In India, a proper waste management system is urgent necessary for the

following reasons:

(a) To control different types of pollution, i.e., air pollution, soil pollution, water
pollution etc;

(b) To stop the spread of infectious diseases;

(c) To conserve all our environmental resources, including forest, minerals water
etc;

(f) To recycling of hazardous wastes for further production.

To implement proper wastes management policy, successful and safe disposal of

solid and liquid wastes are very necessary.

In this connection the Government of any country has to follow the steps
below:

(i) Collection

(ii) Segregation

(iii) Dumping

(iv) Composting

(v) Drainage

(vi) Treatment of effluents before discharge.

All these are discussed below:

Collection of Wastes:

Waste collection is the component of waste management which results in the

passage of a waste material from the source of production to either the point of
final disposal. Waste collection also includes the kerb-side collection of recyclable
materials that technically are not waste, as part of a municipal landfill diversion
program,
(a) Household Waste Collection:

Household waste in economically developed countries will generally be left in

waste containers or recycling bins prior to collection by a waste collector using a
waste collection vehicle. However, in many developing countries like India,
residents must interact with the waste collectors or else trash is not removed (waste
left in bins or -bags at the side of the road cannot be expected to be removed). The
waste collection vehicle will often take the waste to a transfer station where it will
be loaded up into larger vehicle and sent either to land fill (in Kolkata it is
‘Dhappa’) or to an alternative waste treatment facility.

(b) Commercial Waste Collection:

There are number of problems that can occur in Commercial Waste collection.
Overfilled bins results in rubbish failing out while being tipped. Hazardous rubbish
(like empty petrol cans) lead to fires that ignite other rubbish when truck
compactor is operating. Other nonpaying parties can attempt to put rubbish in a
bin.

This behaviour is prevented by putting chains, bars and locks on the bins. A
common severe incident that occurs with many front lift garbage trucks is the
pulling down of power lines. If hooks are left up right at the top of the crunk, they
are in prime position to pull down power lines. Truck drivers are now being trained
in identifying and managing power-line hazards.

Segregation of Wastes:

Waste segregation means division of waste into dry waste and wet waste. Dry
waste includes paper, cardboard, glass tin cans etc. Wet waste on the other hand,
refers to organic waste such as vegetable peds, left-over food etc. Separating our
waste is essential as the amount of waste being generated today causes immense
problem. Segregation of municipal solid waste can be clearly understood by
schematic representation. The schematic diagram describes how municipal solid
waste is segregated and where it can be used.

Certain items are not biodegradable but can be reused or recycled. In fact, it is
believed that a larger portion can be recycled, a part of it can be converted to
compost, and only a smaller portion of it is real waste that has no use and has to be
discarded.
i. Household waste should be separated daily into different bags for the different
categories of waste such as wet and dry waste, which should be disposed of
separately. Wet waste, which consists of leftover food stuff, vegetable peels etc.,
should be put in a compost pit and the compost could be used as manure in the
garden.

Dry waste consisting of cans, aluminum foils, plastics metal, glass and paper could
be recycled. If we do not dispose of the waste in a more systematic manner, more
than 1400 sq. km of land, which is the size of the city of Delhi, would be required
in the country by the year 2047 to dispose of it.

ii. Door-to-door collection of waste is another method of segregation, but it is not a

common practice as yet in India except in the metro cities where some private
organizations are doing such work. The rag picker plays a very important part in
the segregation of waste.

iii. A large number of NGOs are working in the field of solid waste management
such as clean Ahmedabad Abhiyan in Ahmedabad, waste- wise in Bangalore
Mumbai Environment Action Group in Mumbai, and Vatavaran and srishti in
Delhi. They are all successfully creating awareness among the citizens about their
rights and responsibilities towards solid waste and the cleanliness of their city.
Waste can be segregated as:

(a) Biodegradable waste include organic waste, e.g., kitchen waste, vegetables
fruits, flowers, leaves from the garden and paper.

(b) Non-biodegradable waste can be further segregated into:

(i) Recyclable waste – plastics, paper, glass, metal, etc.

(ii) Toxic Waste – old medicines, paints, chemicals, bulbs, spray cans, fertilizer
and pesticides containers, batteries, shoe polish.

(iii) Soiled – hospital waste such as cloth soiled with blood and other body fluids.
Toxic and soiled waste must be disposed with utmost care.

Dumping of Wastes:

Removing or transferring of toxic wastes from the primary collection area to the
safe disposal area should be done very effectively. There are several ways of
transporting wastes from primary collection area to secondary collection vehicles.
The collection, transfer and transport of waste are basic activities of waste
management system all over the world. Disposing waste products is major problem
since last many decades.

1. Landfill:

Disposing or dumping of waste in an organized way is known as landfill. It is a

method of removing the refuse of land without creating a hazard to public health
and safety. Landfill in considered as the primitive way to organized waste dumping
in various parts of earth. It is emerged as the most practicable ecological substitute
for the specific waste removal in various countries.

Basically, a landfill is a large area of land or an excavated site that is a carefully

designed structure built into or on top of the ground. The rubbish collected at the
landfill is isolated from the surrounding environment with a bottom linear and a
daily covering of soil. Though the modern landfill practices are technically sound
but still these proven techniques sometimes fail to meet challenges.

2. Incineration:
It is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to combustion
so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. This method is useful for
disposal of residue of both solid waste management and solid residue from waste
water management. This process reduces the volumes of solid waste to 30 percent
of the original volume. Incineration is carried out both on a small scale by
individuals and on a large scale industry. It is used to dump or dispose of solid,
liquid and gaseous waste.

Composting of Wastes:

Organic matter constitutes 35% to 40% of the municipal solid waste generated in
India. This waste can be recycled by the method of composting, one of the oldest
forms of disposal. It is the natural process of decomposition of organic waste that
yields manure or compost, which is very rich in nutrients.

Composting is a biological process in which micro-organisms, mainly fungi and

bacteria convert degradable organic waste into humus like substance. It recycles
the nutrients and returns them to the soil as nutrients. The process of composting
ensures the waste that is produced in the kitchens is not carelessly thrown and left
to rot. Apart from being clean, cheap and safe, composting can significantly reduce
the amount of disposable garbage.

Some Benefits:

Compost allows the soil to retain more plant nutrients over a longer period.

I. It supplies part of the 16 essential elements needed by the plants.

II. It helps reduce the adverse effects of excessive alkalinity, acidity, or the
excessive use of chemical fertilizer.

III. It makes soil easier to cultivate.

IV. It helps keep the soil cool in summer and worm in winter.

V. It aids in preventing soil erosion by keeping the soil covered.

VI. It helps in controlling the growth of weeds in the garden.

VII. Vermi-composting has become very popular in the last few years. In this
method, worms are added to the compost. These help to break the waste and added
exerea of the worms makes the compost very rich in nutrients.

The composting process is carried out by three classes of microbes:

I. Psychrophiles – low temperature microbes

II. Mesophiles – medium temperature microbes

III. Thermophiles – high temperature microbes.

Composting Period:

The composting period is governed by a number of factors including, temperature,

moisture, oxygen, particle size, the carbon – to – nitrogen ratio and the degree of
turning involved. Generally, effective management of these factors will accelerate
the composting process.

Drainage of Wastes:

A proper drainage of waste is very important and essential part of waste

management in the urban and industrial areas.

A good drainage system is helpful for following reasons:

(i) To control flood during rainy season;

(ii) To maintain proper sanitation facilities;

(iii) To provide a clean and healthy environment;

(iv) Recycling of waste water for proper treatment.

There are mainly two types of drainage system in urban and industrial areas.

Such as;

(a) Foul (Waste) Water Drainage System:

A system that takes foul waste only from a property or properties, foul waste being
the waste water from sinks, toilets, showers, baths, washing machines and
kitchens. These systems discharge into local authority sewers before passing
through sewage treatment plants by separating the foul waste.

(b) Strom Water Drainage System:

A system that takes only storm water only from roofs and lard standings which
would normally discharge into a brook, river or water course of some description,
some properties will have soak always to discharge into given the correct ground
and sub-soil conditions.

Treatment of Effluents:

Sewage (Effluents) treatment or domestic waste water treatment, is the process of

removing contaminants from waste water and house hold sewage, both run off
(effluents) and domestic. It includes physical, chemical and biological processes to
remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants. Its objective is to produce
an environmentally-safe fluid waste stream (or treated effluent) and a solid waste
(or treated sludge) suitable for disposal or reuse (usually as farm fertilizer). Using
advanced technology it is now possible to reuse sewage effluent for drinking water.

Agriculture, Industry, Pollution and Ecosystem:

Treatment of effluents (sewage treatment) generally involves four stages, such as

Pre-Treatment:

It removes materials that can be easily collected from the raw waste water before
they damage or clog the pumps and skimmers of primary treatment clarifiers
(trash, tree limbs, leaves etc)

Pre-treatment process is consisted of following steps:

(i) Screening:

The influent sewage water is screamed to remove all large objects like cans rags,
sticks, plastic packets etc. carried in the sewage stream.

(ii) Grit Removal:

Pre-treatment may include a sand or grit channel or chamber where the velocity of
the incoming wastewater is adjusted to allow the settlement of sand, grit, stones
and broken glass. These particles are removed because they may damage pumps
and other equipment’s.

(iii) Flow Equalization:

Flow equalization basins require variable discharge control, typically include

provisions for bypass and cleaning, and may also include aerators. Equalization
basins may be used for temporary storage of divernal or wet-weather flow peaks.

(iv) Fat and Grease Removal:

In some larger plants, fat and grease are removed by passing the sewage though a
small tank where skimmers collect the fat floating on the surface. Air blowers in
the base of the tank may also be used to help recover the fat as a froth. Many
plants, however, use primary clarifiers with mechanical surface skimmers for fat
and grease removal.

Primary Treatment:

It consists of temporarily holding the sewage in a quiescent basin where heavy

solids can settle to the bottom while oil, grease and lighter solids float to the
surface. The settled and floating materials are removed and the remaining liquid
may be discharged or subjected to secondly treatment. Primary setting tanks should
be designed to effect removal of a high percentage of the floatables and sludge. A
typical sedimentation tank may remove from 50 to 70 percent of suspended solids,
and from 30 to 35 percent of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from the sewage.

Secondary Treatment:

It is designed to substantially degrade the biological content of the sewage which

are derived from human waste, food waste, soaps and detergent. The majority of
municipal plants treat the settled sewage liquor using aerobic biological process.
To be effective, the biota require both oxygen and food to live. The bacteria
soluble organic contaminants (e.g. sugar, fats, organic short-chain carbon
molecules, etc.) and bind much of the less soluble fractions into floe. This
treatment is classified as fixed-film and suspended- growth systems.

i. Fixed-film or attached growth:

This system include trickling filters. Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBR), and
rotating biological contactors, where the biomass grows on media and the sewage
passes over its surface.

ii. Suspended-Growth:

This system include activated sludge, where biomass is mixed with the sewage and
can be operated in a smaller space than fixed-film system that treat the same
amount of water. However, the fixed film system is more effective to remove
organic material and suspended solids than suspended growth system.

Tertiary Treatment:

It is sometimes defined as anything more than primary and secondary treatment in

order to allow rejection into a highly sensitive or fragile ecosystem (estuaries, low-
flow rivers, coral reefs …). Treated water is sometimes disinfected chemically or
physically (for example, by lagoons and microfiltration) prior to discharge into a
stream, river, boy, lagoon or wetland, or it can be used for the irrigation of a golf
course, green way or park. If it is sufficiently clean, it can also be used for ground
water recharge or agricultural purposes.