UNIT I

SOURCES AND TYPES OF MUNICIPAL

SOLID WASTES

Sources and types of solid wastes

Quantity - factors affecting generation of

solid wastes;
characteristics methods of sampling and
characterization;
Effects of improper disposal of solid wastes
public health effects.
Principle of solid waste management
social & economic aspects;
Public awareness;
Role of NGOs; Legislation.

Functional Elements of MSWM

The activities associated with the management

of municipal solid wastes from the point of

generation to final disposal can be grouped into
6 elements as follows:

Conti
Waste Generation:
- Waste generation contains activities in
which materials are identified as no longer
being of value (no usefulness) and are either
thrown away (or) gathered together for
disposal.
- Waste generation is at present, an activity
that is not very controllable.
In the future, more control is likely to be
exercised over the generation of wastes.

Conti..
Waste Handling, Sorting, Storage &
Processing @ source:
- The 2nd of 6 functional elements in the solid
waste management.
- Waste handling and sorting involves the
activities associated with management of
wastes until they are placed in storage
containers for collection.
- Sorting of waste components is an important
step in the handling and storage of solid
wastes at source.
- On site storage is of primary importance
because of public health concerns and
aesthetics consideration.

Conti..
Collection:
- The functional element of collection,
includes not only the gathering of solid
wastes and recyclable materials, but
also the transport of these materials
after collection to the location where
collection vehicle is emptied.

Conti..
Sorting, Processing & Transformation of
solid wastes:
- Its the 4th of MSWMs functional elements.
- Sorting of mixed materials recovery facility
(MRF), transfer stations, combustion facilities
and disposal sites. It includes the separation
of waste components (by size), separation of
ferrous & non-ferrous materials.
- Waste processing is undertaken to recover,
conversion products & energy. The commonly
used thermal processing is incineration.
- Waste transformation is undertaken to
reduce volume, weight (or) size (or) toxicity

Conti..
Transfer & Transport: This involves

two steps.
- The transfer of wastes from the smaller
collection vehicle to the larger transport
equipment
- The subsequent transport of wastes,
over a longer distances to processing
disposal site.

Conti..
Disposal:
- The final functional element in the

solid waste management system is

disposal.
- A municipal solid waste landfill plant is
an engineered facility used for disposing
of solid wastes on land without creating
nuisance (or) hazard to public health (or)
safety.