Research Study

(What is the Importance of

Garbage Segregation?)

Submitted By:
Rubie B. Cañete

Submitted To:
Mrs. Ruena L. Laurito
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1- Introduction
1.1- Statement of the Problem
1.2- Objectives
1.3- Place of the study
1.4- Limitations of the study

Chapter 2- Abstract
Chapter 3- Review of Related
Literature

Chapter 4- Methodology

Chapter 5- Result and Conclusion

Chapter 1- Introduction

Waste or Garbage segregation means dividing waste into dry and wet. Dry
waste includes wood and related products, metals and glass. Wet waste,
typically refers to organic waste usually generated by eating establishments and
are heavy in weight due to dampness. Waste can also be segregated on basis of
biodegradable or non-biodegradable waste.
Landfills are an increasingly pressing problem. Less and less land is available to
deposit refuse, but the volume of waste is growing all time. As a result,
segregating waste is not just of environmental importance, but of economic
concern, too.

Recycling is important, but separating hazardous and non-hazardous wastes is

vital. Hazardous waste requires special handling, and hazardous waste in non-
hazardous containers can cause serious problems. Since special handling tends
to be more expensive, you don’t want to waste money by disposing of non-
hazardous waste in hazardous waste containers.

The waste management scenario in most of the emerging economies is akin to

sweeping the ‘dust under the carpet’. It is high time we give importance to waste
management for a better environment. Waste segregation seems a good start.

1.1-Statement of the Problem

What is the Importance of Garbage Segregation?

1.2-Objectives
To know what is garbage or waste segregation
To know the importance of garbage segregation
To know underlying reasons, opinions, and
motivations of the problem
To develop possible solutions
1.3-Place of the Study
Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines
7112

1.4-Limitations
The study was conducted within Sindangan only
as going too far would be costly and possibly
dangerous.

Chapter 2- Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative research is to gain more knowledge about

garbage segregation and to know the opinion of the people about this topic. The
interviewees consisted of 12 male and 13 female respondents, above 18 years of
age, and randomly selected, for a total of 25 respondents. This study will give us
a perspective on waste management, what people think about it, to see if anyone
actually cares if proper waste segregation is important to them. As waste is
everywhere it is unlikely that my interview will not have any significant information
and thoughts on it.

Chapter 3- Review of Related

Literature
This Chapter gives Significant insights on the main
question, segregation and management of waste.
Classification of Wastes

The classification of wastes varies and depends country by country. Waste can
be divided into many different types. The most common method of classification
is by their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.

.1. Solid Waste. Solid waste is broadly defined as including non-hazardous

industrial, commercial land domestic refuse including household organic trash,
street sweepings, hospital and institutional garbage, and construction wastes;
generally sludge and human waste are regarded as a liquid waste problem
outside the scope of MSW (Zerbock, 2003).These are waste materials that
contain less than 70% water. Example of this type of waste are the domestic or
household garbage, some industrial wastes, some mining wastes, and oil field
wastes such as drill cuttings.

2. Liquid Waste. These are usually wastewaters that contain less than 1%. This
type of waste may contain high concentration of dissolved salts and metals.
Liquid wastes are often classified into two broad types: sewage and toxic wastes.
Generally, there are various types of liquid waste generated in urban centers:
human excreta, domestics wastes produced in households, hospital wastes,
industrial effluents, agricultural liquid wastes a n d n u c l e a r w a s t e s .
When improperly handled and disposed of, liquid wastes pose
a serious threat to human health and the environment because
o f t h e i r a b i l i t y t o e n t e r watersheds, pollute ground water and drinking
water (US EPA, 2009).3. Sludge. It is a class of waste between liquid and solid.
They usually contain between 3%and 25% solid, while the rest of the material is
dissolved water.4. Hazardous Waste Hazardous wastes are wastes which, by
themselves or after coming into contact with other wastes, have characteristics,
such as chemical reactivity, toxicity,corrosiveness or a tendency to explode, that
pose a risk to human health or theenvironment. Hazardous wastes are generated
from a wide range of industrial,commercial, and agricultural.

Research Design extent, domestic activities. They may take the form of solids,
liquids or sludges, and can pose both acute and chronic public health and
environmental risks by lining and contouring the fill, compacting and planting the
uppermost cover layer, diverting drainage, and selecting proper soil in sites not
subject to flooding or high groundwater levels. The best soil for a landfill is clay
because clay is less permeable than other types of soil.

Materials disposed of in a landfill can be further secured from leakage by

solidifying them in materials such as cement, fly ash from power plants, asphalt,
or organic polymers(Bassis, 2005)Landfills can also be shifted to another use
after their capacities have been reached. The city of Evanston, Illinois, built a
landfill up into a hill and the now-complete “Mt. Trashmore” is a ski area. Golf
courses built over landfillsites are also increasingly common (Montgomery,
2000).B ) R e c y c l i n g o r t h e 3 R ’ s A n o t h e r m e t h o d , w h i c h s e t s o f f
b e f o r e w a s t e d i s p o s a l i s w a s t e reduction through recycling or
often coined as the 3 R’s: reuse, reduce, and recycle.On the local or
regional level, reducing wastes is accomplished through these methods by
source separation and subsequent material recovery. Currently, the United
States recycles about 10% of its glass and 25%of its paper wastes; in countries
such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, the proportion in the glass recycled
approaches to 50% while Japan recycles 50%of its paper wastes (Montgomery,
2000).

Some countries, on the other hand, manage most of their solid waste through

Incinerators.Incineration, or the controlled burning of waste at high temperatures

to produce steam and ash, is another waste disposal option and an alternative to
landfilling (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2009).
Incinerators aredesigned for the destruction of wastes and are commonly
employed in developednations who could afford the costs of the burning facilities,
plus its operation andmaintenance (Mc Cracken, 2005).This type of waste
disposal is the second largest disposal method in mostdeveloped countries and
ranks next to landfills in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the UK,
approximately 5% of household waste, 75 % of commercial lwaste and 2% of
industrial waste is disposed of through this method (Baker,2005)

A further benefit of incineration can be realized if the heat generated thereby is

recovered. For years, European cities h a v e g e n e r a t e d electricity using
waste-disposal incinerators as sources of heat
(Montgomery,2000).There are negative issues, however, in the use of this
burning method and much of that circulate around its safety for the
environment and to the human health. It is argued that the combustion
process creates air pollution, ash, and waste water, all of which must be
properly managed using technical monitoring,containment, and treatment
systems. Harmful pollutants are released into the environment
whenever these by-products are not controlled (US EPA,
2009).Operators of these facilities must be well -trained and certified to
ensure proper management.(http://www.scribd.com/doc/24935162/Review-of-
related-literature-waste-and-waste-managment)

Waste Prevention and Minimization

Prevention means eliminating or reducing the quantity of waste which is

produced in the first place, thus reducing the quantity of waste which must be
managed. Prevention can take the form of reducing the quantities of materials
used in a process or reducing the quantity of harmful materials which may be
contained in a product.

Prevention can also include the reuse of products. Prevention is the most
desirable waste management option as it eliminates the need for handling,
transporting, recycling or disposal of waste. It provides the highest level of
environmental protection by optimizing the use of resources and by removing a
potential source of pollution. Minimization includes any process or activity that
avoids, reduces or eliminates waste at its source or results in re-use or
recycling.Waste prevention and minimization measures can be applied at all
stages in the life-cycle of a product including the production process, the
marketing, distribution, or utilization stages, up to discarding the product at the
end- of life stage. By examining each stage in the life cycle of a product, it may
be possible that the quantities of waste produced at each stage can be reduced.

During the design stage of a product, consideration can be given to the types of
materials to be used, the quantity of materials and the recyclability of the product
once it reaches its end of life. The use of efficient processes in terms of energy
and material requirements during the manufacture of a product are other
important considerations. Consideration can also be given to minimizing the
packaging for the product.
((http://www.globenet.org/preceup/pages/ang/chapitre/capitali/cas/nepal.ht
m)

Garbage Disposal System For Proper Waste Management

Actually, the solid wastes we throw in our garbage bins everyday can be
classified into groups, this is called segregation. If you want to reduce, reuse and
recycle, then it would be better for you to identify those wastes that can still be
used from real garbage that needs to be thrown away.

Garbage are decomposable food wastes, these are excess foods, ingredients,
etc., that are has no use for human consumption anymore. If you have a lawn
and garden, making a compost pit can be a good way to make use of these
wastes. This can be a good fertilizer for your garden plants.Proper waste
disposal is very important in making sure that your place and environment is free
from any waste that can cause health risks. If you want a clean and healthy
environment, then you have to constantly clean your area, and put some tools
and equipments like a garbage disposal to help you in keeping that area clean
and free from harmful bacteria.

One place in our house that usually accumulates smelly wastes is our kitchen.
Usually, garbage from excess food ingredients, rotten food, etc., goes straight to
your kitchen's wastes bins, but this waste bins most of the time contains all things
that cause bad odor in our kitchen. What is bad about this waste bins are that its
bad smell can spread all over your house, and that would be really unsanitary.
Bad waste disposal in our kitchen can direct the waste straight into our plumbing
system, causing a bigger trouble for you and your family. If you want to keep your
house free form the bad smell of food waste and garbage, then it would be wise
for you to have a proper garbage disposal.(http://ezinearticles.com/?Garbage-
Disposal-System-For-Proper-Waste-Management&id=4432903)

Composting It is a natural process in which plant and other organic wastes are
broken down biologically to produce a nutrient-rich material. At home, put yard
and kitchen waste such as leaves, grass clippings, and fruit and vegetable
scraps in a bin. This will
eventually decompose and produce a mixture that can be used for soil
improvement in individual gardens. Municipalities can treat waste in the same
way. Recycling is one of the best ways of waste management. It helps in
reducing pollution, saving natural resources and conserving energy. Recycling
newspapers, plastics, glass and aluminum also helps in saving money. Recycling
other materials such as tires, batteries, asphalt, motor oil, etc. reduces pollution
(otherwise these would end up in landfill or incinerator). In order to reduce trash,
it is necessary to encourage and implement recycling at all levels of society.

Burning Waste

In cities that do not have enough land available for landfills, controlled burning of
waste at high temperatures to produce steam and ash is a preferred waste
disposal technique. Combustion reduces the volume of waste to be disposed
significantly. Moreover, solid waste can provide for a continuously available and
alternative source for generating energy through combustion. This energy can be
channeled into useful purposes. (http://www.ehow.com/way_5701500_proper-
waste-disposal.html)

Chapter 4- Methodology
The methodology used is mainly simple asking of the question what is the
importance of garbage segregation, and if the question is not understood by the
respondent, I explain it to them in the local dialect. The respondents consist of 12
male and 13 female , above 18 years of age, and randomly selected, within
Sindangan, specifically, Poblacion, Sto. Rosario, and Sta Cruz, the total
respondents equal 25. I approached the respondents and asked a bit of their
time to which most of them agreed but I wanted a total of 25 people for more
accurate data. The respondents consisted of pedestrians and vendors.

Chapter 5- Result and Conclusion

As per my interview, most of the respondents (20/25 or 80%) were not interested
in segregating garbage according to class as it won’t affect them, they just want
to go on with their lives and not worry something “trivial” as proper waste
segregation , while the remaining respondents (5/25 or 20%) were enlightened
enough to know that proper waste management is important in recycling as it is
divided into class and not contaminated , it will be easier to recycle which will
benefit the environment and the country as it will have to spend less on acquiring
new raw materials when it can be recycled. To conclude my research study, the
overall purpose of segregation of waste is the more separation categories we
have, the more effective and efficient recycling process we will have, which will
benefit the country and the eco-system in the long-run , for example , when
properly segregated waste like paper, the country can recycle it into a new
product there for less trees being cut-down , in turn, a clean and green country
which is good for the people.