2017

GARBAGE
MANAGEMENT &
RECYCLING

1 PATIL & MISS. DIPALI HARI CHAUDHARI

MISS. SHUBHANGI VIJAY
A.S.C. COLLEGE, CHOPDA
 MGSM’s

ARTS, SCIENCE AND COMMERCE COLLEGE, CHOPDA

Faculty of Commerce and Management

Affiliated to

North Maharashtra University

Project Report on

“GARBAGE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING”

For

Faculty of Commerce and Management

2017-2018

Guided By Submitted By

Asst. Prof. Miss.Yogita .P. Patil Miss. Shubhangi Vijay Patil

Miss. Dipali Hari Chaudhari

Submitted To

North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon.

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 MGSM’s

ARTS, SCIENCE AND COMMERCE COLLEGE,CHOPDA

Affiliated To

North Maharashtra University

Certificate

This is to certify that Miss. Shubhangi Vijay Patil and Miss. Dipali
Hari Chaudhari student of TY.BCA Sem-5th (Bachelor of Computer
Application) of MGSM’s, A.S.C. College, Chopda, Dist. Jalgaon affiliated to
North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon has completed field work with title
“Garbage Management And Recycling” during the academic year 2017-
2018.

Examiners:

1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________

Guided By

Asst. Prof. Miss. Yogita .P. Patil Asst. Prof. Mr. C. R.Deware

Faculty of Commerce & Management H.O.D

Faculty of Commerce & Management

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 Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Prof. D.A. Suryavanshi the Principal of Mahatma Gandhi
Shikshan Mandal A.S.C. College Chopda, Jalgaon for his precious suggestion,
motivation and support in the field work report.

I would like to thank Asst. Prof. C. R. Deware, Head, Faculty of Commerce and
Mangement for providing an opportunity to learn through work, by the medium of
project. I consider myself to be fortunate to get this opportunity to explore in the
field work of “Garbage Management and Recycling”. Under the kind
guidance of Asst. Prof.Yogita .P. Patil, I am sincerely grateful to her for his
valuable guidance, motivation and support at all stages of all field work, right
from conception of idea to the finalization of field work and creating in a flexible
and enjoyable environment to work.

I am thankful of Dept. of Commerce and Management for constant inspiration in

the pedagogical world of Bachelor of Computer Application.

Miss. Shubhangi Vijay Patil

Miss. Dipali Hari Chaudhari

(TY.BCA Sem-5th)

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 Index

Sr.No. Title Page no.

1. Abstract 6
2. Introduction 7
3. Objectives 9
4. History 10
5. Definition of Waste 12
 Waste Management
 Objectives of Waste Management
6. Solid Waste 21
 Types of Solid Waste
 Solid Waste Management
 Benefits
7. Sample Environmental Project: Reduce, 28
Reuse and Recycle or the 3Rs of
Managing Solid Waste
8. Recycling 30
 The Recycling Process
 Why is Recycling important?
 Recycling Tips
9. Solving India’s garbage problem 36
10. Conclusion 38
11. Questionnaire 40
12. Biblography 42

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 Abstract

The time waste was just some kind of leftover that had to be disposed of is long gone. With
the realization that our resources are not inexhaustible came the awareness that our waste offers
economic opportunities that have to be taken advantage of. While the recycling goal for some
products containing glass, metal, etc. is clear, it is important to point out that even the garbage
we put outside can be used to make electricity or can be used in other useful products.

While emphasizing the durability of waste, we have to think about running the waste cycle
efficiently too. Waste management is more than just collecting waste. It is the collection,
transport, processing, recycling, disposal and monitoring of waste materials. Numerous factors,
such as environmental, economic, technical, legislational, institutional and political issues, have
to be taken into consideration. Several important decisions have to be made. Amongst them is
the opening of a new facility as available locations are becoming increasingly more scarce, or the
expansion of a current facility. Secondly, we have to allocate trucks to certain disposal facilities.
Thirdly, we need to develop efficient routes. Naturally, collection is the most important and
costly aspect of the cycle because of the labor intensity of the work and the massive use of trucks
in the collection process.

In the past, solid waste collection was carried out without analyzing demand and the construction
of the routes was left over to the drivers. Cities, however, continue to expand. Because of this
ongoing urbanization, the importance of an efficient collection system only increases. Optimally,
there should be a method that tries to maximize the general acceptance of a solution. However,
as this is hard to realize, different methods have been developed that focus on route length, costs,
number of collection vehicles, etc.

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 Introduction

Arising quality of life, and high rates of resource consumption patterns have had a unintended
and negative impact on the urban environment - generation of wastes far beyond the handling
capacities of urban governments and agencies. Cities are now grappling with the problems of
high volumes of waste, the costs involved, the disposal technologies and methodologies, and the
impact of wastes on the local and global environment.

But these problems have also provided a window of opportunity for cities to find solutions -
involving the community and the private sector; involving innovative technologies and disposal
methods; and involving behaviour changes and awareness raising. These issues have been amply
demonstrated by good practices from many cities around the world.

There is a need for a complete rethinking of "waste" - to analyse if waste is indeed waste. A
rethinking that calls for

WASTE to become WEALTH

REFUSE to become RESOURCE
TRASH to become CASH

There is a clear need for the current approach of waste disposal that is focussed on
municipalities and uses high energy/high technology, to move more towards waste processing
and waste recycling (that involves public-private partnerships, aiming for eventual waste
minimization - driven at the community level, and using low energy/low technology resources.
Some of the defining criteria for future waste minimization programmes will include deeper
community participation, understanding economic benefits/recovery of waste, focusing on life
cycles (rather than end-of-pipe solutions), decentralized administration of waste, minimizing
environmental impacts, reconciling investment costs with long-term goals.

Global waste production has doubled over the past ten years. By 2025, the world will produce
garbage at a rate of 2.5 billion tonnes per year . Poor waste management in many developing
countries is a threat to human health and the environment. Many developing countries struggle
towards a sustainable model for waste collection and disposal and despite large expenditures,
very few countries have achieved a sustainable garbage collection system. We propose a
community-sourced, data-driven, online service market as a sustainable and economic solution to
the garbage problem.

In India, the traditional methods are used for urban solid waste management. These practices are
associated with degradation of the urban environment hence, an environmentally sound garbage
management system is required for the urban waste management. The concept of waste
minimization needs to be adopted in such systems. It is possible to implement certain corrective
measures at collection, storage, transport and disposal of urban solid waste to minimize the
adverse impacts on the environment. The investigations are emphasized on generation,
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characterization and ecofriendly disposal of solid waste generated in Jalgaon city, Maharashtra.
In the present study the waste generation at source was studied in the various income groups of
the city. The per capita waste generation was studied by sampling the waste directly from the
source of generation. The study reveals that the waste generation is large in the high-income
group followed by middle and low-income group public. Further the physicochemical
characterization of the waste was also studied. The data generated will help to develop
environmentally sound and economically feasible solid waste management system for the city.

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 Objectives

 Expanding source reduction and reuse program to minimize waste generation.

 To promote community reuse and recycling initiatives.

 Developing consistent messages for public outreach about recycling and collection of
waste.

 Increasing public awareness to increase participation in recycling initiatives.

 Reduce the volume of the solid waste stream through the implementation of waste
reduction and recycling programs.

 To maintain a balanced SWM system which benefits the community while following
regulatory requirements.

 Provide efficient and economical refuse collection, recycling, and disposal services.

 Reduces total truck traffic and improves safety at the landfill or waste-to-energy facility.
 Provides the opportunity to screeen incoming trash for such purposes as removing
hazardous waste or recovering recyclables

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 History

Throughout most of history, the amount of waste generated by humans was insignificant due to
low population density and low societal levels of the exploitation of natural resources. Common
waste produced during pre-modern times was mainly ashes and human biodegradable waste, and
these were released back into the ground locally, with minimum environmental impact. Tools
made out of wood or metal were generally reused or passed down through the generations.

However, some civilizations do seem to have been more profligate in their waste output than
others. In particular, the Maya of Central America had a fixed monthly ritual, in which the
people of the village would gather together and burn their rubbish in large dumps.

International waste movement

While waste transport within a given country falls under national regulations, trans-boundary
movement of waste is often subject to international treaties. A major concern to many countries
in the world has been hazardous waste. The Basel Convention, ratified by 172 countries,
deprecates movement of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries. The
provisions of the Basel convention have been integrated into the EU waste shipment regulation.
Nuclear waste, although considered hazardous, does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Basel
Convention.

Modern era

Sir Edwin Chadwick's 1842 report The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population was
influential in securing the passage of the first legislation aimed at waste clearance and disposal.
Following the onset of industrialisation and the sustained urban growth of large population
centres in England, the buildup of waste in the cities caused a rapid deterioration in levels of
sanitation and the general quality of urban life. The streets became choked with filth due to the
lack of waste clearance regulations. Calls for the establishment of a municipal authority with
waste removal powers occurred as early as 1751, when Corbyn Morris in London proposed that
"... as the preservation of the health of the people is of great importance, it is proposed that the
cleaning of this city, should be put under one uniform public management, and all the filth
be...conveyed by the Thames to proper distance in the country".
However, it was not until the mid-19th century, spurred by increasingly devastating cholera
outbreaks and the emergence of a public health debate that the first legislation on the issue
emerged. Highly influential in this new focus was the report The Sanitary Condition of the
Labouring Population in 1842 of the social reformer, Edwin Chadwick, in which he argued for
the importance of adequate waste removal and management facilities to improve the health and
wellbeing of the city's population.

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In the UK, the Nuisance Removal and Disease Prevention Act of 1846 began what was to be a
steadily evolving process of the provision of regulated waste management in London. The
Metropolitan Board of Works was the first citywide authority that centralized sanitation
regulation for the rapidly expanding city and the Public Health Act 1875 made it compulsory for
every household to deposit their weekly waste in "moveable receptacles: for disposal—the first
concept for a dust-bin.
Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. 1894 destructor furnace. The use of incinerators for waste disposal
became popular in the late 19th century.
The dramatic increase in waste for disposal led to the creation of the first incineration plants, or,
as they were then called, "destructors". In 1874, the first incinerator was built in Nottingham by
Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. to the design of Albert Fryer. However, these were met with
opposition on account of the large amounts of ash they produced and which wafted over the
neighbouring areas.
Similar municipal systems of waste disposal sprung up at the turn of the 20th century in other
large cities of Europe and North America. In 1895, New York City became the first U.S. city
with public-sector garbage management.
Early garbage removal trucks were simply open bodied dump trucks pulled by a team of horses.
They became motorized in the early part of the 20th century and the first close body trucks to
eliminate odours with a dumping lever mechanism were introduced in the 1920s in Britain.
These were soon equipped with 'hopper mechanisms' where the scooper was loaded at floor level
and then hoisted mechanically to deposit the waste in the truck. The Garwood Load Packer was
the first truck in 1938, to incorporate a hydraulic compactor.

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 DEFINITION OF WASTE

Waste and wastes are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded
after primary use, or it is worthless, defective and of no use.
Examples include municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater
(such as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive
waste, and others.

Types

There are many waste types defined by modern systems of waste management, notably
including:
• Municipal waste includes household waste, commercial waste, and demolition waste
• Hazardous waste includes industrial waste
• Biomedical waste includes clinical waste
• Special hazardous waste includes radioactive waste, explosive waste, and electronic
waste (e-waste)

Waste, or rubbish, trash, junk, garbage, depending on the type of material or the regional
terminology, is an unwanted or undesired material or substance. It may consist of the unwanted
materials left over from a manufacturing process (industrial, commercial, mining or agricultural
operations,) or from community and household activities. The material may be discarded or
accumulated, stored, or treated (physically, chemically, or biologically), prior to being discarded
or recycled. It is also used to describe something we use inefficiently or inappropriately.

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THE PROBLEM

Waste can be regarded as a human concept as there appears to be no such thing as waste in
nature. The waste products created by a natural process or organism quickly become the raw
products used by other processes and organisms. Recycling is predominant, therefore production
and decomposition are well balanced and nutrient cycles continuously support the next cycles of
production. This is the so-called circle of life and is a strategy clearly related to ensuring stability
and sustainability in natural systems. On the other hand there are man-made systems which
emphasize the economic value of materials and energy, and where production and consumption
are the dominant economic activities. Such systems tend to be highly destructive of the
environment as they require massive consumption of natural capital and energy, return the end
product (waste) to the environment in a form that damages the environment and require more
natural capital be consumed in order to feed the system. Where resources and space are finite
(the Earth isn’t getting any bigger) this is ultimately not sustainable.

The presence of waste is an indication of overconsumption and that materials are not being,used
efficiently. This is carelessly reducing the Earths capacity to supply new raw materials in the
future. The capacity of the natural environment to absorb and process these materials is also
under stress. Valuable resources in the form of matter and energy are lost during waste disposal,
requiring that a greater burden be placed on ecosystems to provide these. The main problem is
the sheer volume of waste being produced and how we deal with it.

HOW IS WASTE DEALT WITH?

Most contemporary waste management efforts are focused at local government level and based
on high tech / high energy waste disposal by methods such as landfill and incineration. However
these methods are becoming increasingly expensive and energy inefficient. The financial costs of
managing the long-term environmental impacts of waste disposal are many times what is
actually charged for this service and in many cases corrective action is not remotely feasible.
The purely environmental costs such as negative effects on habitat, wildlife and biodiversity are
also recognised. In other words waste disposal is not sustainable and will have negative
implications for future generations.

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IS ORGANIC WASTE A PROBLEM?

Between 21% and 40% (by weight) of municipal solid waste in South African cities is organic,
increasing to up to 45% if you include paper and cardboard. If the soil component of this waste is
included, more than half the waste sent to landfill can be used as a growing media for plants.
Considering the investment that went into creating the organic waste (and the nutrients and
energy contained in it) this is too valuable a resource to simply throw away. However, organic
waste sent to a landfill rots under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions, giving off methane
gas. Methane is one of the 'greenhouse gases' that trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to
climate change. Methane is particularly bad in that weight for weight it traps 21 times more heat
than carbon dioxide.

While garden waste can be shredded or chipped for use as mulch and compost, food waste is
putrescible (it becomes putrid, smelly) and attracts pests like rats and flies if it is left to rot. In
order to prevent potential health and environmental problems, food waste is generally taken to
landfills and buried or to fed to pigs. Feeding kitchen waste to pigs is not an ideal solution to
food waste as this practice can promote the spread of swine fever, parasites and pathogens.

Waste management

Waste management or waste disposal is all the activities and actions required to manage waste
from its inception to its final disposal. This includes amongst other things collection, transport,
treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. It also encompasses the
legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste management encompassing guidance on
recycling.
The term normally relates to all kinds of waste, whether generated during the extraction of raw
materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption
of final products, or other human activities, including municipal (residential, institutional,
commercial), agricultural, and social (health care, household hazardous waste, sewage sludge).
Waste management is intended to reduce adverse effects of waste on health, the environment or
aesthetics.
Waste management practices are not uniform among countries (developed and developing
nations); regions (urban and rural area), and sectors (residential and industrial)

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Central principles of waste management

Diagram of the waste hierarchy

There are a number of concepts about waste management which vary in their usage
between countries or regions. Some of the most general, widely used concepts
include:

Waste hierarchy
The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste
management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimisation. The waste
hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimisation strategies. The aim of the waste
hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the
minimum amount of waste; see: resource recovery. The waste hierarchy is represented as a
pyramid because the basic premise is for policy to take action first and prevent the generation of
waste. The next step or preferred action is to reduce the generation of waste i.e. by re-use. The
next is recycling which would include composting. Following this step is material recovery and
waste-to-energy. Energy can be recovered from processes i.e. landfill and combustion, at this
level of the hierarchy. The final action is disposal, in landfills or through incineration without
energy recovery. This last step is the final resort for waste which has not been prevented,
diverted or recovered. The waste hierarchy represents the progression of a product or material
through the sequential stages of the pyramid of waste management. The hierarchy represents the
latter parts of the life-cycle for each product.

Life-cycle of a product
The life-cycle begins with design, then proceeds through manufacture, distribution, use and then
follows through the waste hierarchy's stages of reduce, reuse and recycle. Each of the above
stages of the life-cycle offers opportunities for policy intervention, to rethink the need for the
product, to redesign to minimize waste potential, to extend its use. The key behind the life-cycle

15
of a product is to optimize the use of the world's limited resources by avoiding the unnecessary
generation of waste.

Resource efficiency
Resource efficiency reflects the understanding that current, global, economic growth and
development can not be sustained with the current production and consumption patterns.
Globally, we are extracting more resources to produce goods than the planet can replenish.
Resource efficiency is the reduction of the environmental impact from the production and
consumption of these goods, from final raw material extraction to last use and disposal. This
process of resource efficiency can address sustainability.

Polluter-pays principle
The polluter-pays principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused to
the environment. With respect to waste management, this generally refers to the requirement for
a waste generator to pay for appropriate disposal of the unrecoverable material.

What Is a Waste Transfer Station?

A waste transfer station is a light industrial facility where municipal solid waste is temporarily
staged in the course of its eventual journey to the landfill or waste-to-energy facility. Typical
activities at the waste transfer station involved the unloading of garbage trucks, pre-screening
and removal of inappropriate items such as automobile batteries compacting and then reloading
onto larger vehicles, including trucks, trains and barges to their final destination.

The Need for Transfer Stations and Key Benefits

The transfer station is a key component of cost-effective solid waste transportation. By
transferring waste from local collection vehicles onto larger trailers or other transport modes
such as barge and rail, the cost of transportation to distant disposal sites can be significantly
reduced, freeing collection-specific vehicles and crews to devote their time to actual collection
activities.

Here are some of the main benefits:

• Provides fuel savings, reduction in road wear and less air polution due to fewer vehicles
being on the road.
• Provides a trash and recyclable material drop-off location for citizen.
• Reduces total traffic congestion in the community by transferring it onto larger vehicles.
• Reduces total truck traffic and improves safety at the landfill or waste-to-energy facility.
• Provides the opportunity to screeen incoming trash for such purposes as removing
hazardous waste or recovering recyclables

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Objectives of Waste Management

The primary goal of solid waste management is reducing and eliminating adverse impacts of
waste materials on human health and environment to support economic development and
superior quality of life.

6 Functional Elements of the Waste Management System

There are six functional components of the waste management system as outlined below:
1.Waste generation refers to activities involved in identifying materials which are no longer
usable and are either gathered for systematic disposal or thrown away.
2.Onsite handling, storage, and processing are the activities at the point of waste generation
which facilitate easier collection. For example, waste bins are placed at the sites which generate
sufficient waste.
3. Waste collection, a crucial phase of waste management, includes activities such as placing
waste collection bins, collecting waste from those bins and accumulating trash in the location
where the collection vehicles are emptied. Although the collection phase involves transportation,
this is typically not the main stage of waste transportation.
4.Waste transfer and tranport are the activities involved in moving waste from the local waste
collection locations to the regional waste disposal site in large waste transport vehicles.
5.Waste processing and recovery refer to the facilities, equipment, and techniques employed both
to recover reusable or recyclable materials from the waste stream and to improve the
effectiveness of other functional elements of waste management.
6. Disposal is the final stage of waste management. It involves the activities aimed at the
systematic disposal of waste materials in locations such as landfills or waste-to-energy facilities.

Top 10 Ways to Reduce Waste

• Bring reusable bags and containers when shopping, traveling, or packing lunches or
leftovers.
• Choose products that are returnable, reusable, or refillable over single-use items.
• Avoid individually wrapped items, snack packs, and single-serve containers. Buy large
containers of items or from bulk bins whenever practical.
• Be aware of double-packaging - some "bulk packages" are just individually wrapped
items packaged yet again and sold as a bulk item.
• Purchase items such as dish soap and laundry detergents in concentrate forms.

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 • Compost food scraps and yard waste. Food and yard waste accounts for about 11 percent
of the garbage thrown away in the Twin Cities metro area. Many types of food scraps,
along with leaves and yard trimmings, can be combined in your backyard compost bin.
• Reduce the amount of unwanted mail you receive. The average resident in America
receives over 30 pounds of junk mail per year.
• Shop at second-hand stores. You can find great used and unused clothes at low cost to
you and the environment. Buy quality clothing that won't wear out and can be handed
down, whether to other people you know or on to a thrift store.
• Buy items made of recycled content, and use and reuse them as much as you can. For
instance, use both sides of every page of a notebook before moving on to the next clean
notebook. Use unneeded, printed on printer paper for a scratch pad.
• Also, remember that buying in bulk rather than individual packages will save you lots of
money and reduce waste! Packaging makes up 30% of the weight and 50% of trash by
volume. Buy juice, snacks, and other lunch items in bulk and use those reusable
containers each day.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Clearly, more appropriate and sustainable approaches to waste need to be adopted. To be

sustainable we need to move the emphasis toward a system that is local, community based,
makes use of low tech / low energy systems and is focused on waste minimisation.

Other methods of managing waste include:

- Waste minimization is an approach that aims to reduce the production of waste through
education and the adoption of improved production processes and less wasteful practices.
- Recycling, by separating certain materials within the waste stream and reprocessing them.Â
The recycling of many materials is currently not financially viable.
- Waste processing is treatment and recovery (use) of materials or energy from waste through
thermal, chemical, or biological means.

We believe that the ultimate goal of waste management efforts should be waste minimization,
however, waste processing and waste recycling play an important role in improving production
processes and in dealing with 'waste' in a manner that is more environmentally and economically
beneficial. Flows of materials and energy from producers and consumers to processers / recyclers
must be encouraged as happens in natural ecosytems, and the elements of the system should be
located in close proximity to one another. This approach has actually been implemented on a
very large scale, the classic examples being the Kalundborg industrial complex in Denmark and
the Jyvaskyla industrial complex in Finland. Here a web of exchanges in materials and energy
exist between companies, effectively creating 'industrial ecosystems'. While nations should
aspire to such urban and industrial ecosystems, as individuals we can start practically at a
household level through recycling, energy efficiency and environmentally beneficial
technologies such as vermicomposting, grey water systems, biogas generation, solar power and
heating systems and so forth.

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Organic waste is easily processed at domestic and medium to industrial scale by means of
vermicomposting and composting. Vermicompost, vermitea and compost greatly improve the
fertility and health of our soil, and will become increasingly important resources to ensure our
food security, as we reduce our dependance on inorganic fertilisers produced from fossil fuels.
Our aim at FullCycle is to be part of the solution to the waste problem and to help and
encourage others in this endeavour because together we all can make a difference.

Waste handling and transport

Waste collection methods vary widely among different countries and regions. Domestic waste
collection services are often provided by local government authorities, or by private companies
for industrial and commercial waste. Some areas, especially those in less developed countries, do
not have formal waste-collection systems.

Waste handling practices

Curbside collection is the most common method of disposal in most European countries, Canada,
New Zealand and many other parts of the developed world in which waste is collected at regular
intervals by specialised trucks. This is often associated with curb-side waste segregation. In rural
areas waste may need to be taken to a transfer station. Waste collected is then transported to an
appropriate disposal facility. In some areas, vacuum collection is used in which waste is
transported from the home or commercial premises by vacuum along small bore tubes. Systems
are in use in Europe and North America.
Pyrolysis is used for disposal of some wastes including tires, a process that can produce
recovered fuels, steel and heat. In some cases tires can provide the feedstock for cement
manufacture. Such systems are used in USA, California, Australia, Greece, Mexico, the United
Kingdom and in Israel. The three streams are collected with the curbside "Fantastic 3" bin
system – blue for recyclables, green for compostables, and black for landfill-bound materials –
provided to residents and businesses and serviced by San Francisco's sole refuse hauler,
Recology. The City's "Pay-As-You-Throw" system charges customers by the volume of landfill-
bound materials, which provides a financial incentive to separate recyclables and compostables
from other discards. The City's Department of the Environment's Zero Waste Program has led

19
the City to achieve 80% diversion, the highest diversion rate in North America. Other businesses
such as Waste Industries use a variety of colors to distinguish between trash and recycling cans.

How to Handle Waste Management While Being Environmentally Friendly

There have been large changes made within the garbage management industry in recent years. A
large part of this is due to the increase in pollution caused by waste. Between the growing
population and a lack of recycling, waste is at an all-time high. However, there are more and
more resources available to help with waste management. When contemplating how to handle
your waste, remember this:

* The average person creates more than four pounds of waste every day.

* We only recycle 30% of our waste. About 75% of it is recyclable.

* America produced more than 250 million tons of trash in 2013.

Aside from recycling centers, there are plenty of businesses making the transition to being
"green." Many waste disposal companies offer a wide range of services. This includes recycling,
roll off container rental, and mulch services. As waste management specialists, they are a great
resource for any large solid waste disposal needs or questions you may have. When you find
yourself in a situation involving a lot of potential waste, don't hesitate to call your local garbage
management company to ask questions. For example, a lot of people find themselves with a lot
of waste when they move to a new residence. While this is only natural after the accumulation of
odds and ends over the years, not all of it should go to the landfill. A great way to handle
situations like these is to find a clean space to lay out the things you are contemplating throwing
away. With a roll off container nearby, take a moment to observe how much waste you are
potentially sending to a landfill, unable to decompose. You can decrease your waste by carefully
finding items that can be recycled in any way. This includes clothes that can be donated or
passed down. This is a great opportunity to get your local garbage management company
involved. They can help you differentiate between recyclables and waste. They can handle both
so they're a great source for information regarding recycling and waste.

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 Solid Waste

RCRA states that "solid waste" means any garbage or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment
plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material,
resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community
activities. Nearly everything we do leaves behind some kind of waste.

It is important to note that the definition of solid waste is not limited to wastes that are physically
solid. Many solid wastes are liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material.

A solid waste is any material that is discarded by being:

Abandoned: The term abandoned means thrown away. A material is abandoned if it is disposed
of, burned, incinerated, or sham recycled.

Inherently Waste-Like: Some materials pose such a threat to human health and the environment
that they are always considered solid wastes; these materials are considered to be inherently
waste-like. Examples of inherently waste-like materials include certain dioxin-containing wastes.

A Discarded Military Munition: Military munitions are all ammunition products and components
produced for or used by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) or U.S. Armed Services for
national defense and security. Unused or defective munitions are solid wastes when: abandoned
(i.e., disposed of, burned, incinerated) or treated prior to disposal; rendered nonrecyclable or
nonuseable through deterioration; or declared a waste by an authorized military official.
Used (i.e., fired or detonated) munitions may also be solid wastes if collected for storage,
recycling, treatment, or disposal.

Recycled in Certain Ways: A material is recycled if it is used or reused (e.g., as an ingredient in a

process), reclaimed, or used in certain ways (used in or on the land in a manner constituting
disposal, burned for energy recovery, or accumulated speculatively). Specific exclusions to the
definition of solid waste are listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR section
261.4(a). Many of these exclusion are related to recycling.

21
Types of solid waste
Solid waste can be classified into different types depending on their source:
a) Household waste is generally classified as municipal waste,
b) Industrial waste as hazardous waste, and
c) Biomedical waste or hospital waste as infectious waste.

Municipal solid waste

Municipal solid waste consists of household waste, construction and demolition debris,
sanitation residue, and waste from streets. This garbage is generated mainly from residential and
commercial complexes. With rising urbanization and change in lifestyle and food habits, the
amount of municipal solid waste has been increasing rapidly and its composition changing. In
1947 cities and towns in India generated an estimated 6 million tonnes of solid waste, in 1997 it
was about 48 million tonnes. More than 25% of the municipal solid waste is not collected at all;
70% of the Indian cities lack adequate capacity to transport it and there are no sanitary landfills
to dispose of the waste. The existing landfills are neither well equipped or well managed and are
not lined properly to protect against contamination of soil and groundwater.

22
Over the last few years, the consumer market has grown rapidly leading to products being
packed in cans, aluminium foils, plastics, and other such nonbiodegradable items that cause
incalculable harm to the environment. In India, some municipal areas have banned the use of
plastics and they seem to have achieved success. For example, today one will not see a single
piece of plastic in the entire district of Ladakh where the local authorities imposed a ban on
plastics in 1998. Other states should follow the example of this region and ban the use of items
that cause harm to the environment. One positive note is that in many large cities, shops have
begun packing items in reusable or biodegradable bags. Certain biodegradable items can also be
composted and reused. In fact proper handling of the biodegradable waste will considerably
lessen the burden of solid waste that each city has to tackle.

There are different categories of waste generated, each take their own time to degenerate (as
illustrated in the table below).

The type of litter we generate and the approximate time it

takes to degenerate

Type of litter Approximate time it takes

to degenerate the litter

Organic waste such as vegetable a week or two.

and fruit peels, leftover foodstuff,
etc.

Paper 10–30 days

Cotton cloth 2–5 months

Wood 10–15 years

Woolen items 1 year

Tin, aluminium, and other metal 100–500 years

items such as cans

Plastic bags one million years?

Glass bottles undetermined

23
Hazardous waste
Industrial and hospital waste is considered hazardous as they may contain toxic substances.
Certain types of household waste are also hazardous. Hazardous wastes could be highly toxic to
humans, animals, and plants; are corrosive, highly inflammable, or explosive; and react when
exposed to certain things e.g. gases. India generates around 7 million tonnes of hazardous wastes
every year, most of which is concentrated in four states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
and Tamil Nadu.

Household waste that can be categorized as hazardous waste include old batteries, shoe polish,
paint tins, old medicines, and medicine bottles.

Hospital waste contaminated by chemicals used in hospitals is considered hazardous. These

chemicals include formal dehyde and phenols, which are used as disinfectants, and mercury,
which is used in thermometers or equipment that measure blood pressure. Most hospitals in India
do not have proper disposal facilities for these hazardous wastes.

In the industrial sector, the major generators of hazardous waste are the metal, chemical, paper,
pesticide, dye, refining, and rubber goods industries.

Direct exposure to chemicals in hazardous waste such as mercury and cyanide can be fatal.

Hospital waste
Hospital waste is generated during the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or
animals or in research activities in these fields or in the production or testing of biologicals. It
may include wastes like sharps, soiled waste, disposables, anatomical waste, cultures, discarded
medicines, chemical wastes, etc. These are in the form of disposable syringes, swabs, bandages,
body fluids, human excreta, etc. This waste is highly infectious and can be a serious threat to
human health if not managed in a scientific and discriminate manner. It has been roughly
estimated that of the 4 kg of waste generated in a hospital at least 1 kg would be infected.

Surveys carried out by various agencies show that the health care establishments in India are not
giving due attention to their waste management. After the notification of the Bio-medical Waste
(Handling and Management) Rules, 1998, these establishments are slowly streamlining the
process of waste segregation, collection, treatment, and disposal. Many of the larger hospitals
have either installed the treatment facilities or are in the process of doing so.

24
Solid waste management
Solid waste management may be defined as the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer
and transport, processing, and disposal of solid wastes in a manner that is accord with the best
principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other
environmental considerations, and that is also responsive to public attitudes. The first objective
of solid waste management is to remove discarded materials from inhabited places in a timely
manner to prevent the spread of diseases, to minimize the likelihood of fires, and to reduce
aesthetic insults arising from putrefying organic matter.

The goals of M.S.W.M can be summarized as follows:

-To protect environmental health.

-To promote the quality of the urban environment.

-To support the efficiency and productivity of the economy.

-To generate employment and income.

To achieve the above goals, it is necessary to establish sustainable system of S.W.M. The
principal of sustainable waste management strategies are to:

- Minimize waste generation.

- Maximize waste recycling and reuse.

- Ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of waste.

 Functional Elements of a Waste Management System:

The activities involved in the solid waste management have grouped into six
functional elements:

1- Waste generation.

2- On-site handling, storage and processing.

3- Collection.

4- Transfer and transport.

5- Processing and recovery.

6- Disposal.

25
Fig (1) : Interrelationship of functional elements comprising SWMS

Benefits

Waste is not something that should be discarded or disposed of with no regard for future use. It
can be a valuable resource if addressed correctly, through policy and practice. With rational and
consistent waste management practices there is an opportunity to reap a range of benefits. Those
benefits include:
Economic – Improving economic efficiency through the means of resource use, treatment
and disposal and creating markets for recycles can lead to efficient practices in the
production and consumption of products and materials resulting in valuable materials
being recovered for reuse and the potential for new jobs and new business opportunities.
Social – By reducing adverse impacts on health by proper waste management practices, the
resulting consequences are more appealing settlements. Better social advantages can lead
to new sources of employment and potentially lifting communities out of poverty
especially in some of the developing poorer countries and cities.

26
 Environmental – Reducing or eliminating adverse impacts on the environment through
reducing, reusing and recycling, and minimizing resource extraction can provide
improved air and water quality and help in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Inter-generational Equity – Following effective waste management practices can provide
subsequent generations a more robust economy, a fairer and more inclusive society and a
cleaner environment.

Challenges in developing countries

Waste management in cities with developing economies and economies in transition experience
exhausted waste collection services and inadequately managed and uncontrolled dumpsites. The
problems are worsening. Problems with governance complicate the situation. Waste
management, in these countries and cities, is an ongoing challenge and many struggle due to
weak institutions, chronic under-resourcing and rapid urbanization. All of these challenges, along
with the lack of understanding of different factors that contribute to the hierarchy of waste
management, affect the treatment of waste.

Financial models

In most developed countries, domestic waste disposal is funded from a national or local tax
which may be related to income, or national house value. Commercial and industrial waste
disposal is typically charged for as a commercial service, often as an integrated charge which
includes disposal costs. This practice may encourage disposal contractors to opt for the cheapest
disposal option such as landfill rather than the environmentally best solution such as re-use and
recycling. In some areas such as Taipei, the city government charges its households and
industries for the volume of rubbish they produce. Waste will only be collected by the city
council if waste is disposed in government issued rubbish bags. This policy has successfully
reduced the amount of waste the city produces and increased the recycling rate.

Avoidance and reduction methods

An important method of waste management is the prevention of waste material being created,
also known as waste reduction. Methods of avoidance include reuse of second-hand products,
repairing broken items instead of buying new, designing products to be refillable or reusable
(such as cotton instead of plastic shopping bags), encouraging consumers to avoid using
disposable products (such as disposable cutlery), removing any food/liquid remains from cans
and packaging, and designing products that use less material to achieve the same purpose (for
example, lightweighting of beverage cans).

27
 Sample Environmental Project: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle or the
3Rs of Managing Solid Waste

This project was written as a means to introduce the ‘3Rs’ of waste management to the public’s
awareness. Although most people are now familiar with the term recycling, which is a part of the
3Rs, knowledge on the remaining two which makes up this trinity are still obscure to a large
subset of our population. The R’s in the trinity of the 3Rs are acronyms for the term Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle as can be seen in the topic heading of my project. And the meaning and the
role they play on solid waste management will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
Globally, humans of the world are currently producing more garbage or solid waste that now test
the capacity of our landfills and studies have shown that the traditional methods of waste
disposal such as the use of incinerators and burying garbage could affect the environment and
our health negatively. These negative effects are due to gas emissions from incinerators and
noxious smells which is why it is very important for there to be more eco-friendly alternatives to
manage waste.
This need has in part been met by the 3Rs—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle—which in terms of
waste management mean:
• Reduce—as individuals we should buy only what we require thereby reducing the
household waste we produce.
• Reuse—if we need to acquire goods, purchasing used ones or eco-friendly substitutes is
encouraged or we can reuse our old packages in creative ways.
• Recycle—when discarding waste, we must consider ways of recycling or reusing them
before taking the last option which is to discard.

Reduce and Reuse: The Future of Waste Management Services

We've all heard about the extensive benefits of recycling. With the help of your local waste
management services company, you can extend the reach of your recycling efforts. The
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans recycle only 30% of our recyclable
waste stream. Considering the fact that the average person creates 1.5 tons of solid waste each
year while the country as a whole produces 250 million tons, there is much more we can do.
Reduce: "Reduce, reuse, recycle" is the popular catch-phrase of the environmentally-friendly. It's
a simple premise but contains logistics that most don't consider. By the time you're ready to
recycle something, there are already many environmentally-conscious decisions that have been
missed. While most have been educated on the recycling part, it all starts with reducing the
amount of potential waste you produce and consume. By shifting your focus to products that are
well-designed and produce minimal waste, you're being proactive about solid waste disposal
rather than reactive. Reuse:If you have materials that are potential waste, finding ways to reuse
them helps to keep them out of a landfill. Even materials that are recyclable should be considered
for multiple uses. If you find yourself with an old shoe box, put it aside until you find another
use for it. Materials like cardboard boxes can be used for a multitude of things: crafts, toys for

28
pets, storage, etc. Thinking twice before throwing something away will make a huge difference.
Educate yourself: There are a vast multitude of materials that can be recycled and it's important
for you to know which ones. Aside from that, knowing what your local waste management
services company will and won't accept as recyclables is the first step. Once you've figured out
what you can recycle, make a list of those materials and put it somewhere easily accessible. This
will serve as an easy reference resource for members of the household. Hanging it above the
garbage can will help stop recyclable waste from being thrown out.

Applying the 3Rs in Everyday Conduct

Many nations have begun to integrate the 3Rs into their official waste management policies,
some examples include the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in Ireland and Mexico’s Solid
Waste Act which were put into place to drastically reduce how waste was produced and managed
in these countries. The 3Rs can be applied in line with government policies in the following
ways:
Reduce: manufacturing companies are tasked with reducing the amount of raw materials used in
making products from scratch. Then individuals should consider not purchasing products that
can be replaced by technology or the reuse of other items. An example is opting out of your local
phonebook or TV guide subscription lists which are now easily accessed online. The average
person in the United States throws away 600 times the size of his or her body weight in garbage
and reducing what we buy will drastically affect these numbers.
Reuse: unlike recycling, the alternative to reuse items is yet to catch on in consumer societies
but individuals can take the first step reusing containers, giving outgrown clothes to friends or
charity as well as donating electrical appliances or furniture to people in need. A reuse policy can
also be initiated by the government thereby reducing the approximately 50 million tons of
electronic waste produced globally.
Recycling: manufacturing and purchase of recyclable products have been given a lot of media
exposure in the past as well as currently and this has improved the waste management practices
on the global scale. Countries such as Switzerland, Germany and Holland currently recycle 60%
of the total waste its citizen’s produce and if this could be adopted by more nations, the earth’s
ecosystem will definitely be healthier for all.

29
 Recycling

Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. It is an
alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse
gas emissions. Recycling can prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the
consumption of fresh raw materials, thereby reducing: energy usage, air pollution (from
incineration), and water pollution (from landfilling).

Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the
"Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" waste hierarchy.

There are some ISO standards related to recycling such as ISO 15270:2008 for plastics waste and
ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management control of recycling practice.

Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, and cardboard, metal, plastic, tires,
textiles, and electronics. The composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste—such as food or
garden waste—is also considered recycling.Materials to be recycled are either brought to a
collection centre or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new
materials destined for manufacturing.

In the strictest sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same
material—for example, used office paper would be converted into new office paper or used
polystyrene foam into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive
(compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so "recycling"
of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (for example,
paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex
products, either due to their intrinsic value (such as lead from car batteries, or gold from circuit
boards), or due to their hazardous nature (e.g., removal and reuse of mercury from thermometers
and thermostats).

The Recycling Process

The recycling process involves 3 main steps, which form a circle or loop. They are (1) collecting
the recyclables, (2) processing the recyclables and turning them into recycled-content products,
and (3) purchasing recycled products.

The 3 steps are applicable to all recyclables. Nonetheless, Step 2 of the process may vary in
method for different types of recyclables.

30
The 3 main steps in the process of recycling are described in greater detail as follows:

Step 1. Collection

In the first step of the recycling process, the recyclables materials are collected.
The methods of collection may vary from community to community. However, there are four
main methods of collection, namely curbside, drop-off centers, buy-back centers, and
deposit/refund programs.
After collection, the recyclables are then sent to a materials-recovery facility to be sorted and
prepared into marketable commodities to be sold to processing companies.

Step 2. Processing

In the second step of the recycling process, the recyclables are processed. Once cleaned and
sorted, the recyclables are processed to retrieve the raw materials, and the raw materials are then
used in manufacturing recycled-content products.
All recyclables need to broken down, melted or liquefied into its basic elements, before it can be
either made directly into new materials or mixed with virgin resources and made into new
materials.
However, the method of processing for different materials varies. For example, recyclables like
glass, aluminum cans and steel need to be melted into a liquid form and then remolded into new
products. Recyclables such as glass, paper and certain plastic products may have to be crushed,
or shredded, as part of the processing to extract the basic elements or raw materials (eg. fibre in
paper) for use in making new products.

Step 3. Purchasing Recycled Products

The third step involves purchasing recycled products. This third step completes the recycling
loop.
More and more of today's products are being manufactured with total or partial recycled content.

Whether you are just an individual consumer, or are a part of a government or business
organization, you have an important role in making recycling a success by “buying recycled”. As
consumers demand more environmentally sound products, manufacturers will continue to meet
that demand by producing high-quality recycled products.

31
Why is Recycling Important?

For decades now we’ve been creating toxic waste and dumping them into the environment
without realizing the damage it is causing to all living beings around us.
You may think industrial waste is the main culprit of such toxic and massive pollution. You may
be right. But then, have you ever wondered where such industrial waste comes from? Half the
time, it is from the production of our day-to-day products (eg. plastic bottles, detergent, etc) and
the disposal of our daily waste (eg. food packaging, electronic gadgets).

32
If we do not invest in proper mechanisms and processes now to minimize the harm we do to the
environment, it is going to be too late and all future generations will be affected by the
inconsiderate practices of the current and previous generations.
So what can we do?
Recycle! (but we need to reduce and reuse too)
With recycling, a substantial portion of our waste can be broken down into their original
elements and be used to produce new materials. In this way, we can reduce the harmful waste we
discard into the environment, ie. pollution, and even conserve raw materials. Read more on why
is recycling important to the environment and how you can help the environment by recycling.
Besides the environmental reasons for recycling, there are also other reasons why is recycling
important.
Recycling contributes to the economy! This is because recycling conserves resources and saves
money, creates jobs and even generates revenue! Read more on why is recycling important for
your economy.
In turn, recycling is also a form of patriotism, because we are helping our country save money
and reduce our dependence on other countries for raw materials. Read more on the political
importance of recycling.
And there are also ethical reasons why recycling is important. If we do not recycle now and
conserve our resources, in time to come, there would not be none left for our future generations.
And they would also have to pay the hefty price for the damage we did to the environment.
Every single human being living on this planet has a part to play in recycling, in protecting this
precious world, and making it greener, less toxic and more inhabitable.
All efforts count, even at an individual level.
Other than being more aware and cautious of all our actions, we should also seek to integrate
recycling practices (as well as reducing and reusing habits) into our everyday lives and our day-
to-day activities so that it becomes a norm rather than an option.
We can also adopt green living practices, and educate our children about these green lifestyles.
In this way, we would be building an important foundation for a greener planet in the future.
Read more about the benefits of going green.
Recycling, waste management and eco green living at home, schools, offices, and in the
community will definitely benefit the environment and everyone to a great extent!

Recycling Tips

By recycling, not only would you be protecting the environment, you would also be saving
money and resources for your community, and securing the future of our descendents.

33
Recycling tips 1: Start small

To make a difference, you don’t have to start big. Remember, every effort counts, small or big.
A small start is better than not at all, and it can help give you greater confidence to take bigger
steps down the road.
What it means to start small is to start with yourself.
Look at the things that you own and use. Things around you that you have control over. These
things could be in your home, in your workplace, at your hotel room during your holidays, in
your car, etc.
And as you become comfortable recycling your own things, you can expand your sphere of
influence to those around you, such as your immediate family, and then your relatives and
friends.

Recycling tips 2: Reduce and Reuse first

Recycling is not exactly first in line in the Waste Reduction Hierarchy. In fact, it comes third.
To make a difference to the environment, you should first look towards reducing consumption,
as it is actually the first and most effective step toward producing less waste (consuming less
automatically produces less waste).
However, there are times when consumption is necessary. In these cases, reuse as much as
possible before recycling any remaining materials. Reusing products, where possible, is even
better than recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used
again.
Finally, if you have to make the purchases, buy products that are made of recycled materials .
And make sure you recycle the items when you don’t need them anymore.
Look out for the recycling symbols on your products that tell you that they are made of recycled
materials, or are designed for recycling. These practices count!

Recycling tips 3: Know what to recycle

Before you start on your recycling journey, the basic knowledge you need is to know what to
recycle.
There are many items in the house, office, school etc that can be recycled. The items range from
paper, glass, metals like aluminium, plastic, electronic items and more!
For example, aluminium (used to make our coke cans) can be recycled over and over again,
while not all types of plastics can be recycled. You need to look for the recycling symbols

34
embedded at the bottom of most plastic bottles to be able to differentiate the type of plastic you
have.

Recycling tips 4: Green tips for the home

The home is where you can find lots of things for recycling.
Things are being purchased on a regular basis (eg. groceries and household consumables). Often
these products comes with lots of packaging that end up immediately as waste, if no attempts are
made to reduce, reuse and recycle them.
And as you become more and more familiar with the habit of recycling, innovate and find your
own creative ways of reducing, reusing and recycling!

Recycling tips 5: Green tips for the office

The office is another place where you can expand your recycling efforts to.
At the office, some materials such as paper can be used at alarming rates. At other offices,
styrofoam cups are used on a daily basis for coffee and tea breaks, and at meetings. Imagine the
amount of non-biodegradable waste these offices contribute to the incinerator and landfills on a
daily basis! Scary!

35
 Solving India’s garbage problem

Segregation at source should be at the heart of municipalities’ solid waste management

system

We know that we have a serious garbage problem. But the problem is not about finding the right
technology for waste disposal. The problem is how to integrate the technology with a system of
household-level segregation so that waste does not end up in landfills, but is processed and
reused. It is clear that there will be no value from waste, as energy or material, if it is not
segregated. But this is where our waste management system stops short.

It is the responsibility of the urban local body to ensure segregation of waste at source as per the
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Rules, 2015. This means the body must get citizens to segregate
waste at the household level and then ensure that this segregated waste—wet and dry,
compostable and recyclable—is collected separately and transported separately for processing.

The easier solution is to collect and dump. Or to believe that unsegregated waste can be sorted
out mechanically at the processing plant itself and burnt. Officials of urban local bodies have
been given to believe this is the magic bullet: collect, sort and burn. But as experience across
India—and from the rest of the world—shows, if waste is not segregated then it will make poor
quality fuel. This will not work.

Segregation at source should therefore be at the heart of municipalities’ solid waste management
system. The only city that has truly adopted segregation is Panaji. Municipal officials have
ensured a citywide system that is designed to collect household waste on different days for
different waste streams. This ensures separation. It is combined with penalties for non-segregated
waste and has promoted colony-level processing as well. Most importantly, for the bulk of
commercial establishments such as hotels it has a bag-marking system so that any non-
compliance can be caught and fined.

In Kerala’s Alappuzha segregation happens differently. Here the municipality does not collect
waste because it has no place to take it to for disposal. The city’s only landfill has been sealed by
villagers who live in its vicinity. This withdrawal of the municipality from waste management
has meant that the people have to manage their waste, or be drowned in it. They segregate and
compost what they can. The compost is used for growing vegetables and plants in their
homesteads. The problem is how to handle all the non-biodegradable waste—paper, plastic,
aluminum tins, etc. This is where the government has stepped in. It promotes collection through

36
the already well-organised informal waste-recycling sector. The municipality has ended up
saving a huge capital cost it would have otherwise incurred for collection and transportation.

But this is one part of the waste solution. The other is to make sure there is no place for the
unsegregated waste to go. This means taking tough steps to manage landfills in cities. In fact, the
MSW (draft) Rules, 2015, accept that landfills should only be used for residual waste that is
“non-usable, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, non-combustible and non-reactive”. It goes on
to state that every effort will be made to recycle or reuse the rejects to achieve the desired
objective of zero waste to landfill. This is an important departure from previous policies, which
ended up emphasising the need for sanitary landfills.

The question is how to enforce this policy. Currently, all contracts for waste management
awarded by city governments to private concessionaires have a perverse incentive to bring larger
quantities of waste to the dumpsite. Under these contracts the contractor is paid against the
volume of waste deposited on the site. This “tipping fee” as it is known means that the higher the
volume brought the greater the financial reward. City municipalities also find that the collection,
transport and dumping of waste is an easier proposition than processing it for reuse.

To change this, it is necessary to impose a landfill tax. The contracts need to be redesigned so
that instead of the municipality paying for the waste brought to the landfill, the contractor should
be made to pay a “tipping fee” for the waste. In this way, instead of being paid to bring waste to
the landfill, the contractor or city municipality would have to pay a fee to dispose of the waste.
This will provide financial viability to the waste-processing industry and also ensure that as little
as possible waste reaches the landfill. We need to turn the system of garbage management on its
head. Only then will we really clean our cities—not just sweep the dirt under the carpet.

37
 Conclusion

The effect that waste has on our natural environment and ultimately on the quality of our life has
been made public in worldwide debates. The problems related to waste have many dimensions.
In economically challenged communities, the scope and magnitude of the problem may often
exceed the capacity that local authorities have to effectively resolve issues of waste collection
and disposal, in addition to other difficult city managerial tasks.

In the 1950’s the influence of human activities on the natural environment became more evident
to scholars. Urban ecology theory embodies the idea that human influence on the natural
environment has evolved into an integrated field in which scientists look at solving problems in
regard to nature in cities by using different tools.

Bearing in mind the complexity of nature and cities, the ecological conditions of urban areas are
viewed as the necessary measures for environmental protection and recovery. Land, water,
vegetation and other living organisms fill cities and interact with people. In consequence their
protection and care reflect upon the quality of human life.

There are several factors related to improving ecological conditions in cities. Environmental
benefits are noticeable through the reduction of pollutants, since consequences of air
contamination are both local and global. Another parameter is to preserve the natural condition
of land and its ability to sustain life. Also accessibility to clean water supports not only the
existence of all living organisms but also contributes heavily to production processes, irrigation
and transportation purposes.

To effectively protect nature in cities it is also necessary to consider factors beyond air, land and
water. For instance, energy issues, characteristics of infrastructure, social and cultural patterns,
as well as waste management are features that affect the balance of cities.

The results obtained from the analysis of the municipality of Jiutepec in Mexico show a growing
and dynamic entity with issues of development, public service shortage and environmental
hazards in particular in water and soil contamination.

Although a specific environmental database is lacking, the deterioration of nature is visible in

some areas and general concerns among locals are rising.

The characteristics of waste management in the municipality reflect the limited resources that
local governments have to handle waste issues in contrast with the creativity shown by residents
to meet their needs. This is particularly evident in the structure of private organizations and
informal waste separation and processing activities.

The idea that waste management can be integrated as an element that promotes the welfare of life
and improves the ecological conditions of urban settlements lies firstly in recognizing the
endemic nature of the waste to be handled.

38
Secondly, ensuring effective waste collection coverage leads to the reduction of air, noise and
soil pollution. Thirdly, social approaches such as knowledge transfer have shown to be effective
in encouraging sustainable household habits, which help improve recycling and the reduction of
gas emission in landfills and waste dump sites. Lastly, creating enduring partnerships of
collaboration between parties contributes to continuity in waste management practices and
avoids palliative improvements. This leads to sustainability in the system humankind has
established for living and the preservation of the environment in which it exists.

39
 Questionnaire

1. Are you a resident of

Ans. Chopda.

2. What is your age?

Ans. 37 years old.

3. Are you male or female?

Ans. Female

4. How many people currently live in your household?

Ans. 4

5. How much garbage do you generate per week? (1 bag = 1 standard green garbage bag)

Ans. 4 bags or more.

6. How much recycling do you do per week? (1 bag = 1 standard green garbage bag)

Ans. None.

7. Do you compost?

Ans. No

8. Do you burn garbage? How much?

Ans. 1 bag per week.

9. Do you take waste to recycling banks?

Ans. No

10. Does anyone in your home buy beverages in aluminum cans?

Ans. Yes

11. Are these used cans separated for recycling?

Ans. Yes

40
12. Do you buy or receive the newspaper?

Ans. Yes

13. Is this newspaper saved for recycling?

Ans. Yes

14. Are other materials besides cans, plastics, and paper collected in

your home for recycling?

Ans. No

41
 Biblography

 https://www.wm.com/index.jsp

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste

 edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/solwaste/types.html

 www.yourarticlelibrary.com/solid-waste/6-main-types-of-solid-waste.

 www.tatvaglobal.com/solid_waste_management

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_solid_waste

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling

 edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/solwaste/recycle

 https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_disposal_unit

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