Ecological Solid Waste Management

Topic Outline
What is Solid Waste? Sources of Solid Waste Classification of Solid Waste Solid Waste Management Effects of Solid Waste Treatment and Disposal

What is Solid Waste? Refers to all discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous institutional and industrial waste, street sweepings, construction debris, agricultural wastes & other non-hazardous & non-toxic solid wastes. Scope of Solid Wastes Solid waste - household, commercial, institutional (non-hazardous), street sweepings, construction debris, agricultural, and other non-hazardous waste Special waste - household/ commercial hazardous waste e.g., paints, thinners, batteries, spray canisters. Sources of Solid Wastes Residential domestic & special Commercial domestic Industrial domestic & process waste Institutional Schools/universities domestic/infectious & pathogenic Health care/facilities domestic/ infectious & pathogenic Categories of Solid Waste NON-HAZARDOUS SOLID WASTES Biodegradable Non-biodegradable Recyclables Bulky wastes / scrap (e.g. damaged chairs, furnitures) HAZARDOUS SOLID WASTES Empty chemical containers (e.g. paint cans, adhesive tubes) Medical wastes Chemical Wastes

Classification of Solid Waste Domestic Waste Factory Waste Waste from oil factory E-waste Construction Waste Agricultural Waste Food Processing Waste Bio-medical Waste Nuclear Waste Compostable Wastes Are biodegradable waste such as food wastes, garden wastes & animal wastes. They undergo biological degradation under controlled conditions and can be turned into compost (soil conditioner or organic fertilizer).

Examples:

Fruit & vegetable peelings Food leftovers Vegetable & plant trimmings

Recyclable Wastes Materials retrieved from waste stream and free from contamination & can still be converted into suitable beneficial use. These may be transformed into new products in such a manner that the original products may lose its identity.

Examples:

Papers Plastics

Glass Metals

Residual Wastes Waste materials that are non-compostable & non-recyclable. They should be disposed ecologically through a long term disposal facility or sanitary landfill.

Examples:

Bulky wastes: Broken furniture, lamps, book cases, filing cabinets

Waste Mismanagement

Solid Waste Management Garbage Generation Segregation Avoidance Reuse Reduce Recycle Composting Collection Segregated Collection Disposal Use of sanitary landfills and/or alternative technology

Causal of Increase in Solid Waste Population growth Increase in industrials manufacturing Urbanization Modernization Modernization, technological advancement and increase in global population created rising in demand for food and other essentials. Effects of Solid Waste Health Environment Aquatic Life and Animals Impacts of Solid Waste in Health Chemical poisoning through chemical inhalation Uncollected waste can obstruct the storm water runoff resulting in flood Low birth weight Cancer Congenital malformation Neurological disease Nausea and vomiting Increase in hospitalization of diabetic residents living near hazard waste sites. Mercury toxicity from eating fish with high levels of mercury. Impacts of Solid Waste on Environment Waste breaks down in landfills to form methane, a potent greenhouse gas Change in climate and destruction of ozone layer due to waste biodegradable Littering, due to waste pollutions, illegal dumping, Leaching: is a process by which solid waste enter soil and ground water and contaminating them

Effects of Solid Waste on Animals and Aquatics Life Increase in mercury level in fish due to disposal of mercury in the rivers. Plastic found in oceans ingested by birds Resulted in high algal population in rivers and sea. Degrades water and soil quality

HIERARCHY of METHODS

Source reduction is activities designed to reduce the volume or toxicity of waste generated, including the design and manufacture of products with minimum toxic content, minimum volume of material, and/or a longer useful life. Recycling Is a resource recovery practice that refers to the collection and reuse of waste materials such as empty beverage containers. The materials from which the items are made can be reprocessed into new products The most common consumer products recycled include aluminum such as beverage cans, copper such as wire, steel food and aerosol cans, old steel furnishings or equipment, polyethylene and PET bottles, glass bottles and jars, paperboard cartons, newspapers, magazines and light paper, and corrugated fiberboard boxes

Treatment/Disposal

Waste Handling Facilities Civic Amenity Site (CA Site) Transfer Station Established Waste Treatment Technologies Composting Incineration Landfill Recycling Windrow Composting

Alternative Waste Treatment Technologies Anaerobic digestion Alcohol/ethanol production Bioconversion of biomass to mixed alcohol fuels (pilot scale) Biodrying Gasification Gas Plasma: Gasification followed by syngas plasma polishing (commercial test scale) In-vessel composting Mechanical biological treatment Mechanical heat treatment Plasma arc waste disposal (commercial demonstration scale) Pyrolysis Sewage treatment Tunnel composting UASB (applied to solid wastes) Waste autoclave Civic Amenity Site A CA site or household waste recycling centre (HWRC) is a facility where the public can dispose of household waste and also often containing recycling points. Collection points for recyclable waste such as green waste, metals, glass and other waste types are available. Items that cannot be collected by local waste collection schemes such as bulky waste are also provided. Transfer Station Is a building or processing site for the temporary deposition of waste. Transfer stations are often used as places where local waste collection vehicles will deposit their waste cargo prior to loading into larger vehicles. These larger vehicles will transport the waste to the end point of disposal in an incinerator, landfill, or hazardous waste facility, or for recycling.
COMPOSTING

Composting, often described as natures way of recycling, is the biological process of breaking up of organic waste such as food waste, manure, leaves, grass trimmings, paper, worms, and coffee grounds, etc., into an extremely useful humus-like substance by various micro-organisms including bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in the presence of oxygen.

Types of Composting / According To Its Nature Aerobic Composting Anaerobic Composting Vermicomposting Takakura Method

AEROBIC COMPOSTING This means to compost with air. High nitrogen waste (like grass clippings or other green material) will grow bacteria that will create high temperatures (up to 160 degrees). Organic waste will break down quickly and is not prone to smell. This type of composting is high maintenance, since it will need to be turned every couple days to keep air in the system and your temperatures up. It is also likely to require accurate moisture monitoring. This type of compost is good for large volumes of compost. ANAEROBIC COMPOSTING This is composting without air. Anaerobic composting is low maintenance since you simply throw it in a pile and wait a couple years. If you just stack your debris in a pile it will generally compact to the point where there is no available air for beneficial organisms to live. Instead you will get a very slow working bacteria growing that does not require air. Your compost may take years to break down (this is what happens when you throw your food waste in the garbage that goes to the landfill). Anaerobic composts create the awful smell most people associate with composting. The bacteria break down the organic materials into harmful compounds like ammonia and methane. VERMICOMPOSTING This is most beneficial for composting food waste. Along with red worms, this includes composting with bacteria, fungi, insects, and other bugs. Some of these guests break down the organic materials for the others to eat. Red worms eat the bacteria, fungi, and the food waste, and then deposit their castings. Oxygen and moisture are required to keep this compost healthy.

TAKAKURA METHOD

INCENERATION Is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to combustion so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. This method is useful for disposal of residue of both solid waste management and solid residue from waste water management. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are sometimes described as "thermal treatment". Incinerators convert waste materials into heat, gas, steam and ash. LANDFILL Is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment. Historically, landfills have been the most common methods of organized waste disposal and remain so in many places around the world. Older, poorly designed or poorly managed landfills can create a number of adverse environmental impacts such as wind-blown litter, attraction of vermin, and generation of liquid leachate. Another common byproduct of landfills is gas (mostly composed of methane and carbon dioxide), which is produced as organic waste breaks down anaerobically. This gas can create odor problems, kill surface vegetation, and is a greenhouse gas. Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production. Windrow composting In agriculture, windrow composting is the production of compost by piling organic matter or biodegradable waste, such as animal manure and crop residues, in long rows (windrows). This method is suited to producing large volumes of compost. These rows are generally turned to improve porosity and oxygen content, mix in or remove moisture, and redistribute cooler and hotter portions of the pile. Windrow composting is a commonly used farm scale composting method. Composting process control parameters include the initial ratios of carbon and nitrogen rich materials, the amount of bulking agent added to assure air porosity, the pile size, moisture content, and turning frequency. Biodrying Is the process by which biodegradable waste is rapidly heated through initial stages of composting to remove moisture from a waste stream and hence reduce its overall weight.

Gasplasma Plasma gasification is an emerging technology which can process landfill waste to extract commodity recyclables and convert carbon-based materials into fuels. It can form an integral component in a system to achieve zero-waste and produce renewable fuels, whilst caring for the environment. Plasma arc processing has been used for years to treat hazardous waste, such as incinerator ash and chemical weapons, and convert them into non-hazardous slag. In-vessel Composting An industrial form of composting biodegradable waste that occurs in enclosed reactors. These generally consist of metal tanks or concrete bunkers in which air flow and temperature can be controlled, using the principles of a "bioreactor". Generally the air circulation is metered in via buried tubes that allow fresh air to be injected under pressure, with the exhaust being extracted through a biofilter, with temperature and moisture conditions monitored using probes in the mass to allow maintenance of optimum aerobic decomposition conditions. Waste Autoclave Is a form of solid waste treatment that utilizes heat, steam and pressure of an industrial autoclave in the processing of waste. Waste autoclaves process waste either in batches or in continuous-flow processes. References: U.S. Environment Protection Agency (2009). Proposed Revision to Definition of solid waste- frequent Questions. Retrieved July17, 2009 from http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm Goorah, S., Esmyot, M., Boojhawon, R. (2009). The Health Impact of Nonhazardous Solid Waste Disposal in a Community: The case of the Mare Chicose Landfill in Mauritius. Journal of Environment Health, 72(1) 48-54 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solid_waste_treatment_technologies http://northwestredworms.com/compost.aspx http://rapidlibrary.com/files/takakura-method-full-pdf_ulcfbvzcxyi89on.html http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno9003.htm http://emb.gov.ph/eeid/ESWM.htm National Solid Waste Management Commission Managing our Solid Waste The Philippines: Solid Waste Management Oragnizational Structure http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=National_Solid_Waste_Management_C ommission