Any unwanted or discarded material that are detrimental for environmental can be termed as solid waste. Solid waste management covers the control of solid waste generation, collection, storage, transport, processing, separation, recycling, recovery and purposeful disposal of solid waste. Usually, solid wastes management is handled by a municipal, city or town authorities.
Major considerations of solid waste management
- Public health
- Waste separation for recycling
- Energy recovery
- Protection of environment
Difference between garbage, rubbish and trash
Garbage: Putrescible or biodegradable food waste
Rubbish: Non-putrescible or non-biodegradable solid waste including combustible materials
Trash: Trash is rubbish that includes bulky items such as old refrigerators, couches, or large tree stumps
Functional elements in solid waste management
In general the solid waste management from the point of generation to final disposal can be grouped into six functional elements:
1) Waste generation
2) On-site handling, storage, and processing
3) Collection
4) Transfer and transport
5) Processing and recovery
6) Disposal
Waste generation: Materials are identified as no longer being of value and are either thrown away or gathered together for disposal.
On-site handling, storage, and processing: Storage, and processing of solid wastes at or near the point of generation.
Collection: Gathering of solid wastes and the hauling of wastes after collection to the location where the collection vehicle is emptied.
Transfer and transport: (a) Transfer of wastes from the smaller collection vehicle to the larger transport equipment and (b) Transport of the wastes, usually over long distance to the disposal site.
Processing and recovery: Equipment, techniques and facilities used to recover usable materials, conversion products, or energy from solid wastes.
Disposal: The ultimate disposal of solid wastes to a landfill site, semisolid wastes (sludge) from wastewater treatment plants, incinerator residue compost, or other substances from the solid waste processing plants that are of no further use.
Solid waste management methods
Generally there are several methods of solid waste disposal that can be utilized. These methods are:
1. Ordinary open dumping
2. controlled tipping/burial
3. Incineration
5. Sanitary landfill
6. Composting
7. Grinding and discharge in to sewer
8. Dumping into water bodies
9. Disposal of corpus
Open dumping of solid waste
Some components of solid waste such as street sweepings, ashes and non combustible rubbish are suitable for open dumping. Garbage and any other mixed solid wastes are not fit or suitable because of nuisance and health hazard creation. The location of open dumping must be carefully chosen so that there will be a minimum chance of complaints from near by residents.
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The following points must be considered before selection and locating sites for open dumping.
- Sources of water supply and distance from it
- Direction of wind
- Distance from nearest residents, near by farm areas and main land
- Distance that flies can travel from disposal site to the living quarter as well as the distance that the rodents can travel from disposal areas and living quarters
Advantage of open dumping
- Can take care of all types of solid wastes except garbage
- It causes less health problem if proper site is selected.
- Needs less labor and supervision
Disadvantage of open dumping
- Attraction of flies, mosquitoes and other insects as well as stray dogs, rats, and other animals.
- Creation of breeding sites for rodents, arthropods and other vermin
- Creation of smoke, odor and nuisance
- It makes the lands and other surrounding areas useless.
- It leads to cuts and wounds.
- It attracts scavengers, both humans and animals.