air and can cause breathing
problems in people.
What are the methods of waste management?
The methods of waste management involve proper dumping, recycling, transportation
and collection, and the creation of awareness.

 Dumping methods. The most common waste dumping methods include landfill and
incineration. ...
 Recycling methods. ...
 Collection and transportation. ...
 Creation of awareness.

What is the process of waste management?

Waste management is collection, transportation, and disposal of garbage, sewage
and other waste products. Waste management is the process of treating solid wastes
and offers variety of solutions for recycling items that don't belong to trash. It is about
how garbage can be used as a valuable resource.

What are the 4 R's?

A number of waste prevention techniques are available, and they are commonly summarized
as the so-called 4Rs: reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery. Reduction, reuse and recycling
are known in the industry as the 3Rs. Companies sometimes focus only on the first three in
resolving waste management problems.

The 4Rs - reduction, reuse, recycling and

recovery
Case studies for this topic Resources for this topic

Businesses are being forced to change the way they manage waste. Faced with regulations,
public pressure, landfill shortages and the need for increased resource efficiency, companies
are moving away from the waste treatment approach and towards waste prevention.

A number of waste prevention techniques are available, and they are commonly summarized
as the so-called 4Rs: reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery.

Reduction, reuse and recycling are known in the industry as the 3Rs. Companies sometimes
focus only on the first three in resolving waste management problems. In more innovative
companies, 4Rs solutions often emerge as a result of industry benchmarking or technological
breakthroughs.

The Canadian government has interpreted the waste management hierarchy as follows:

1. Wherever possible, waste reduction is the preferable option.

2. If waste is produced, every effort should be made to reuse it if practicable.
 3. Recycling is the third option in the waste management hierarchy. Although recycling
does help to conserve resources and reduce wastes, it is important to remember that
there are economic and environmental costs associated with waste collection and
recycling. For this reason, recycling should only be considered for waste which
cannot be reduced or reused.
4. Finally, it may be possible to recover materials or energy from waste which cannot be
reduced, reused or recycled.

Empirical evidence suggests that by practising waste prevention, reusing products, recycling,
and making environmentally conscious purchases, businesses can cut costs and increase
profits. Cost savings take the form of:

 Lower waste disposal costs;

 Lower waste treatment costs;
 Lower energy costs;
 Savings on materials and supplies;
 A reduction in regulatory compliance costs;
 Lower storage costs;
 Cost recovery through the sale of recyclable materials;
 Cost recovery through sales of 4Rs technologies.

For example, Smith & Vandiver Inc. of Watsonville, California, manufactures and distributes
natural-ingredient toiletries and body care products. To minimize packaging waste, it reuses
boxes in which it has received shipments by recutting the cardboard into smaller cartons. Its
waste reduction program has enabled the company to reduce its inventory of shipper cartons,
saving both storage space and $20,000 a year in material costs.

In China, organic waste from thousands of small straw pulp mills is used as agricultural
fertilizer.

Kraft General Foods in Tulare, California manufactures processed and natural cheese, and
pre-baked bread shells. Its waste reduction program has not only reduced solid waste disposal
fees, but generates some $40,000 a year from the sale of recyclable materials.

In Kalundborg, Denmark, a coal-fired power station, an oil refinery, a plasterboard factory, a

pharmaceutical plant and the municipality have created an 'industrial symbiosis' by exploiting
each other's waste streams. (See 'Kalundborg' case study.)