ENVIRONMENTAL

STUDIES

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Table of Contents
WASTE MANAGEMENT: ............................................................................................................................ 3
IMPORTANCE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................ 3
PURPOSE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................... 3
WASTE HIERARCHY ............................................................................................................................... 3
BENEFITS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................. 4
PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT ......................................................................... 4
TYPES OF WASTE MATERIAL ................................................................................................................. 5
EFFECTS OF WASTE ON OUR ENVIRONMENT: ..................................................................................... 6
WASTE DISPOSALS METHODS: ............................................................................................................. 6
CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: .......................................................................................... 8
TECHNOLOGIES: .................................................................................................................................... 8
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 8
RECOMMENDATION: ............................................................................................................................ 8

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WASTE MANAGEMENT:
Waste management is the precise name for the collection, transportation, disposal or recycling and
monitoring of waste. This term is assigned to the material, waste material that is produced through
human being activity. This material is managed to avoid its adverse effect over human health and
environment.

IMPORTANCE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

The most important reason for proper waste management is to protect the environment and for the
health and safety of the population. Certain types of waste can be hazardous and can pollute the
environment. Bad waste management practices can also cause land and air pollution which
can result in serious medical conditions in humans and animals.
Implementing good waste management practices not only helps to protect the environment
but can be beneficial to your business.

PURPOSE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

The purpose of the Waste Management Program is to ensure waste is managed in such a way that
protects both public health and the environment. The Waste Management Program works hard to
help all Missourians better manage their wastes.
WASTE HIERARCHY
The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle,
which classifies waste management strategies according to their
desirability in terms of waste minimization. The waste hierarchy is the
cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the
waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from
products and to generate the minimum amount of end waste; see:
resource recovery. The waste hierarchy is represented as a pyramid
because the basic premise is that policies should promote measures to
prevent the generation of waste. The next step or preferred action is to
seek alternative uses for the waste that has been generated i.e. by re-
use. The next is recycling which includes composting. Following this
step is material recovery and waste-to-energy. 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.
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BENEFITS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT
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 civic communities. 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.
 Environmental – Reducing or eliminating adverse impacts on the environment through
reducing, reusing and recycling, and minimizing resource extraction can result in 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.
PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT
Population and household growth in Hertfordshire put increasing pressure on waste management in
the county. Consequently, the need to actively manage waste streams in Hertfordshire has never
been more significant.
Sustainable waste management can be actively addressed through the planning process in the
following ways:
 Reducing the quantity of materials required for the building.
 Reducing the amount of waste generated.
 Management of construction and demolition wastes.
 Materials specifications (e.g. use of reclaimed and recycled materials).
 Provision of recycling space/facilities.
 The nationally accepted framework or approach for achieving reductions in waste arisings
and sustainable waste management is the Waste Hierarchy.

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TYPES OF WASTE MATERIAL
There are 5 types of waste, do you know them all?
1. Liquid Waste. Liquid waste is commonly found both in households as well as in industries.
This waste includes
 Dirty water
 Organic liquids
 Wash water
 Waste detergents
 Even rainwater.
2. Solid Rubbish. Solid rubbish can include a variety of items found in your household along with
commercial and industrial locations.
 Plastic waste
 Paper/card waste
 Tins and metals
 Ceramics and glass

3. Organic Waste. Organic waste is another common household. All food waste, garden waste,
manure and rotten meat are classified as organic waste. Over time, organic waste is turned into
manure by microorganisms. However, this does not mean that you can dispose them anywhere.
4. Recyclable Rubbish. Recyclable rubbish includes all waste items that can be converted into
products that can be used again. Solid items such as paper, metals, furniture and organic
waste can all be recycled.
5. Hazardous Waste.
Hazardous waste includes all types of rubbish that are flammable, toxic, corrosive and
reactive.
6. Agricultural Waste: Waste generated by agriculture includes waste from crops and livestock.
7. Bio-medical Waste: Bio-medical waste means any waste, which is generating during the
diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals.

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EFFECTS OF WASTE ON OUR ENVIRONMENT:
1. Incinerating waste also causes problems, because plastics tend to produce toxic substances,
such as dioxins, when they are burnt. Gases from incineration may cause air pollution and
contribute to acid rain, while the ash from incinerators may contain heavy metals and other
toxins.
2. One of the outcomes of overflowing garbage is air pollution, which causes various
respiratory diseases and other adverse health effects as contaminants are absorbed
from lungs into other parts of the body. The toxic substances in air contaminated by waste
include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.
3. A few examples of environmental impacts include: Surface Water Pollution: Liquid waste has
the ability to alter water's chemical composition. ... This pollution can cause harm to plants
growing in the soil, as well as to animals or people who consume foods that were created in
contaminated soil.
4. while avoiding the issues of landfills, can cause other hazardous environmental issues instead.
Plastic generally produces toxins, like dioxins as it is burning. The gases generated by
incineration can pollute the air, and can contribute to the effects that cause acid raid.
WASTE DISPOSALS METHODS:
1. Preventing or reducing waste generation: Extensive use of new or unnecessary products is
the root cause of unchecked waste formation. The rapid population growth makes it imperative to
use secondhand products or judiciously use the existing ones because if not, there is a potential risk
of people succumbing to the ill effects of toxic wastes. Disposing of the wastes will also assume
formidable shape. A conscious decision should be made at the personal and professional level to
judiciously curb the menacing growth of wastes.

2. Recycling: Recycling serves to transform the wastes into products of their own genre through
industrial processing. Paper, glass, aluminum, and plastics are commonly recycled. It is
environmentally friendly to reuse the wastes instead of adding them to nature. However, processing
technologies are pretty expensive.

3. Incineration: Incineration features combustion of wastes to transform them into base

components, with the generated heat being trapped for deriving energy. Assorted gases and inert ash
are common by-products. Pollution is caused by varied degrees dependent on nature of waste
combusted and incinerator design. Use of filters can check pollution. It is rather inexpensive to burn
wastes and the waste volume is reduced by about 90%. The nutrient rich ash derived out of burning
organic wastes can facilitate hydroponic solutions. Hazardous and toxic wastes can be easily be rid of
by using this method. The energy extracted can be used for cooking, heating, and supplying power to

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turbines. However, strict vigilance and due diligence should be exercised to check the accidental
leakage of micro level contaminants, such as dioxins from incinerator lines.

4. Composting: It involves decomposition of organic wastes by microbes by allowing the waste to

stay accumulated in a pit for a long period of time. The nutrient rich compost can be used as plant
manure. However, the process is slow and consumes a significant amount of land. Biological
reprocessing tremendously improves the fertility of the soil.

5. Sanitary Landfill: This involves the dumping of wastes into a landfill. The base is prepared of a
protective lining, which serves as a barrier between wastes and ground water, and prevents the
separation of toxic chemicals into the water zone. Waste layers are subjected to compaction and
subsequently coated with an earth layer. Soil that is non-porous is preferred to mitigate the
vulnerability of accidental leakage of toxic chemicals. Landfills should be created in places with low
groundwater level and far from sources of flooding. However, a sufficient number of skilled
manpower is required to maintain sanitary landfills.

6. Disposal in ocean/sea: Wastes generally of radioactive nature are dumped in the oceans far
from active human habitats. However, environmentalists are challenging this method, as such an
action is believed to spell doom for aquatic life by depriving the ocean waters of its inherent
nutrients.
Effective waste disposal calls for concerted efforts from all, no matter how anxious or worried they
may be about our environment.

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CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:
Areas with developing economies often 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 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.

TECHNOLOGIES:
Traditionally, the waste management industry has been a late adopter of new technologies such as
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, GPS and integrated software packages which enable
better quality data to be collected without the use of estimation or manual data entry.
CONCLUSION
Waste Management is crucial issue that needs governmental attention immediately, the practices
used in your country to generate waste are too dangerous not only for our selves but they could be
disastrous for our children. At present very little awareness exists amongst the stakeholders, it is
crucial to educate people and convince them to adopt practices for reduce, reuse and recycle rather
then generating crap.
RECOMMENDATION:
The region could take a variety of directions in its approach to waste disposal. Due to limited landfill
space within the region and the difficulty of opening new landfills, shipping larger quantities of waste
out of the region is a potential strategy. However, shipping waste long distances consumes fuel
unnecessarily, with financial and environmental implications. New landfills or transfer stations could
be established within the region, but this is challenging due to high land value, few appropriate sites,
and local concern about these projects. In the long term, devising new methods of waste disposal in
conjunction with resource reduction, recycling, and more research into new technologies, or
innovative approaches like demolition auctions are more sustainable measures for waste disposal.
Regardless of the approach that will insure the continued prosperity of the region and its leadership
in green technology and enhanced environment.