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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to
manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes
the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and
regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and
economic mechanisms.

Waste can either be solid, liquid, or gases and each type has different methods of disposal and
management. Waste management deals with all types of waste,
including industrial, chemical, municipal, organic, biomedical, and radioactive wastes. In
some cases, waste can pose a threat to human health.[2] Health issues are associated with the
entire process of waste management. Health issues can also arise indirectly or directly: directly
through the handling of solid waste, and indirectly through the consumption of water, soil, and
food.[2] Waste is produced by human activity, for example, the extraction and processing of raw
materials.[3] Waste management is intended to reduce the adverse effects of waste on
human health, the environment, planetary resources, and aesthetics.

The aim of waste management is to reduce the dangerous effects of such waste on the
environment and human health. A big part of waste management deals with municipal solid
waste, which is created by industrial, commercial, and household activity.

Waste management practices are not the same across countries (developed and developing
nations); regions (urban and rural areas), and residential and industrial sectors can all take
different approaches.

Proper management of waste is important for building sustainable and liveable cities, but it
remains a challenge for many developing countries and cities. A report found that effective
waste management is relatively expensive, usually comprising 20%–50% of municipal
budgets. Operating this essential municipal service requires integrated systems that are
efficient, sustainable, and socially supported. A large portion of waste management practices
deal with municipal solid waste (MSW) which is the bulk of the waste that is created by
household, industrial, and commercial activity. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), municipal solid waste is expected to reach approximately 3.4 Gt by

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2050; however, policies and lawmaking can reduce the amount of waste produced in different
areas and cities of the world. Measures of waste management include measures for integrated
techno-economic mechanisms of a circular economy, effective disposal facilities, export and
import control[10][11] and optimal sustainable design of products that are produced.

In the first systematic review of the scientific evidence around global waste, its management,
and its impact on human health and life, authors concluded that about a fourth of all the
municipal solid terrestrial waste is not collected and an additional fourth is mismanaged after
collection, often being burned in open and uncontrolled fires – or close to one billion tons per
year when combined. They also found that broad priority areas each lack a "high-
quality research base", partly due to the absence of "substantial research funding", which
motivated scientists often require. [12][13] Electronic waste (ewaste) includes discarded computer
monitors, motherboards, mobile phones and chargers, compact discs (CDs), headphones,
television sets, air conditioners and refrigerators. According to the Global E-waste Monitor
2017, India generates ~ 2 million tonnes (Mte) of e-waste annually and ranks fifth among the
e-waste producing countries, after the United States, the People's Republic of
China, Japan and Germany.

Effective 'Waste Management' involves the practice of '7R' - 'R'efuse, 'R'educe', 'R'euse,
'R'epair, 'R'epurpose, 'R'ecycle and 'R'ecover. Amongst these '7R's, the first two ('Refuse' and
'Reduce') relate to the non-creation of waste - by refusing to buy non-essential products and by
reducing consumption. The next two ('Reuse' and 'Repair') refer to increasing the usage of the
existing product, with or without the substitution of certain parts of the product. 'Repurpose'
and 'Recycle' involve maximum usage of the materials used in the product, and 'Recover' is the
least preferred and least efficient waste management practice involving the recovery of
embedded energy in the waste material. For example, burning the waste to produce heat (and
electricity from heat).

The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, which classifies waste
management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimisation. The
waste hierarchy is the bedrock of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste
hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the
minimum amount of end waste; see: resource recovery.[16][17] The waste hierarchy is
represented as a pyramid because the basic premise is that policies should promote measures
to prevent the generation of waste. The next step or preferred action is to seek alternative uses
for the waste that has been generated, i.e., by re-use. The next is recycling which includes
composting. Following this step is material recovery and waste-to-energy. The final action is

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disposal, in landfills or through incineration without energy recovery. This last step is the final
resort for waste that has not been prevented, diverted, or recovered. The waste hierarchy
represents the progression of a product or material through the sequential stages of the pyramid
of waste management. The hierarchy represents the latter parts of the life-cycle for each
product.

Fig.1 life cycle of waste generation

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1.1The importance of waste management

As long as we are producing waste, it will need to be managed. And we produce a lot of
it: over two billion metric tons of MSW are generated globally every year, a figure that’s
expected to grow by about 70% by 2050.

It’s clear that waste must be managed. But the way in which we manage the waste matters,
too – when it’s managed properly, it can do a lot of great things for the environment. We’ll
explain some of these benefits below.

1.1.1 Reduces plastic pollution

By reducing the amount of waste that gets disposed of in landfills or littered in the
environment, and instead repurposing or recycling existing materials, we can reduce plastic
pollution across the board.

This, in turn, would help keep toxins out of soil and groundwater, as well as make the oceans
safer for wildlife.

1.1.2 Avoids landfill buildup

The less waste we need to dispose of, the less it builds up in landfills – which is important
since the US alone sends nearly 150 million tons of garbage into landfills each year instead of
recycling it.

And when that reduced amount of waste does need to be managed, we can instead handle it in
ways that produce electricity or steam power.

1.1.3 Improves living conditions

Proper waste management means less contamination of our air, groundwater, and soil – which
means higher quality food products and healthier wildlife.

Well-organized, formal waste management also means that the workers handling the waste
will have better pay and better protection from hazardous materials.

1.1.4 Encourages a circular economy

Because waste management is all about reducing the amount of waste we produce and
minimizing the impact of existing waste, it fits neatly into the structure of a circular economy
in which products and materials are repurposed at the end of their lifecycle.

1.2Waste handling and transport

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Waste collection methods vary widely among different countries and regions. Domestic
waste collection services are often provided by local government authorities, or by private
companies for industrial and commercial waste. Some areas, especially those in less
developed countries, do not have formal waste-collection systems.

1.2.1 Waste handling and transport

Curbside collection is the most common method of disposal in most European countries,
Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and many other parts of the developed world in which
waste is collected at regular intervals by specialised trucks. This is often associated with curb-
side waste segregation. In rural areas, waste may need to be taken to a transfer station. Waste
collected is then transported to an appropriate disposal facility. In some areas, vacuum
collection is used in which waste is transported from the home or commercial premises by
vacuum along small bore tubes. Systems are in use in Europe and North America.

In some jurisdictions, unsegregated waste is collected at the curb-side or from waste transfer
stations and then sorted into recyclables and unusable waste. Such systems are capable of
sorting large volumes of solid waste, salvaging recyclables, and turning the rest into bio-gas
and soil conditioners. In San Francisco, the local government established its Mandatory
Recycling and Composting Ordinance in support of its goal of "Zero waste by 2020", requiring
everyone in the city to keep recyclables and compostables out of the landfill. The three streams
are collected with the curbside "Fantastic 3" bin system – blue for recyclables, green for
compostables, and black for landfill-bound materials – provided to residents and businesses
and serviced by San Francisco's sole refuse hauler, Recology. The city's "Pay-As-You-Throw"
system charges customers by the volume of landfill-bound materials, which provides a
financial incentive to separate recyclables and compostables from other discards. The city's
Department of the Environment's Zero Waste Program has led the city to achieve 80%
diversion, the highest diversion rate in North America. Other businesses such as Waste
Industries use a variety of colors to distinguish between trash and recycling cans. In addition,
in some areas of the world the disposal of municipal solid waste can cause environmental strain
due to official not having benchmarks that help measure the environmental sustainability of
certain practices.

1.2.2 Waste segregation

This is the separation of wet waste and dry waste. The purpose is to recycle dry waste easily
and to use wet waste as compost. When segregating waste, the amount of waste that gets
landfilled reduces considerably, resulting in lower levels of air and water pollution.

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Importantly, waste segregation should be based on the type of waste and the most appropriate
treatment and disposal. This also makes it easier to apply different processes to the waste, like
composting, recycling, and incineration. It is important to practice waste management and
segregation as a community. One way to practice waste management is to ensure there is
awareness. The process of waste segregation should be explained to the community.

Segregated waste is also often cheaper to dispose of because it does not require as much manual
sorting as mixed waste. There are a number of important reasons why waste segregation is
important such as legal obligations, cost savings, and protection of human health and the
environment. Institutions should make it as easy as possible for their staff to correctly segregate
their waste. This can include labelling, making sure there are enough accessible bins, and
clearly indicating why segregation is so important. Labeling is especially important when
dealing with nuclear waste due to how much harm to human health the excess products of the
nuclear cycle can cause.

1.2.3 Hazards of waste management

There are multiple facets of waste management that all come with hazards, both for those
around the disposal site and those who work within waste management. Exposure to waste of
any kind can be detrimental to the health of the individual, primary conditions that worsen with
exposure to waste are asthma and tuberculosis. The exposure to waste on an average individual
is highly dependent on the conditions around them, those in less developed or lower income
areas are more susceptible to the effects of waste product, especially though chemical
waste. The range of hazards due to waste is extremely large and covers every type of waste,
not only chemical. There are many different guidelines to follow for disposing different types
of waste.

The hazards of incineration are a large risk to many variable communities, including
underdeveloped countries and countries or cities with little space for landfills or alternatives.
Burning waste is an easily accessible option for many people around the globe, it has even been
encouraged by the World Health Organization when there is no other option. Because burning
waste is rarely paid attention to, its effects go unnoticed. The release of hazardous materials
and CO2 when waste is burned is the largest hazard with incineration.

1.2.4 Technologies

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Traditionally, the waste management industry has been a late adopter of new technologies such
as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, GPS and integrated software packages which
enable better quality data to be collected without the use of estimation or manual data
entry. This technology has been used widely by many organizations in some industrialized
countries. Radiofrequency identification is a tagging system for automatic identification of
recyclable components of municipal solid waste streams.

Smart waste management has been implemented in several cities, including San Francisco,
Varde or Madrid. Waste containers are equipped with level sensors. When the container is
almost full, the sensor warns the pickup truck, which can thus trace its route servicing the fullest
containers and skipping the emptiest ones.

1.3 E-waste

A record 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019,
up 21 percent in just five years, according to the UN's Global E-waste Monitor 2020, released
today. The new report also predicts global e-waste – discarded products with a battery or plug
– will reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost a doubling of e-waste in just 16 years. This makes e-waste
the world's fastest-growing domestic waste stream, fueled mainly by higher consumption rates
of electric and electronic equipment, short life cycles, and few options for repair. Only 17.4
percent of 2019's e-waste was collected and recycled. This means that gold, silver, copper,
platinum, and other high-value, recoverable materials conservatively valued at US$57 billion
– a sum greater than the Gross Domestic Product of most countries – were mostly dumped or
burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse. E-wasteis predicted to double by
2050.

1.3.1 Transboundary movement of e-waste

The Transboundary E-waste Flows Monitor quantified that 5.1 Mt (just below 10 percent of
the total amount of global e-waste, 53.6 Mt) crossed country borders in 2019. To better
understand the implication of transboundary movement, this study categorizes the
transboundary movement of e-waste into controlled and uncontrolled movements and also
considers both the receiving and sending regions.

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CHAPTER 2

VARIOUS METHODS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

Although there are many methods of disposing of waste, in this section let’s take a look at some
of the most commonly used methods that you should know about waste management.

2.1 Landfills

Throwing daily waste/garbage in the landfills is the most popularly used method of waste
disposal used today. This process of waste disposal focuses attention on burying the waste in
the land. Landfills are commonly found in developing countries.

There is a process used that eliminates the odors and dangers of waste before it is placed into
the ground.

While it is true this is the most popular form of waste disposal, it is certainly far from the only
procedure and one that may also bring with it an assortment of space.

This method is becoming less these days although, thanks to the lack of space available and
the strong presence of methane and other landfill gases, both of which can cause numerous
contamination problems.

Landfills give rise to air and water pollution which severely affects the environment and can
prove fatal to the lives of humans and animals. Many areas are reconsidering the use of
landfills.

Fig. 2 Landfilling

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2.2 Incineration/Combustion

Incineration or combustion is a type disposal method in which municipal solid wastes are
burned at high temperatures. The process eventually converts them into residues and gaseous
products.

The biggest advantage of this type of method is that it can reduce the volume of solid waste to
20 to 30 percent of the original volume. Additionally, it also decreases the space they take up
while also reducing the stress on landfills.

Incinerators are primarily used in thermal treatment where solid waste materials are converted
to heat, gas, steam, and ash. Incineration is also widely popular in countries where landfill
space is no longer available, such as the US and Japan.

Fig. 3 Incineration

2.3 Recovery and Recycling

Resource recovery is the process of taking useful discarded items for a specific next use.
These discarded items are then processed to extract or recover materials and resources or
convert them to energy in the form of useable heat, electricity or fuel.

Recycling is the process of converting waste products into new products to prevent energy
usage and consumption of fresh raw materials. Recycling is the third component of Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle waste hierarchy.

The idea behind recycling is to reduce energy usage, reduce the volume of landfills, reduce
air and water pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and preserve natural resources for
future use.

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Fig. 4 Recycle bins

2.4 Plasma gasification

Plasma gasification is another form of waste management. Plasma is primarily an electrically

charged or highly ionized gas. Lighting is one type of plasma that produces temperatures that
exceed 12,600 °F.

With this method of waste disposal, a vessel uses characteristic plasma torches operating at
+10,000 °F which is creating a gasification zone till 3,000 °F for the conversion of solid or
liquid wastes into a syngas.

During the treatment of solid waste by plasma gasification, the waste’s molecular bonds are
broken down as a result of the intense heat in the vessels and the elemental components.

Thanks to this process, the destruction of waste and dangerous materials are found. This form
of waste disposal provides renewable energy and an assortment of other fantastic benefits.

Fig. 5 Plasma gasification

2.5 Composting

Composting is an easy and natural bio-degradation process that takes organic wastes i.e.
remains of plants and garden and kitchen waste and turns into nutrient-rich food for your plants.

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Composting, normally used for organic farming, occurs by allowing organic materials to sit in
one place for months until microbes decompose it.

Note that composting is often deemed to be one of the best methods of waste disposal as it can
turn unsafe organic products into safe compost. The process, however, has its downsides. Some
people have found it to be slow, while others have observed that it takes a lot of space.

But regardless of these issues, many people are still embracing home composting approaches
to manage and reduce waste and turns it to

Fig. 6 Composition

2.6 Waste to Energy (Recover Energy)

Waste-to-Energy, also widely recognized by its acronym WtE is the generation of energy in
the form of heat or electricity from waste.

Waste to energy(WtE) process involves the conversion of non-recyclable waste items into
useable heat, electricity, or fuel through a variety of processes. This type of so energy is a
renewable energy source as non-recyclable waste can be used over and over again to create it.

WtE can also help reduce carbon emissions by offsetting the need for energy from fossil
sources. Over time, this reduces global warming and makes our environment better.

2.7Special Waste Disposal

There are certain waste types that are considered hazardous and cannot be disposed of without
special handling which will prevent contamination from occurring.

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Biomedical waste is one example of such a waste disposal method. It is primarily practiced in
health care facilities and similar institutions. The special waste disposal system effectively
disposes of hazardous biomedical waste.

2.8 Avoidance/Waste Minimization

The most easier method of waste management is to reduce the creation of waste materials
thereby reducing the amount of waste going to landfills.

Waste reduction can be done through recycling old materials like jar, bags, repairing broken
items instead of buying a new one, avoiding the use of disposable products like plastic bags,
reusing second-hand items, and buying items that use less designing.

The Best Methods of Waste Management

Recycling and composting are a couple of the best methods of waste management. Composting
is so far only possible on a small scale, either by private individuals or in areas where waste
can be mixed with farming soil or used for landscaping purposes.

Recycling, on the other hand, can be widely used around the world, with plastic, paper, and
metal leading the list of the most recyclable items. Most material recycled is reused for its
original purpose. In some instances, they may also be sold for generating profits.

Bottom Line

As you can see there are plenty of important things that you should know about waste
management and disposal in order to ensure that you and the environment around you are safe.

While it may not be apparent, it is your choice that paves the way towards a better world and a
healthier environment. That is why always be sustainable and make actionable efforts to
manage and treat waste.

Since we have listed multiple waste management methods, explore your options, before
making a final choice.

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Chapter 3

PROMOTION OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

Promotion of waste management methods is crucial for enhancing sustainability and reducing
environmental impacts. Reports and guides often emphasize the importance of adopting a
structured approach to waste management, such as the waste hierarchy, which prioritizes waste
prevention, minimization, recycling, and reuse over disposal methods like landfilling and
incineration.

Educational resources and tools, such as those provided by the EPA, offer guidance on how to
implement waste reduction strategies in commercial buildings and other settings. These
resources highlight the benefits of waste reduction, including cost savings, enhanced
sustainability, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Government roles in promoting responsible waste management include developing and

enforcing policies, investing in waste management infrastructure, and fostering public
awareness and education. Effective waste management infrastructure development is essential
for reducing the negative impact of waste on public health and the environment.

Reports also discuss the importance of engaging local communities and understanding their
needs to ensure that waste management programs are effective and sustainable. Public
awareness campaigns can shape community behaviors towards waste reduction and proper
disposal methods, thereby fostering a culture of responsibility towards waste management.

Moreover, waste management methods such as recycling,

composting, and waste-to-energy conversion are promoted
as sustainable alternatives to traditional disposal methods.
These methods not only reduce the volume of waste sent to
landfills but also offer opportunities for resource recovery
and energy generation.

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For instance, the Waste Reduction Model (WARM) developed by the EPA quantifies the
greenhouse gas and energy savings resulting from recycling and composting activities,
providing a tool for organizations to measure the environmental benefits of their waste
management efforts.

In summary, promoting waste management methods involves a combination of policy

development, infrastructure investment, public education, and the adoption of sustainable
practices such as recycling and waste-to-energy conversion.

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CHAPTER 4

CONCLUSION

Effective waste management is crucial for protecting the environment, safeguarding public
health, and promoting sustainable development. As the global population grows and

consumption increases, the volume of waste generated also rises, making proper waste
handling more important than ever. By implementing efficient strategies such as waste
reduction, recycling, composting, and responsible disposal, societies can significantly
minimize environmental damage and conserve natural resources.

Government policies, public awareness, and technological advancements all play key roles in
improving waste management systems. Individuals, too, have a responsibility to reduce waste
by making conscious choices in their daily lives. Ultimately, a collaborative effort between
communities, industries, and governments is essential to creating a cleaner, healthier, and more
sustainable world for future generations.

..

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REFERENCE

[Link]

[Link]
commercial-buildings

[Link]
[Link]

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