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10th Goa Board Question Paper
October 29, 2024The process of managing unwanted waste items that have served their purpose but are no longer useful is referred to as Waste Management. Collecting solid waste materials, processing them, and disposing of them are all part of the solid waste management process. Human interaction with the environment has always resulted in the creation of waste.
Wastes include dead and decaying plant and animal remains, metabolic by-products (faecal remains, excreta, etc.), discarded materials from homes, workplaces, businesses, restaurants, factories, hospitals, pesticides, herbicides sprayed on fields, and many more. This article will teach students about solid waste management, including the many trash management methods and their benefits.
The unwanted or unusable materials that are thrown away after the primary use are called waste.
Wastes are generated from several sources such as domestic, industries, agriculture, and commercial activities.
Fig: Sources of Waste
The waste materials produced from our households in our daily activities are called domestic waste. These include:
In general, domestic waste is referred to as refuse. About \(90\% \) of domestic waste is directly dumped on land thereby increasing land or soil pollution.
All Industries generate waste materials. The wastes typically include ashes, rubbish, building material wastes, toxic wastes, metal containers, plastic containers, paints, oils, and other complex synthetic materials.
Modern techniques employed in agriculture and the use of a variety of chemicals have contributed to the production of large quantities of agricultural waste.
A lot of waste is generated from commercial establishments such as restaurants, hotels, markets, offices, printing shops, auto repair shops, medical institutions, and hospitals.
There are mainly two types of waste:
Biodegradable Waste | Non-biodegradable Waste |
Waste management can be simply defined as the collection, transport, recovery, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process. However, the newer concept of waste management talks about the 7 R’s – Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Regulate, and Research.
Rethink | Refuse | Reduce | Reuse | Recycle | Regulate | Research |
There are various types of waste management, few of them are listed below:
1. Solid Waste Management
2. Liquid Waste Management
3. Biomedical Waste Management
The term solid waste refers to all discarded and thrown away solid and semi-solid wastes arising from human and animal activities. These may be classified as municipal wastes, industrial waste, and hazardous waste. The use and throw culture of advanced societies has led to a tremendous increase in the generation of solid waste. To overcome the major causes of solid waste, we have to practice the rules of no littering zone, separate the dry waste and wet waste and dump it into the municipal vans, avoid usage of plastic, etc.
Six Main Functional Elements of a Solid Waste Management System:
Waste Handling and Separation, Storage and Processing at the Source:
Practice is followed to remove or prevent the discharge of pollutants to the drain system or to watercourses as a result of the creation, collection, and disposal of non-hazardous liquid materials. To overcome the problem of liquid waste, we should stop dumping the oil containers on the ships, which disturb marine life, stop washing animals across the rivers, etc.
Process of treating Liquid Waste by the Management:
Biological wastes are generated during the diagnosis, testing, treatment, research, or production of biological products for humans or animals. Major sources of biomedical waste are hospitals, blood banks, labs, etc.
Process of treating Biomedical Waste Management:
The non-biodegradable wastes can, however, be recycled or reused.
Recycling means the conservation of resources in used items by converting them into new products. For example, old newspapers can be recycled to make tissue paper and cardboard. Aluminum cans can be recycled to produce new cans.
Reuse means conservation of the resources in used items by using them over and over again. For example, glass bottles can be collected, washed, and refilled again.
Nuclear reactors produce toxic, radioactive substances, such as heavy water or spent nuclear fuel. Radioactive waste is hazardous to all life forms as well as to the environment. These are substances that have characteristics of ignitability or corrosivity or reactivity or toxicity.
Find below some of the advantages of waste management:
Waste management involves a process whereby wastes are collected, transported, and disposed of in the best possible way of limiting or eliminating the harmful effect of wastes. This aspect of environmental management is as important as other public amenities or infrastructures without which the life of a contemporary man would be extremely difficult.
This is because studies have shown a direct link between air, water, and land pollution and diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, cholera, and hepatitis. In addition, climate change and eutrophication are a direct result of water and air pollution. Little wonder why there is a huge disparity in the life expectancy of people in developed and developing countries.
We have provided some frequently asked questions about waste management here:
Q.1: What are the types of waste management?
Ans: There are mainly two types of waste:
1. Biodegradable Waste
2. Non-biodegradable Waste
Q.2: What is waste management?
Ans: Waste management is simply defined as the transport, collection, recovery, and disposal of waste. It includes the supervision of such operations and aftercare of disposal sites, which is called waste management.
Q.3. What are the three principles of waste management?
Ans: The three main principles of Waste Management are Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse.
Q.4: What will waste management not take?
Ans: The waste management will not take the hazardous waste such as radioactive waste, nuclear reactors, E-waste, etc.
Q.5: What is biomedical waste management?
Ans: Biomedical wastes are generated during the diagnosis, testing, treatment, research, or production of biological products for humans or animals. Biomedical waste management should be managed well. Major sources of biological waste are hospitals, blood banks, labs, etc.
We hope that this detailed article on Waste Management was helpful. If you have any queries, then do let us know about them in the comment section below. We will get back to you at the earliest.
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