Solid Waste Management

Solid Waste Management:

You must know the program, “Man Vs. Wild”, from discovery channel. In one of the episodes Bear was searching for human signs and guess the 1st thing he got about human! That was Wastes, i.e. some plastic bottles etc. So, what we learn from this phenomenon?

Waste products are invariably generated when human is concerned. Weather you live in metro city, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, Countryside or Jungle. We can not avoid generating wastes but we can manage it so that it will not become the major environmental problem in future.

Here, we are discussing solid waste management. Major part of solid wastes is PLASTIC only. So, it will not be any problem if we replace name S.W.M. by Plastic Waste Management or P.W.M.

Plastic Waste Management:

1. Major part of solid waste is composed of plastic. e.g. empty injections, carry bags, bottles, boxes, electronic gadgets covers and too many more.
2. P.W.M. is most important step in the Solid Waste Management.
3. Plastic Waste Management is one of the most difficult problem faced by the developing countries. And in countries like India where population is very dense this problem is integrated even more severe.
4. First of all P.W.M problem was detected quite late and its control is expensive and complex. This complexity, high cost and lack of technology have let this problem grow and today we are facing plastic management monster ahead.
5. Plastic wastes cause many problems like health hazards, pollution of water bodies, bad aesthetic and appearance etc.

Sources of Generation of Waste Plastic:

• Health and Medicare Disposable syringes, Glucose bottles, Blood and uro bags, Intravenous tubes, Catheters, Surgical gloves.
• Air/Rail travel Mineral water bottles, Plastic plates, Glass, spoons, Plastic bags.
• Hotel and catering Packaging items, Mineral water bottles, Plastic plates, Glasses, spoons.
• Household carry bags, Bottles, Containers, Trash bags.

Integrated Approach For Plastic Waste Management:

Integrated approach in Plastic Waste Management means extracting the value from the plastic wastes. Value doesn’t mean money but it indicates towards, anything that is beneficial for environment or human anyway without becoming problem again.

INTEGRATED APPROCH = REDUCING + RECYCLING + COMPOSTING + LANDFILL + WASTE TO ENERGY.

Integrated approch can be assisted by 4 R’s:

‘R‘educe

‘R‘euse

‘R‘ecycle

‘R‘ecover

PWM Management Methods:

Up till now, we have seen a lot of things about PWM. But how to manage at run time. Here are 3 main methods for plastic management.

• Recycling.
• Incineration.
• Landfill.

Here are the main steps in the mechanical recycling of plastic.

1. Collection.
2. Handling.
3. Sorting.
4. Coding.
5. Densification.
6. Reclamation.
7. End Use.

Expected Results of Plastic Waste Management:

So, we are trying to manage the wastes. But we must know where do we want to reach? What is ideal or rather acceptable condition for us? Here we go!

1. Reduce Manpower Reqd. For Waste Handling.
2. Revenue From Recyclables.
3. Value Addition To Waste.
4. Reduce Fire Hazards.
5. Reduce Odour & Improve Aesthetic &Sanitation.

References:

[1] Plastmart.

[2] Vidyan Prasar.

[3] Plast India.