ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT CLASSIFICATION OF SOLID WASTE

ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT refers to the A. COMPOSTABLE WASTES. Compostable wastes are biodegradable
systematic administration of activities which provide for segregation at wastes such as food waste, garden waste, animal waste and human
source, segregated transportation, storage, transfer, processing, waste. They undergo biological degradation under controlled conditions
treatment, and disposal of solid waste and all other waste and can be turned into compost (soil conditioner or organic fertilizer) by
management activities which do not harm the environment. mixing them with soil, water, air and biological additives/activators
(optional).
Examples are:
• Fruit and vegetable peelings
Ecological Solid Waste • Leftover foods
• Vegetable trims
Management should start at
• Fish/fowl/meat/animal entrails
the household level.
• Soft shells
Management of waste • Seeds
materials in the households • Leaves
are normally carried out by the • Flowers
servants and often the • Twigs
housewives. Thus, they must • Branches
be well-informed about proper • Stems
waste handling and
management. B. RECYCLABLE WASTES. Recyclable materials refer to any waste
material retrieved from the waste stream and free from contamination that
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 their identity.
Examples are:
WHAT IS SOLID WASTE ? •
•
Newspaper
Ferrous scrap metal
• Non-ferrous scrap metal
• Corrugated cardboard
• Aluminum
SOLID WASTE refers to all • Glass
discarded household, • Office paper
• Tin cans
commercial waste, non-
hazardous institutional and C. RESIDUAL WASTES. Residual wastes are solid waste materials that are
industrial waste, street
non-compostable and non-recyclable. It should be disposed ecologically
sweeping, construction
through a long-term disposal facility or sanitary landfill.
debris, agricultural waste
Examples are:
and other non-hazardous • Sanitary napkins
and non-toxic solid waste. • Disposable diapers
• Worn-out rugs
 CLASSIFICATION OF SOLID WASTE WASTE AVOIDANCE AND THE THREE
R’s OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

• Cartons which contain a plastic lining usually

used for milk and juice containers AVOIDANCE
• Ceramics ∗ Avoid disposable goods such as
• Candy wrappers/sachets throwaway razors, pens, diapers,
• Other soiled materials that cannot be composted and recycled etc.
∗ Eliminate household toxic waste
from the garbage stream
D. SPECIAL WASTES. Special wastes refer to household hazardous ∗ Avoid products that are made
wastes. from non-renewable resources
Examples are:
• Paints REDUCE*
• Thinners ∗ Reduce the amount of
• Household batteries unnecessary packaging.
• Lead-acid batteries ∗ Adopt practices that reduce waste
• Spray Canisters toxicity
• Bulky Wastes such as:
• Large worn-out or broken furniture REUSE*
• Lamps ∗ Consider reusable products.
• Bookcases ∗ Maintain and repair durable
• Filing Cabinets products.
• Consumer Electronics which refer to worn-out, broken and other ∗ Reuse bags, containers, and
discarded items such as other items.
• Radios ∗ Borrow, rent, or share items used
• Stereos infrequently.
• TV sets ∗ Sell or donate goods instead of
• White Goods which refer to large worn-out or broken household throwing them out.
appliances such as:
RECYCLE*
• Stoves
∗ Choose recyclable products and
• Refrigerators containers and recycle them.
• Dishwashers ∗ Select products made from
• Clothes Washers recyclable materials.
• Dryers ∗ Compost yard trimmings, food
• Oil scraps and other biodegradable
• Tires wastes.
∗ Do not burn.

__________________________
*Excerpted from The Consumer’s Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste, p.7 “Tips for
Reducing Solid Waste”, by the US EPA, 1996.
APPROACHES TO ECOLOGICAL SOLID
WASTE MANAGEMENT
1. Segregation of wastes at source.
All the members of the household
must be informed how to segregate
wastes into compostable, non-
recyclable, recyclable and special
or hazardous waste.
2. There must be a separate container
for each type of waste. Segregated
recyclables must be properly
cleaned before storing them in
their respective containers.
3. The use of special collection schedules
and/or separate trucks or haulers must
be required for specific types of wastes.
4. Recyclable wastes materials should
be taken to the Materials Recovery
Facility (MRF) in every barangay or
cluster of barangays where they are
received, sorted, processed and stored
efficiently and in an environmentally
sound manner. Compostable wastes
on the other hand, should be composted
either in the backyard or the community
composting site. Hazardous wastes are
further screened and sent to appropriate
hazardous waste treatment and disposal
plants.
5. The residual wastes or the non-recyclable
and non-compostable wastes shall be
transferred to a long-term storage
or disposal facility or sanitary landfill.
WHAT IS COMPOSTING ?
COMPOSTING refers to the
controlled decomposition of
organic matter by micro-
organisms, mainly bacteria and
fungi, into a humus-like
product.
HOW TO MAKE A COMPOST
1. Chop the biodegradable wastes into finer portions. The smaller
the size of organic wastes, the faster the compost will be ready for
use.
2. Mix-up the biodegradable wastes and place them into the
composters. Do not burn on top of the piles or composters
because the heat will kill the biological "decomposers", thus,
delaying the composting process.
3. Sprinkle a small amount of water. Moisture is essential for
microbial activity. Protect the composters from accumulating too
much liquid to avoid leaching.
4. Sprinkle or layer with soil so as not to invite flies and to control
odors. Place the soil in between the layers of the mixture.
5. Aerate the pile. Turn it once or twice a month to provide the
necessary oxygen to hasten the composting process.
6. When the interior of the pile is no longer hot and the material has
broken down into a dark and dry soil, the composting is finished.
 TYPES OF SMALL SCALE
COMPOSTERS
4. CLAY FLOWER POTS COMPOST
1. TWIN PITS
Dig into (1m x 1m x 1m) one-half
meter apart. Put small twigs at
the bottom and place a hallow tube
for air inlet. Follow the rules for
composting, using the pits by turns.
For an average household, it might
take a month to fill up each pit,
thus allowing sufficient time for
the materials to decompose or mature
into soil conditioner, or fertilizer.
5. PLASTIC BAG COMPOSTERS
2. TOWER TIRES
Make two piles of old car tires
directly on the ground and use them
as containers for composting.
To aerate, just insert anything in
between the tires. If placed
directly on cemented ground,
line the bottom with soil.
6. COMPOST BINS
3. BOTTOMLESS COMPOSTERS
Old drums, cans, plastic water
containers with the bottoms off,
even an old jute or rice sack with
bottom seam ripped off and
supported by three pegs or
cheap posts.
Have ten flower pots. Use flower
pots by turns. By the time the
tenth pot is full, in about a month’s
time, empty contents of the first
pot and use as soil conditioner for
plants/trees/lawn. Pots may be
stacked one on top of another
but keep contents moist.
Line plastic bags with soil, place
chopped biodegradables top
with soil/leaves, moisten, then
stack them one top of another
while awaiting collection. In few
weeks time, these become clean,
safe, odorless compost, very
good for plants.
These may be constructed from
chicken wire or any durable “basket”
material for small scale composting.
They are designed to adequately
accommodate the necessary materials
or ingredients and to allow access of air.
 GUIDE TO
COMPOSTING
PROBLEMS

BENEFITS AND USES OF SYMPTOM PROBLEM SOLUTION

COMPOST Bad odor Not enough air Turn it. Add dry
material, if the
pile is too wet.
Center of pile is Not enough water Moisten and
v Compost improves the physical, chemical and dry turn the pile
biological properties of the soil, as asoil
Compost is Too small; cold Collect more
conditioner. damp and warm weather materials and
only in the mix old
middle ingredients into
v Compost can be used as a soil supplement
a new pile
in flower beds, vegetable garden, lawn and in
Pile is damp and Lack of nitrogen Mix in a nitrogen
planting a new tree or shrub.
sweet smelling source
but still will not
heat up
v Compost helps conserve moisture, prevent
Interior looks or High temperature Pile is too
erosion and reduce weed growth.
smells charred large;reduce
size, add water