Waste management
Waste management is the collection,
transportation and disposal of waste materials.
Municipal Solid Waste
(Management and Handling) Rules 2000 regulate the management
and handling of the municipal solid wastes and are applicable to every
municipal authority responsible for collection, segregation, storage,
transportation, processing and disposal of municipal solid wastes
Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling)
Rules, 1998 regulate the management and handling of
bio-medical waste and are applicable to all persons who generate, collect,
receive, store, transport, treat, dispose, or handle bio medical waste in any
form.
E-Waste (Management
and Handling) Rules, 2010 regulate the management and
handling of electrical and electronic waste and is applicable to every
producer, consumer involved in manufacture, sale, purchase and processing of
these equipments or its components.
The commonly practiced technologies for
SWM can be grouped under three major categories, i.e., bio-processing, thermal
processing and sanitary landfill. The bio-processing method includes aerobic
and anaerobic composting. Thermal methods are incineration and pyrolysis.
Sanitary landfill is generally used to dispose off the final rejects coming out
of the biological and thermal waste processing units.
Aerobic composting is the creation of
fertilizing compost using bacteria that thrive in an oxygen-rich environment.
Aerobic composting is considered the fastest method of composting, but involves
more work interms of rotating the organic material periodically.
Anaerobic composting is the creation of
fertilising compost using bacteria that cannot thrive in the presence of
oxygen. Anaerobic composting is known to work slowly, but also requires lesser
work.
Incineration is a waste treatment
process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste
materials. Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue
gas, and heat. In some cases, the heat generated by incineration can be used to
generate electric power.
A sanitary landfill is a low-lying area
that is filled with waste rejects. It has a liner at the bottom to prevent the
groundwater from contaminating with the mix of the liquid that oozes from the
waste that is buried called the leachate. Waste is buried in-between layers of
soil and is compacted nicely to make it a hard surface. When the landfill is
completed, it is capped with a layer of clay or a synthetic liner in order to
prevent water from entering. A final topsoil cover is placed, compacted and
graded, and various forms of vegetation may be planted in order to reclaim the
otherwise useless land.
- Keep
separate containers for dry and wet waste in the kitchen.
- Keep
two bags for dry waste collection- paper and plastic, for the rest of the
household waste.
- Keep
plastic from the kitchen clean and dry and drop into the dry waste bin.
Keep glass /plastic containers rinsed of food matter.
- Keep
a paper bag for throwing sanitary waste.
- Form
a group with like-minded people.
- Explain
waste segregation to your family / neighbours in your apartment building.
- Get
the staff in the apartment building to also understand its importance.
- Get
separate storage drums for storing dry and wet waste.
- Have
the dry waste picked up by the dry waste collection centre or your local
scrap dealer.
Wet waste
Wet waste consists of kitchen waste -
including vegetable and fruit peels and pieces, tea leaves, coffee grounds,
eggshells, bones and entrails, fish scales, as well as cooked food (both veg
and non-veg).
Dry Waste
Paper, plastics, metal, glass, rubber,
thermocol, styrofoam, fabric, leather, rexine, wood – anything that can be kept
for an extended period without decomposing is classified as dry waste.
Hazardous waste
Household hazardous waste or HHW include
three sub-categories – E-waste; toxic substances such as paints, cleaning
agents, solvents, insecticides and their containers, other chemicals; and
biomedical waste.
E-waste
E-waste or electronic waste consists of
batteries, computer parts, wires, electrical equipment of any kind, electrical
and electronic toys, remotes, watches, cell phones, bulbs, tube lights and
CFLs.
Biomedical waste
This includes used menstrual cloth,
sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, bandages and any material that is
contaminated with blood or other body fluids.
Dry waste
Store it in a bag in the utility area
after cleaning and drying till it is picked up. No food residue must be left in
the bottles and packets. Clean them as you would to reuse them. If clothes are
totally unusable, or very damaged, they are categorized as dry waste. If
clothes are soiled with body fluids, they become sanitary waste. If they are
soiled with paint, or any chemicals, they are HHW (household hazardous waste).
E-waste
Store them in separate container which
is kept closed, away from moisture and in which nothing else is put.
Compost
your wet waste at home
Home composting can easily be done in
any aerated container. Get more details on
composting and begin
composting today!
Compost
your wet waste at the community level
If you live in a large apartment
building, a community composting system like tank composting could be set up
for all the wet waste from the residents. If not, the wet waste can be given
out every day to your Municipality collection system.
Biomedical waste has to be wrapped
separately in a newspaper and handed over to the municipality waste collection
system. Expired medicines and injections, used syringes also have to be
disposed in the same manner.
Paint and other hazardous waste like
cosmetics, mosquito repellents, tube lights etc have to be stored separately
and handed over to the Municipal collection system.
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