Essay on Waste Management
The whole method of managing, treating, storing, shipping, reprocessing and disposing of chemical, human and environmental waste is known as waste management. Waste management is a global subject, but its implications are more evident in developing nations.
With the growth in population, sub-urbanization, social and economic growth, marketing, etc., solid waste management that is a relatively colossal activity is becoming more complex. Official insubstantiality, economic constraints and a public approach to waste management have made the issue worse.
Importance of Waste Management
Waste management is essential for maintaining living beings’ well being and also for building a healthy atmosphere for the generations to come. It helps to minimize pollution and can substantially reduce emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane from waste by adapting to effective waste management techniques. It also helps in avoiding infectious diseases.
Waste Management is a significant business because it requires numerous levels and procedures. At every point, human resources are needed in high numbers. Moreover, waste management provides a range of work openings as an industry. In this field, workers with less schooling and skilled labour can be used in large numbers.
Methods of Waste Management
Incineration – Under this waste management system, public solid waste is buried for turning it into oil, dust, steam, ash and gases. It eliminates solid waste by about 31 per cent of the total amount.
Landfills – Disposal of garbage and waste within landfills is one of the most common waste management methods. Under this process, problems such as garbage hazards and odour are eradicated. The waste is deposited at landfill sites. Even today, the landfills are perceived to be the cause for global warming, and that is why many nations are again talking about landfill use.
Composting – Composting is a method of biodegradation of waste management in which the agricultural waste, i.e., flora leftovers and pantry waste, is converted into flora feed. This method is used for organic-farming that often improves soil fertility.
Recycling – In this waste management system, the waste products are reprocessed for reuse. The waste stuff is reprocessed for extracting resources or converting it into energy such as heat, electricity, coal.
Anaerobic Digestion – Anaerobic digestion is the waste management method which with the aid of organic procedures degrades biological materials. It uses the surroundings free of germs and oxygen for decay. Composting requires air to aid in bacteria growth.
Waste Minimization – This is the easiest way to handle waste and helps to generate less waste. Anyone can achieve declining waste by reducing waste creation and reprocessing and recycling of old resources. It is important to use sustainable products and to decrease the use of paper, plastics etc. The public input has a direct impact on the waste management system.
Waste to Energy Conversion – Under this waste management process, non-biodegradable wastage is converted into energy sources such as coal, heat, or electricity. Both of these are sources of renewable energy as the non-biodegradable waste could be used repeatedly to produce electricity.
Pyrolysis and Gasification – These two waste management methods are used to decompose the remaining organic materials by exposing them to a limited amount of oxygen and elevating the temperature. Oxygen is not used in the pyrolysis procedure and, only a minimal amount of oxygen is used in the gasification process.
Advantages of Waste Management
#1. Waste Management keeps the Environment Clean
When we practice waste management, we help to keep our world very clean, and we as individuals shall do our best to keep our immediate and non-immediate world clean to achieve the overall objective of a sustainable climate. A waste management unit gathers waste materials and garbage from various locations within the city. It then transfers the collected waste materials and garbage to landfill sites and other types of disposal systems and equipment used for disposal. Until disposal, the various gases and odours produced by the garbage and waste are eliminated, and this results in a spotless atmosphere for the whole operation.
#2. Waste Management Conserves Energy
Recycling is a very critical aspect of handling waste. Recycling all of the various goods and objects helps to reduce the use of raw materials to produce new objects and goods. Energy conservation also takes place during recycling, because recycling of products uses less energy than the production of entirely new raw materials.
#3. Waste Management helps in the reduction of air pollution
Global warming and air pollution can be minimized by using a waste management tool. Via waste management, the volume and amounts of gases such as methane and carbon dioxide emitted and released into the atmosphere from waste are decreased.
#4. Waste Management promotes resource sustainability
The waste management process actively minimizes resource and energy use. Effectively using and managing resources is supported by the idea of waste management life-cycle.
#5. Generates employment opportunities
A significant amount of workforce and expertise is required for the various waste management processes. Beginning with the waste collection to where it is disposed of, many work opportunities are generated by waste management.
#6. Health
When people are exposed to waste, human well being can be adversely affected and can lead to many diseases and illnesses. As we all know, waste management practices include waste removal from various landfills and the transfer of waste to sites where they can be disposed of safely without doing any harm to our safety.
Waste Management System in India
Waste management in India relies on sustainable growth, polluter speed and precautionary standards. These principles allow the regions and business foundations to behave responsibly and conscientiously on Earth by restoring the ecological balance, their actions in some way upset it. The expansion of waste generation as a side-effect of financial development has prompted numerous subordinate enactments to direct the mode of transfer and was rendered under the Environment Protection Act (EPA) enacted in the year 1986.
Better Ways Ahead to Waste Management
Establishing waste-to-compost and bio-methanation plants will minimize landfill site heaps. The biodegradable portion of the massive waste of India is currently being measured at just over 50 percent. Bio-methanation is a solution that remains underexploited to the handling of biodegradable waste.
Other Measures and Initiatives
Solid Waste management initiative by United Nations
The environment branch of United Nations looks after finding the solutions for effective waste management and ensuring the implementation of those in the member countries. For example, :-. The UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) in Japan supports the implementation of integrated solid waste management systems. It also focuses on the proper treatment of special wastes (electronics, agricultural biomass, plastics) in developing countries.
Government plans and actions:- (India)
When we see waste generation in the context of India, according to Environment Ministry of the country, “62 million tonnes of waste is generated annually in the country at present, out of which 5.6 million tonnes is plastic waste, 0.17 million tonnes is biomedical waste, hazardous waste generation is 7.90 million tonnes per annum, and 15 lakh tonnes is e-waste. Only about 75-80 per cent of the municipal waste gets collected, and only 22-28 per cent of this waste is processed and treated.” (source: moef.gov.in, Minister of Environment, India)
The Indian Government has also laid down some rules regarding the management of solid waste and frequently keeps checking on it’s proper implementation. The recent rules of 2016 have rules on segregation of waste at source,
Collection and disposal of sanitary waste, waste processing and treatment and promoting conversion of waste into energy as well as the use of compost.
Waste management initiatives at Individual level
The role of people plays a key role in dealing with such problems. The environment has no boundaries, and we must try our best to reduce waste generation for the sake of our lives and the environment alike which can be done by following these practices:-
- Use Eco-friendly products.
- Promote reuse and recycling wherever possible and reduce the production of wastes.
- Use rechargeable batteries to reduce metal pollution.
- Use of waste generated during one manufacturing process as a raw material for some other production.
- Do not use polythene bags.
- Use low phosphate or biodegradable dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent and shampoo.
- Check population growth so that demand of materials is under control.
Conclusion
Waste management is being so urged because our planet Earth has already begun to face the repercussions of wasting tons of garbage. Governments and local community bodies need to implement new waste management strategies and should also build awareness among people about the benefits of using eco-friendly goods.
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