Solid Waste Management

Waste- Definition & Classification

Any material which is not needed by the owner, producer or processor.

Classification

Domestic waste

Factory waste

Waste from oil factory

E-waste

Construction waste

Agricultural waste

Food processing waste

Bio-medical waste

Nuclear waste

Classification of Wastes

Solid waste- vegetable waste, kitchen waste, household waste etc.

E-waste- discarded electronic devices like computer, TV, music systems etc.

Liquid waste- water used for different industries eg tanneries, distillaries, thermal power plants

Plastic waste- plastic bags, bottles, buckets etc.

Metal waste- unused metal sheet, metal scraps etc.

Nuclear waste- unused materials from nuclear power plants

Solid Waste in India

7.2 million tonnes of hazardous waste

One Sq km of additional landfill area every-year

Rs 1600 crore for treatment & disposal of these wastes

In addition to this industries discharge about 150 million tonnes of high volume low hazard waste every year, which is mostly dumped on open low lying land areas.

Growth of Solid Waste In India

Waste is growing by leaps & bounds

In 1981-91, population of Mumbai increased from 8.2 million to 12.3 million

During the same period, municipal solid waste has grown from 3200 tonnes to 5355 tonne, an increase of 67%

Waste collection is very low for all Indian cities

City like Bangalore produces 2000 tonnes of waste per annum, the ever increasing waste has put pressure on hygienic condition of the city

Waste Collection in India

Primarily by the city municipality

-No gradation of waste product eg bio-degradable, glasses, polybags, paper shreds etc

-Dumps these wastes to the city outskirts

Local raddiwala / kabadiwala (Rag pickers)

-Collecting small iron pieces by magnets

-Collecting glass bottles

-Collecting paper for recycling

MCD- Sophisticated DWM (Delhi Waste Management) vehicle

How solid waste affected us in recent years

Cloudburst in Mumbai (2005) clogged the sewage line due to large no. of plastic bags

Blast in the Bhusan Steel factory at Noida, caused due to imported scrap from Iran

Reduction in the number of migratory birds due to consumption of contaminated foods

Stray animals dying on streets and farmland due to consumption of plastic bags, which blocks the food movement in their stomach

Hazardous / Toxic Waste & Dumping Site

Industrialised countries have waste management problems

Developed countries have strict environment regulation norms

Most attractive option for them- to dump into developing countries

Philadelphia’s Municipal Waste

16 years journey for the cargo ship to eleven countries and four continents

25,000 tonnes of flyash came back to Philadelphia’s garbage dump

Several government refused cargo ships

In 2002, Cargo ship returned back to US

Major Polluting Industries in India

Around 2500 tanneries discharge 24 million cu m of waste water containing high level of dissolved solids and 4,00,000 tonnes of hazardous solid waste

300 distilleries discharge 26 million kilo-litres of spend wash per year containing several pollutants

Thermal power plants discharge huge waste materials

Managing Waste

Recycling: Processing of a waste item into usable forms.

Benefits of recycling:

-Reduce environmental degradation

-Making money out of waste

-Save energy that would have gone into waste handling & product manufacture

Saving through recycling:

-When Al is resmelted- considerable saving in cost

-Making paper from waste saves 50% energy

-Every tonne of recycled glass saves energy equivalent to 100 litres of oil

Recycling not a solution to all problems!

Recycling is not a solution to managing every kind of waste material

For many items recycling technologies are unavailable or unsafe

In some cases, cost of recycling is too high.

Solution: More Profit With Zero Waste

Exchanging output that are considered waste

Waste of one could be input or raw material for others

Evolving a closed system- matter & energy circulate within

System was not designed to be so

The system of exchange evolved in 10 years

Problems in Dealing With Solid Waste

Education & voluntary compliance

Collection of waste

Technological interventions

Institutions & regulatory framework

Absence of mandatory standards for waste reduction

Market action for waste reduction

French aircraft carrier Clemenceau

December 12, 2005, Clemenceau, Ghost ship nobody wants

27,000-ton warship full of asbestos, PCBs, lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals

Indian scrapyard of Alang (Bhavnagar district, Gujarat) , a place where environmental regulations are lax and workers’ rights are practically nonexistant

In most shipbreaking nations proper waste management is absent. There are no rules and regulations. And where rules exist, they’re unlikely to be enforced.

Basel Convention (1989) is an international treaty which prohibits the export of hazardous waste from rich to poor countries

Greenpeace raised awareness campaigned against the ship in India as well as in France

French President Chirac has announced a dramatic recall of the asbestos-laden warship Clemenceau