What is Waste:

• Ever since human society has been evolving with huge population growth, there has been an ever-increasing demand for the primary needs of food, shelter, clothing, etc.

  • This has led to the rapidly increasing size and number of towns, cities, large agricultural fields, storage godowns, factories, interconnecting roads, railways, and so on.

    • With these, there has also been increasing use of electricity, firewood, petroleum, and even nuclear energy.

      • All this is leading to more and more human body waste, livestock waste, discarded equipment, agricultural waste, etc. Efficient methods of their disposal are being continuously improved.

Solid Waste:

• Almost everything that we use degenerates and loses its utility over a period of time.

  • Many things become unusable after we use them only once.

    • We then throw them away.

• Everything that we discard after it loses its usability is known as solid waste or garbage.

  • There are different sources from where solid waste or garbage is generated everyday from individual households (domestic waste), and from industries and commercial establishments.

• However, all such wastes are not uniform in nature.

  • Broadly speaking, solid wastes can be divided into two distinct categories biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.

Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable Waste:

• We define biodegradable materials as those substances made of organic matter, such as plant and animal matter, that can be easily broken down by nature.

  • For example

    • vegetable peels

    • other kitchen waste,

    • vegetables, fruits,

    • tea leaves,

    • paper,

    • wood, etc.

• Non-biodegradable materials are those materials, which cannot be broken down easily, and retain their form for a long period of time.

  • For example, metals, tin, glass, plastics etc.

Solid Waste Disposal:

• The garbage that we generate every day has not only increased in volume phenomenally, but has also changed its composition due to changes in our lifestyles and consumption patterns.

  • For instance, there is now an increasing use of non-biodegradable materials such as plastics, metals and glass, specifically in urban areas.

    • Technological advancement has further brought in an increasing use of electronic items and gadgets.

    • These are useful for us, but when discarded (known as E-Waste) they can be harmful to the environment and human health, particularly for the workers associated with this occupation.

      • In addition, we seem to have lost our aesthetic and civic sense, and carelessly litter garbage around on the roads, in the market-place, in open drains, ponds, rivers, seas, and so on. In fact, we keep throwing a lot of garbage everyday.

Consequences of Solid Waste Disposal:

• In the cities and towns, collection of garbage is the responsibility of the respective municipalities.

  • The garbage then goes through a process of segregation, treatment and final disposal in the landfills.

    • This process of segregation in our country is still done manually by rag pickers.

      • In this process, materials that can be recycled are separated, while toxic wastes are sorted out and kept separately.

• This process of segregation ensures that the amount of solid waste, which is ultimately disposed of in the landfills, is reduced substantially.

  • However, with the enormous volume of waste that is being generated now-a-days, the concerned authorities are finding it difficult to deal with this problem.

    • Most often we find that all sorts of solid wastes are dumped together in the landfills, which in many places, have already overreached its accumulation level.

• Moreover, groundwater in the immediate vicinity of such landfill sites is prone to contamination through continuous contact with the deposited waste.

  • In most of the rural areas, people have to deal with the disposal of household wastes themselves.

• A common method is the burning of solid wastes.

  • This may be a convenient method, but is not conducive either to the environment or to our health, as it causes air pollution.

• Many of the villages do practise composting which is the desirable method.

Effects of Undisposed or Unattended Garbage:

• Open and unattended garbage is a common sight in the market, streets or in the vicinity of our homes.

  • Most often, it emits such a foul smell that we have to cover our noses with a cloth.

    • If you observe carefully, you will notice that when garbage is allowed to collect in the open for a long time, it attracts flies, cockroaches and other insects. It also attracts rats and stray dogs.

• In fact, moist or fermenting garbage, particularly when organic waste such as kitchen waste is thrown, becomes a perfect breeding place for flies.

  • When we eat the food, which has been contaminated by these flies, we are likely to fall ill. Water and food borne diseases such as dysentery, cholera and gastroenteritis are some of the diseases that can be transmitted by flies.

• Moreover, since accumulated garbage emits foul smell, it also causes air pollution.

Waste Management and Segregation:

• You must have heard the slogan, “Reuse, Recycle, Reduce and Refuse.”

  • This slogan is associated with the practice of waste segregation and management.

    • Waste segregation and management is a process by which we categorise waste products and garbage, on the basis of what we can reduce, reuse and recycle.

      • We have discussed earlier that the volume of solid waste that is generated by us, has reached such an alarming proportion, that government alone cannot deal with it.

• We also have to be aware of the environmental and health hazards associated with it.

  • As it is a problem that has emanated from us, we must make efforts to resolve it.

    • By practising waste segregation and management we can reduce the volume of solid waste.

      • Through this activity you will be surprised to find that many of the items that have been discarded by you, still have utility.

• On the other hand, there are certain wastes, such as wet waste (kitchen waste), which can be reduced to almost ‘zero waste’