“Waste management is the “generation, prevention, characterization,
monitoring, treatment, handling, reuse and residual disposition of solid
wastes”. There are various types of solid waste including municipal
(residential, institutional, commercial), agricultural, and special
(health care, household hazardous wastes, sewage sludge).”
Waste management is the process of treating solid wastes and offers
variety of solutions for recycling items that don’t belong to trash. It
is about how garbage can be used as a valuable resource. Waste
management is something that each and every household and business
owner in the world needs. Waste management disposes of the products and
substances that you have use in a safe and efficient manner.
Methods of Waste Disposal
Landfill
The Landfill 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 found in all areas. 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. Many areas are reconsidering the use of landfills.
Incineration/Combustion
Incineration or combustion is a type disposal method in which
municipal solid wastes are burned at high temperatures so as as to
convert them into residue 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, decreases the space they take up and reduce the stress on landfills. This process is also known as thermal treatment where solid waste
materials are converted by Incinerators into heat, gas, steam and ash. Incineration is something that is very in countries where landfill space is no longer available, which includes Japan.
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 volume of
landfills, reduce air and water pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve natural resources for future use.
Plasma gasification
Plasma gasification is another form of waste management. Plasma is a
primarily an electrically charged or a highly ionized gas. Lighting is
one type of plasma which 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 solid waste by plasma gasification, the waste’s
molecular bonds are broken down as result of the intense heat in the
vessels and the elemental components. Thanks to this process,
destruction of waste and dangerous materials is found. This form of
waste disposal provides renewable energy and an assortment of other fantastic benefits.
Composting
Composting is a 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. Composting, normally used for organic farming, occurs by allowing organic materials to sit in one place for months
until microbes decompose it. Composting is one of the best method of
waste disposal as it can turn unsafe organic products into safe compost.
On the other side, it is slow process and takes lot of space.
and turns it to
Waste to Energy (Recover Energy)
Waste to energy(WtE) process involves converting of non-recyclable waste items into
useable heat, electricity, or fuel through a variety of processes. This
type of source of energy is a renewable energy source as non-recyclable
waste can be used over and over again to create energy. It can also
help to reduce carbon emissions by offsetting the need for energy from fossil sources.
Waste-to-Energy, also widely recognized by its acronym WtE is the
generation of energy in the form of heat or electricity from waste.
Avoidance/Waste Minimization
The most easier method of waste management is to reduce 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 new one, avoiding use of
disposable products like plastic bags, reusing second hand items, and
buying items that uses less designing.
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 is 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.
By
Vinesh S
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