ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of

guidance and assistance from many people and we are
extremely fortunate to have got this all along the completion of
our project. Whatever we have done is only due to such
guidance and assistance and we would never forget their
valuable help.
We first thank the God Almighty for providing all the necessary
help during the course of our project and successful completion
of our project.
We thank Department of Mechanical Engineering of The
National Institute of Technology, Calicut for providing us an
opportunity to conduct this project.
We also show our deepest gratitude to our beloved faculty
Environmental studies, Mr. P V Manu, Assistant Professor for
providing us with support and guidance throughout the days of
our project. He was there every time to correct our mistakes
and to clarify our doubts. His sincere support is praiseworthy
and was always encouraging for us.
We also thank our parents for their constant prayers enabling
us to move on.
We also respect and thank all Non-Teaching Staffs and our
fellow friends for providing us with all technical assistance and
support.

PREFACE
The major problem faced by the municipal corporations of many
cities is waste treatment and management. The issue which they
face is lack of proper ethics when comes to waste rejection by
common man.
Environmental Cleanliness in health and social care facilities
means more than just maintaining a clean and safe environment.
It makes a statement to services users and visitors about the
attitudes of students, staff, managers and Trust Boards.
To counter this issue, the Administration of NIT Calicut came up
with multicolored dustbins each labeled paper waste, food
waste, plastic waste to be kept at various locations inside the
campus. Starting August 2014, within a month, the whole campus
had multicolored dustbins (with 3 different labels) kept together
at various locations. Authorities and students thought it as a
logical way of treating waste as the waste is distinguishable and is
easy to treat.
The classification of dustbins is explained below:
The dustbins were classified according to the waste. There were 4
major types of waste selected:
1. Putrescible waste (Yellow code): Solid waste that
contains organic matter capable of being decomposed by
microorganisms and of such a character and proportions as
to cause obnoxious odors and to be capable of attracting or
providing food for birds or animals. Putrescible waste includes
food wastes, pet wastes, and used diapers etc.

2. Green waste (Green code): the vegetative portion of the

waste stream arising from various sources including waste
from domestic and commercial premises and municipal
operations (for example, garden or park waste, such as grass
or flower cuttings and hedge trimmings). It is a part of
biodegradable waste and it contains more nitrogenous matter
in it.
3. Combustible waste (Blue Code): It is a waste material
which can easily catch fire and produce fire. For example,
paper, textile, wood etc.
4. Non-Combustible waste: It is a non-biodegradable waste
that can be recovered, recycled and / or reused. The waste
materials like glass, crockery metal etc.
But no such effects have been seen till now and the level of
cleanliness inside the campus remains a dilemma.
We propose to do a project in which we find reasons why ever
after placing so many dustbins the NITC Administration has not
been able to see any significant changes.

Cleanliness
Matters:
It
is
everyones
responsibility, not just the cleaners.

Methodology:
We propose to complete the project by doing the following
things:
Providing different methods to the public of NITC for waste
disposal
Investigating the reasons for the failure of the
methodology used by NITC Administration
Recommending a new way or proper arrangement of
waste disposal facility
Conducting a survey to find out the difficulties faced by
the general public in waste disposal

Introduction
Environmental Cleanliness in health and social care facilities
means more than just maintaining a clean and safe environment.
It makes a statement to services users and visitors about the
attitudes of students, staff, managers and Institute Board. All
government bodies have a duty to ensure that high standards of
environmental cleanliness are being met and maintained. Service
users rightly expect that their stay in institute will be as safe and
comfortable

as

possible.

High

standards

of

environmental

cleanliness are particularly important and there is a public

perception that standards have deteriorated. The key is to ensure
that the highest possible standards of environmental cleanliness
are achieved and to satisfy service users that health and social
care facilities are clean and are being kept clean, thereby creating
and sustaining a caring environment that supports the delivery of
high quality health and social care.

It is therefore appropriate that this Strategy is identified as one of

the key supporting strands of the NITCs Prevention and Control
Strategy. The strategy identifies a range of issues that need to be
addressed in order to make our health and social care facilities
safer for services users, visitors and staff. Such issues include the
strengthening
capability

and

of

accountability

capacity

of

procedures

cleaning

in

services,

Trusts,
service

the
user

involvement in the measurement of standards and consideration

of the age and condition of the facilities.
The challenge is to change our thinking and culture so that we all
recognize the role we have to play in ensuring that our facilities
are clean and are being kept clean in support of combating
Healthcare Associated Infections. It is no longer valid simply to
say that this issue is solely the responsibility of the environmental
cleaning team. Working in partnership with all health and social
care facility users is the key to making real improvements in
standards.

Plastic wastes
Plastic waste involves the accumulation of plastic products in
the environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, or
humans. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized into micro,
meso, or macro debris, based on size. The prominence of plastic
pollution is correlated with plastics being inexpensive and
durable, which lends to high levels of plastics used by humans.
However, it is slow to degrade Plastic pollution can unfavorably
affect lands, waterways and oceans. Living organisms, particularly
marine animals, can also be affected through entanglement,
direct ingestion of plastic waste, or through exposure to chemicals
within plastics that cause interruptions in biological functions.
Humans are also affected by plastic pollution, such as through the
disruption of the thyroid hormone axis or hormone levels. Plastic
reduction efforts have occurred in some areas in attempts to

reduce plastic consumption and pollution and promote plastic

recycling.

TYPES OF PLASTIC WASTE:

There are three major forms of plastic that contribute to plastic
pollution: micro plastics as well as mega- and macro-plastics.
Mega- and micro plastics have accumulated in highest densities in
the Northern Hemisphere, concentrated around urban centres and
water fronts. They are less likely to be found around remote
islands and the continental shelf seabed. Both mega- and macroplastics are found in packaging, footwear, and other domestic
items that have been washed off of ships or discarded in landfills.
Fishing-related items are more likely to be found around remote
islands. These may also be referred to as micro, meso, and macro
debris.
Plastic debris is categorized as either primary or secondary.
Primary plastics are in their original form when collected.
Examples of these would be bottle caps, cigarette butts, and
micro beads. Secondary plastics, on the other hand, account for
smaller plastics that have resulted from the degradation of
primary plastics.

1. Micro debris:
Micro debris are plastic pieces between 2 m and 5 mm in
size. Plastic debris that starts off as meso or macro debris can
become micro debris through degradation and collisions that
break it down into smaller pieces. Micro debris is more commonly
referred to as nurdles. Nurdles are recycled to make new plastic
items, but they easily end up released into the environment
during production because of their small size. They often end up
in ocean waters through rivers and streams. Micro debris that
come from cleaning and cosmetic products are also referred to

as scrubbers. Because micro debris and scrubbers are so small in

size, filter-feeding organisms often consume them. A 2004 study
by Richard Thompson from the University of Plymouth, UK, found
a great amount of micro debris on the beaches and waters in
Europe, the Americas, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica. Thompson
and his associates found that plastic pellets from both domestic
and industrial sources were being broken down into much smaller
plastic pieces, some having a diameter smaller than human hair.
If not ingested, this micro debris floats instead of being absorbed
into the marine environment. Thompson predicts there may be
300,000 plastic items/km2 of sea surface and 100,000 plastic
particles/km2 of seabed.

2. Macro debris
Plastic debris is categorized as macro debris when it is larger than
20 mm. These include items such as plastic grocery bags. Macro
debris are often found in ocean waters, and can have a serious
impact on the native organisms. Fishing nets have been prime
pollutants. Even after they have been abandoned, they continue
to trap marine organisms and other plastic debris. Eventually,
these abandoned nets become too difficult to remove from the
water because they become too heavy, having grown in weight
up to 6 tons.

Decomposition of plastics

Plastics themselves contribute to approximately 10% of discarded

waste. Many kinds of plastics exist, depending on their precursors
and the method for their polymerization. Depending on their
chemical composition, plastics and resins have varying properties
related to contaminant absorption and adsorption. Polymer
degradation takes much longer as a result of hyaline
environments and the cooling effect of the sea. These factors
contribute to the persistence of plastic debris in certain
environments. Recent studies have shown that plastics in the
ocean decompose faster than was once thought, due to exposure
to sun, rain, and other environmental conditions, resulting in the
release of toxic chemicals such as biphenyl A. However, due to
the increased volume of plastics in the ocean, decomposition is
slowed down. The Marine Conservancy has predicted the
decomposition rates of several plastic products. It is estimated
that a foam plastic cup will take 50 years, a plastic beverage
holder will take 400 years, disposable diaper will take 450 years,
and fishing line will take 600 years to degrade.

Effects on the environment: The distribution of plastic debris is

highly variable as a result of certain factors such as wind and
ocean currents, coastline geography, urban areas, and trade
routes. Human population in certain areas also plays a large role
in this. Plastics are more likely to be found in enclosed regions
such as the Caribbean. Plastic pollution, more so in the forms of
macro- and mega-plastics, potentially serves as a means of
distribution of organisms to remote coasts that are not their
native environments. This could potentially increase the
variability and dispersal of organisms in specific areas that are
less biologically diverse. Plastics can also be used as vectors for
chemical contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and
heavy metals.
1. Land: Chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into
the surrounding soil, which can then seep into groundwater or

other surrounding water sources and also the ecosystem. This can
cause serious harm to the species that drink the water.
Landfill areas contain many different types of plastics. In these
landfills, there are many microorganisms. Which speed up the
biodegradation of plastics. The microorganisms include bacteria
such as Pseudomonas, nylon-eating bacteria, and Flavobacteria.
These bacteria break down nylon through the activity of the
nylonase enzyme. When biodegradable plastics are broken down,
methane is released, which a very powerful greenhouse gas that
contributes significantly to global warming.
2. Ocean: In 2012, it was estimated that there was
approximately 165 million tons of plastic pollution in the world's
oceans. One type of plastic that is of concern in terms of ocean
plastic pollution is nurdles. Nurdles are manufactured plastic
pellets (a type of micro plastic) used in the creation of plastic
products and are often shipped via cargo ship. A significant
amount of nurdles is spilled into oceans, and it has been
estimated that globally, around 10% of beach litter consists of
nurdles. Plastics in oceans typically degrade within a year, but not
entirely. In the process, toxic chemicals such as biphenyl A and
polystyrene can leach into waters from some plastics. Polystyrene
pieces and nurdles are the most common types of plastic
pollution in oceans, and combined with plastic bags and food
containers make up the majority of oceanic debris.
One study estimated that there are more than 5 trillion plastic
pieces (defined into the four classes of small micro plastics, large
micro plastics, meso- and macro plastics) afloat at sea.
3. Ocean based sources of ocean plastic pollution: Almost
90% of plastic debris that pollutes ocean water, which translates
to 5.6 million tons, comes from ocean-based sources. Merchant
ships expel cargo, sewage, used medical equipment, and other
types of waste that contain plastic into the ocean. Naval and
research vessels also eject waste and military equipment that are
deemed unnecessary. Pleasure crafts also release fishing gear and

other types of waste. These different ships do not have enough

storage space to keep these pollutants on the ship, and thus they
are discarded. These plastic items can also accidentally end up in
the water through negligent handling. The largest ocean-based
source of plastic pollution is discarded fishing gear, responsible
for up to 90% of plastic debris in some areas. This equipment
includes a variety of traps and nets.
4. Land-based sources of ocean plastic pollution: A little
over 10% of plastic debris in ocean water comes from land-based
sources, responsible for 0.8 million tons every year. A source that
has caused concern is landfills. Most waste in the form of plastic
in landfills are single-use items such as packaging. Discarding
plastics this way leads to accumulation. Although disposing of
plastic waste in landfills has less of a gas emission risk than
disposal through incineration, the former has space limitations.
Another concern is that the liners acting as protective layers
between the landfill and environment can break, thus leaking
toxins and contaminating the nearby soil and water. Landfills
located near oceans often contribute to ocean debris because
content is easily swept up and transported to the sea by wind or
small waterways like rivers and streams. Marine debris can also
result from sewage water that has not been efficiently treated,
which is eventually transported to the ocean through rivers.
Plastic items that have been improperly discarded can also be
carried to oceans through storm waters.

Ingestion
Marine animals: Sea turtles are affected by plastic pollution.
Some species are consumers of jelly fish, but often mistake plastic
bags for their natural prey. This plastic debris can kill the sea
turtle by obstructing the oesophagus. So too are whales; large
amounts of plastics have been found in the stomachs of beached
whales.

Some of the tiniest bits of plastic are being consumed by small

fish, in a part of the pelagic zone in the ocean called the
mesopelagic zone, which is 200 to 1000 meters below the ocean
surface, and completely dark. Not much is known about these
fish, other than that there are many of them. They hide in the
darkness of the ocean, avoiding predators and then swimming to
the ocean's surface at night to feed. Plastics found in the
stomachs of these fish were collected during Malaysians
circumnavigation, a research project that studies the impact of
global change on the oceans. The most popular mesopelagic fish
is the lantern fish. It resides in the central ocean gyres, a large
system of rotating ocean currents. Since lantern fish serve as a
primary food source for the fish that consumers purchase,
including tuna and swordfish, the plastics they ingest become
part of the food chain. The lantern fish is one of the main bait fish
in the ocean, and it eats large amounts of plastic fragments,
which in turn will not make them nutritious enough for other fish
to consume.
Birds: Plastic pollution does not only affect animals that live
solely in oceans. Seabirds are also greatly affected. In 2004, it
was estimated that seagulls in the North Sea had an average of
thirty pieces of plastic in their stomachs. Seabird's often mistake
trash floating on the ocean's surface as prey. Their food sources
often has already ingested plastic debris, thus transferring the
plastic from prey to predator. Ingested trash can obstruct and
physically damage a birds digestive system, reducing its
digestive ability and can lead to malnutrition, starvation, and
death. Toxic chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
also become concentrated on the surface of plastics at sea and
are released after seabirds eat them. These chemicals can
accumulate in body tissues and have serious lethal effects on a
bird's reproductive ability, immune system, and hormone balance.
Floating plastic debris can produce ulcers, infections and lead to
death. Marine plastic pollution can even reach birds that have
never been at the sea. Parents may accidentally feed their
nestlings plastic, mistaking it for food. Seabird chicks are the most
vulnerable to plastic ingestion since they can't regurgitate like the
adult seabirds.

After the initial observation that many of the beaches in New

Zealand had high concentrations of plastic pellets, further studies
found that different species of prion ingest the plastic debris.
Hungry prions mistook these pellets for food, and these particles
were found intact within the birds' gizzards and proventriculi.
Pecking marks similar to those made by northern fulmars in
cuttlebones have been found in plastic debris, such as Styrofoam,
on the beaches on the Dutch coast, showing that this species of
bird also mistakes plastic debris for food.
An estimate of 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses, which inhabit
Midway Atoll, all have plastics in their digestive system. Midway
Atoll is halfway between Asia and North America, and north of the
Hawaiian archipelago. Its a remote location, and the plastic
blockage has proven deadly to these birds. These seabirds choose
red, pink, brown and blue plastic pieces because of the similarities
they share with their natural food source. On the shore, thousands
of birds corpses can be seen with plastic remaining where the
stomach once was. The durability of the plastics is visible
amongst the remains. In some instances, the plastic piles are still
present while the bird's corpse has decayed. As a result of plastic
ingestion, the digestive tract can be blocked resulting in
starvation. The windpipe can also be blocked, which results in
suffocation. The debris can also accumulate in the animals gut,
and give them a false sense of fullness which would also result in
starvation.
Effects on animals: Similar to humans, animals exposed to
plasticizers can experience developmental defects. Specifically,
sheep have been found to have lower birth weights when
prenatally exposed to bisphenol A. Exposure to BPA can shorten
the distance between the eyes of a tadpole. It can also stall
development in frogs and can result in a decrease in body length.
In different species of fish, exposure can stall egg hatching and
result in a decrease in body weight, tail length, and body length.

Effects on humans: Due to the use of chemical additives during

plastic production, plastics have potentially harmful effects that
could prove to be carcinogenic or promote endocrine disruption.
Some of the additives are used as phthalate plasticizers and
brominated flame retardants. Through bio monitoring, chemicals
in plastics, such as BPA and phthalates, have been identified in
the human population. Humans can be exposed to these
chemicals through the nose, mouth, or skin. Although the level of
exposure varies depending on age and geography, most humans
experience simultaneous exposure to many of these chemicals.
Average levels of daily exposure are below the levels deemed to
be safe, but more research needs to be done on the effects of low
dose exposure on humans. A lot is unknown on how severely
humans are physically affected by these chemicals. Some of the
chemicals used in plastic production can cause dermatitis upon
contact with human skin. In many plastics, these toxic chemicals
are only used in trace amounts, but significant testing is often
required to ensure that the toxic elements are contained within
the plastic by inert material or polymer.
It can also affect humans in which it may create an eyesore that
interferes with enjoyment of the natural environment.
Clinical significance: Due to the pervasiveness of plastic
products, most of the human population is constantly exposed to
the chemical components of plastics. 95% of adults in the United
States have had detectable levels of BPA in their urine. Exposure
to chemicals such as BPA have been correlated with disruptions in
fertility, reproduction, sexual maturation, and other health effects.
Specific phthalates have also resulted in similar biological effects.
Thyroid hormone axis: Bisphenol A affects gene expression
related to the thyroid hormone axis, which affects biological
functions such as metabolism and development. BPA can
decrease thyroid hormone receptor (TR) activity by increasing TR
transcriptional corepressor activity. This then decreases the level
of thyroid hormone binding proteins that bind to triiodothyronine.

By affecting the thyroid hormone axis, BPA exposure can lead to

hypothyroidism.
Sex hormones: BPA can disrupt normal, physiological levels of
sex hormones. It does this by binding to globulins that normally
bind to sex hormones such as androgens and estrogens, leading
to the disruption of the balance between the two. BPA can also
affect the metabolism or the catabolism of sex hormones. It often
acts as an antiandrogen or as an estrogen, which can cause
disruptions in gonadal development and sperm production.
Reduction efforts: Household items made of various types of
plastic. Efforts to reduce the use of plastics and to promote plastic
recycling have occurred. Some supermarkets charge their
customers for plastic bags, and in some places more efficient
reusable or biodegradable materials are being used in place of
plastics. Some communities and businesses have put a ban on
some commonly used plastic items, such as bottled water and
plastic bags.
Biodegradable and degradable plastics: The use of
biodegradable plastics has been shown to have many advantages
and disadvantages. Biodegradables are biopolymers that degrade
in industrial composters. Biodegradables do not degrade as
efficiently in domestic composters, and during this slower
process, methane gas may be emitted.
There are also other types of degradable materials that are not
considered to be biopolymers, because they are oil-based, similar
to other conventional plastics. These plastics are made to be
more degradable through the use of different additives, which
help them degrade when exposed to UV rays or other physical
stressors. However, biodegradation-promoting additives for
polymers have been shown not to significantly increase
biodegradation.

Although biodegradable and degradable plastics have helped

reduce plastic pollution, there are some drawbacks. One issue
concerning both types of plastics is that they do not break down
very efficiently in natural environments. There, degradable
plastics that are oil-based may break down into smaller fractions,
at which point they do not degrade further.
Incineration: Up to 60% of used, plastic medical equipment is
incinerated rather than deposited in a landfill as a precautionary
measure to lessen the transmission of disease. This has allowed
for a large decrease in the amount of plastic waste that stems
from medical equipment. If plastic waste is not incinerated and
disposed of properly, a harmful amount of toxins can be released
and dispersed as a gas through air or as ash through air and
waterways. Many studies have been done concerning the gaseous
emissions that result from the incineration process.

Policy
Agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Food and Drug Administration often do not assess the safety of
new chemicals until after a negative side effect is shown. Once
they suspect a chemical may be toxic, it is studied to determine
the human reference dose, which is determined to be the lowest
observable adverse effect level. During these studies, a high dose
is tested to see if it causes any adverse health effects, and if it
does not, lower doses are considered to be safe as well. This does
not take into account the fact that with some chemicals found in
plastics, such as BPA, lower doses can have a discernible effect.
Even with this often complicated evaluation process, policies have
been put into place in order to help alleviate plastic pollution and
its effects. Government regulations have been implemented that
ban some chemicals from being used in specific plastic products.
In Canada, the United States, and the European Union, BPA has
been banned from being incorporated in the production of baby
bottles and childrens cups, due to health concerns and the higher
vulnerability of younger children to the effects of BPA. Taxes have

been established in order to discourage specific ways of

managing plastic waste. The landfill tax, for example, creates an
incentive to choose to recycle plastics rather than contain them in
landfills, by making the latter more expensive. There has also
been a standardization of the types of plastics that can be
considered compostable. The European Norm EN 13432, which
was set by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN),
lists the standards that plastics must meet, in terms of
composability and biodegradability, in order to officially be
labelled as compostable.
Collection: The two common forms of waste collection include
curb side collection and the use of drop-off recycling centres.
About 87 percent of the population in the U.S.A. (273 million
people) have access to curb side and drop-off recycling centres. In
curb side collection, which is available to about 63 percent of the
U.S.A. population (193 million people), people place designated
plastics in a special bin to be picked up by a public or private
hauling company. Most curb side programs collect more than one
type of plastic resin; usually both PETE and HDPE. At drop-off
recycling centres, which are available to 68 percent of the U.S.A.
population (213 million people), people take their recyclables to a
centrally located facility. Once collected, the plastics are delivered
to a materials recovery facility (MRF) or handler for sorting into
single-resin streams to increase product value. The sorted plastics
are then baled to reduce shipping costs to proclaimers.
There are varying rates of recycling per type of plastic, and in
2011, the overall plastic recycling rate was approximately 8% in
the United States. Approximately 2.7 million tons of plastics were
recycled in the U.S. in 2011. Some plastics are recycled more than
others; in 2011 "29 percent of HDPE bottles and 29 percent of PET
bottles and jars were recycled."

Plastic pollution in the Pacific

Gyre
(Case Study)
In the Pacific Gyre, specifically 20N-40N latitude, large bodies of
floating marine debris can be found. Models of wind patterns and
ocean currents indicate that the plastic waste in the northern
Pacific is particularly dense where the Subtropical Convergence
Zone (STCZ), 23N-37N latitude, meets a southwest-northeast
line, found north of the Hawaiian archipelago.
In the Pacific, there are two mass build ups: the western garbage
patch and the eastern garbage patch, the former off the coast of
Japan and the latter between Hawaii and California. The two
garbage patches are both part of the great Pacific garbage patch,
and are connected through a section of plastic debris off the
northern coast of the Hawaiian Islands. It is approximated that
these garbage patches contain 100 million tons of debris. The
waste is not compact, and although most of it is near the surface
of the pacific, it can be found up to more than 100 feet deep in
the water.

Effects on animals: Plastic pollution has the potential to poison

animals, which can then adversely affect human food supplies.
Plastic pollution has been described as being highly detrimental
to large marine mammals, described in the book Introduction to
Marine Biology as posing the "single greatest threat" to them.
Some marine species, such as sea turtles, have been found to

contain large proportions of plastics in their stomach. When this

occurs, the animal typically starves, because the plastic blocks
the animal's digestive tract. Marine mammals sometimes become
entangled in plastic products such as nets, which can harm or kill
them.
Entanglement: Sea turtle entangled in a ghost net
entanglement in plastic debris has been responsible for the
deaths of many marine organisms, such as fish, seals, turtles, and
birds. These animals get caught in the debris and end up
suffocating or drowning. Because they are unable to untangle
themselves, they also die from starvation or from their inability to
escape predators. Being entangled also often results in severe
lacerations and ulcers. In a 2006 report known as Plastic Debris in
the Worlds Oceans, it was estimated that at least 267 different
animal species have suffered from entanglement and ingestion of
plastic debris. It has been estimated that over 400,000 marine
mammals perish annually due to plastic pollution in oceans.
Marine organisms get caught in discarded fishing equipment, such
as ghost nets. Ropes and nets used to fish are often made of
synthetic materials such as nylon, making fishing equipment
more durable and buoyant. These organisms can also get caught
in circular plastic packaging materials, and if the animal continues
to grow in size, the plastic can cut into their flesh. Equipment
such as nets can also drag along the seabed, causing damage to
coral reefs.

Background of NITC Waste

Disposal
A high quality environment is essential for the delivery of health
and social care services and needs to be supported by high
standards of environmental cleanliness. There are public
perceptions that the standards of cleanliness in Health and Social
Service (HSS) Trust facilities are not to an acceptable standard
and have strongly associated this with concerns surrounding the
control of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI).
Service users are entitled to expect everything in Trust facilities to
be clean - not just floors, surfaces, furniture and toilets but also
equipment, Hostels, Labs, Classroom. They have a right to expect
a welcoming environment at all times with equipment which is
safe and fit for purpose. The key is to ensure that the highest
possible standards of cleanliness are achieved and to satisfy
service users that trust facilities are clean and kept clean.
The publication of this Environmental Cleanliness Strategy
acknowledges the close association between cleanliness and
infection prevention and control whilst acknowledging that there
are important distinctions to be made.

What is common is the service user perspective of the importance

that cleaning has in the prevention and control of infection
thereby creating and sustaining a caring environment that
supports the delivery of high quality health and social care. By
ensuring that this is the case, not only are service user and public
perceptions of a quality service enhanced, but also the prevention
and control of HAI can be improved.
It is recognized that environmental cleaning services may be
provided in a number of ways and that NITC require this
operational flexibility, but uniform environmental cleanliness
standards and ways of measuring them are needed to allow
delivery of visible year-on-year evidence to satisfy service users
that Institute facilities are clean and being kept clean. This
strategy therefore outlines a practical, incremental approach to
the setting and measurement of uniform standards; it is not
intended to replace existing good practice initiatives already
implemented by NITC administration. These initiatives have
contributed positively to the standard of environmental
cleanliness in individual Trusts and it is this good work that needs
to be built upon to further improve our approach in this important
operational area.

Accountability
Cleanliness

&

Culture

for

Environmental

There is a need for NITC admin to be able to demonstrate strong

and clear leadership at the highest level of management that
encourages a culture that recognizes that cleanliness matters
and that cleanliness is everyones responsibility, not just
the cleaners. Administration must have in place clear
accountability arrangements for environmental cleanliness
standards, linked to infection prevention and control and to
corporate, clinical and social care governance arrangements. It is
absolutely vital that all staff, not only cleaning staff but also
students, staff, managers and Institute Board are clear about their
role and personal responsibilities.

What is to be achieved and who is responsible for the

standard of cleaning?
There is some way to go before a real clean culture is
created.
Institute cleaning is generally seen as the responsibility of
the cleaning staff and not an Institute-wide responsibility.
Unclear and undefined responsibilities for cleaning our
environment.

Processes
What is required to meet the necessary standards?
Cleaning specifications have failed to keep pace with
changes in activity and do not reflect current cleaning
requirements.
Cleaning specifications have not been updated.
Cleaning specifications are poorly defined
Links between cleaning and infection control teams have not
been established
Poorly defined or managed cleaning contracts

 Lack of co-ordination between cleaning and other services

Outcomes
How do we ensure the system is working?

The level of monitoring varies across Institutes, is subjective

and is not guided by National Standards

Monitoring and Audit

What is being measured internal and external to the
organization?
There are significant variations in the cleaning approach
adopted by individual Institutes.
The cost of cleaning varies across Institutes and colleges.
Involving and listening to service users and staff----An integral part of developing a cleanliness matters culture is
taking account the views of service users and staff on the
quality of environmental cleanliness. These views should be
integrated into the planning, implementation and monitoring
process for environmental cleanliness standards.

RECYCLING OF FOOD WASTE

INTO BIOGAS

Biogas renewable energy (electricity) through Anaerobic Digestion

(AD) from food waste and food processing residues. Biogas is a
mix of gases produced by anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic
digestion converts organic matter into useful products in the
absence of air typically in sealed tanks (digesters). Inside the
digester, materials experience a series of stages in which
different types of bacteria break them down and convert them
into useful outputs. The gases produced typically consist of 60 %
methane and 40 % carbon dioxide (CO2). For commercial use, this
is often upgraded to pure methane by removing the CO2. In
addition to biogas, the process also yields a nutrient-rich
digestant. Every ton of food waste recycled by anaerobic
digestion as an alternative to landfill prevents between 0.5 and
1.0 ton of CO2 entering the atmosphere.

INPUTS
Biogas inputs (known as feedstock) come from a wide variety of
organic sources. Farm crops (known as biomass) are a common
feedstock, they are either crops traditionally grown for food (such
as maize and corn) or crops specifically developed for energy
purposes. Animal manure is another common feedstock. So is
food waste, either from commercial operators (e.g. food
processing factories, restaurants and retailers) or from domestic
households. Human sewage can be used but is typically limited to
the captive operations of wastewater management companies.

OUTPUTS
The biogas can be burnt to create electricity, which can be fed
into the grid. This process also generates heat, which can be
captured and used locally (e.g. for heating and drying).
Alternatively, bio-methane can be distributed through a gas pipe

network, effectively being used in the same way as natural gas

from fossil fuels. The digestant is a valuable fertilizer for farmers
and is particularly useful in countries where soil quality has
become degraded through over-intensive farming.

BENEFITS
Biogas replaces the use of fossil fuels and helps to reduce the
emission of methane into the atmosphere. As a greenhouse gas,
methane is 2025 times more harmful than CO2. Digestant
production avoids the environmental hazards associated with
industrially produced fertilizers.
Using biomass to create biogas creates a carbon neutral cycle, in
which the carbon emitted from burning the gas is absorbed by
new crops grown as feedstock. Creating biogas from food waste
means that fewer waste treatment facilities are needed and less
organic matter goes into landfill sites (which typically release
methane into the atmosphere over time).

SURVEY AT NIT CALICUT

A survey was conducted among NITC students regarding their
view on cleanliness in the campus. 107 participants participated
in the survey.
The questionnaires along with the responses are shown below:

Do you think our campus is clean enough?

47%
53%

Yes

No

Are you facing any problem in disposing waste in your campus?

Yes

No

33%

67%

Do you feel free to throw waste on roadsides?

30%

70%

Yes

No

Do you carry waste along, till you find a dustbin?

Yes

No

48%
52%

Do you follow categorisation of dustbins (plastics, paper, foodwaste etc.) before disposing?
Certainly Only if available No
No; 9%
Certainly; 24%

Only if available; 66%

Is there any improvement in NITC after categorisation of dustbins?

25%

75%

Yes

No

There were subjective questions as well and these are analyzed

below:
Q: Suggest places where more number of dustbins are
required in the campus.
After analyzing the responses of the participants, it was found out
that the following areas need more number of dustbins:
1. Road between A hostel and E hostel.
2. Area between C gate and Kattangal.
3. Areas nears sports ground.
4. Area near MBA hostels, FB Block.
Q: Suggestions for effective waste disposal in campus.
After analyzing the answers, the following points were clear:
1. More number of dustbins are required in the specified areas.
2. Instead of keeping the dustbins together, it is wise to keep
them a little apart from each other.
3. The area near E hostel where a lot of garbage are being
dumped, has to be cleared.

Conclusion
From the responses of the participants, the following points are
made:
1. A little over half of the people think that the campus is not
clean enough.
2. Majority of the people face problems while throwing trash,
and they throw their trash on roadside but provided enough
dustbins, they opined that that they will definitely use it.

3. According to most of the participants, the classification of

dustbins is insignificant until there are a plentiful of them
available. People follow the classification only when dustbins
are present.
4. Every three out of four participants think that the condition
of cleanliness has not changed in the campus even after the
classification of dustbins.

WASTES GENERATED IN NITC MESSES

AND CANTEEN
(CASE STUDY)
A case study was done regarding the wastes generated in the
Messes and canteen of NITC. The main canteen and E, PG2 and B
mess were part of this case study.
Summary:

It was found out that about 50 kg of waste is generated daily in

each of this places. This includes vegetable waste, food waste /
leftover and plastic waste.
In case of messes, the food waste is given to local animal farms
and decomposed in pits. Whereas, plastic waste is taken by the
garbage collection van
In case of main canteen, the food waste and vegetable waste,
instead of being simply decomposed, are used to produce bio gas
and 60 % of their fuel requirement is fulfilled by bio gas. The
plastic waste is as usual collected by the garbage collecting van.
It was found out that the garbage collection van is regular in its
duty.
Suggestion: It can be suggested that the messes, instead of just
decomposing the vegetable wastes, should also start producing
biogas. This will benefit the environment. This will also drastically
reduce their cost of fuels which includes firewood and LPG and
reduce the lead time of acquiring fuel. But installing bio gas
producing systems may take time. Till then, these wastes can be
provided to places like main canteen where bio gas is already
produced.

FINAL CONCLUSION
The major problem faced by the municipal corporations of many
cities is waste treatment and management. The issue which they

face is lack of proper ethics when comes to waste rejection by

common man. Environmental Cleanliness in health and social care
facilities means more than just maintaining a clean and safe
environment. It makes a statement to services users and visitors
about the attitudes of students, staff, managers and Trust Boards.
The project was successfully completed and the following
objectives were met:
Different methods of waste disposal were thoroughly studied
and understood
Environmental Cleanliness, Types of wastes (Plastic
waste), Decomposition of wastes and Effect of harmful
wastes on the Environment and Animals were thoroughly
studied and understood.
Different reasons for the failure of the method used by the
NITC Administration was found out
How cleaning is carried out in NITC was deeply studied and
understood
A new way or proper arrangement for waste disposal was
recommended
Importance of Biogas and its uses were researched upon
A survey was conducted among NITC students regarding
their view on cleanliness in the campus
A case study on the plastic pollution in the Pacific Gyre was
done
Survey was properly analyzed and interpreted for
conclusions
NITC Canteens and Messes were taken as protagonist and
their cases was researched upon
It is recognized that environmental cleaning services may be
provided in a number of ways and that NITC require this
operational flexibility, but uniform environmental cleanliness
standards and ways of measuring them are needed to allow
delivery of visible year-on-year evidence to satisfy service users
that Institute facilities are clean and being kept clean. This
strategy therefore outlines a practical, incremental approach to

the setting and measurement of uniform standards; it is not

intended to replace existing good practice initiatives already
implemented by NITC administration. These initiatives have
contributed positively to the standard of environmental
cleanliness in individual Trusts and it is this good work that needs
to be built upon to further improve our approach in this important
operational area.