Solid Waste Management in Pakistan Introduction Types of Solid Waste

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ASSIGNMENT
ES-101
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMNT IN PAKISTAN
Submitted To:
Respected Mr M.Qasim Ali
Submitted by:
Mawra Zafar
20011561-082
BS Environmental Sciences
Department of Environmental Sciences
University of Gujrat
Session 2020-2024

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ASSIGNEMENT-1
INTRODUCTION
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN PAKISTAN
Solid waste management situation in Pakistan is a matter of grave concern as more than 5 million
people to die each year due to waste-related diseases. In Pakistan roughly 20 million tons of solid
waste is generated annually, with annual growth rate of about 2.4 percent. Karachi, largest city in
the country, generates more than 9,000 tons of municipal waste daily. All major cities, be it
Islamabad, Lahore or Peshawar, are facing enormous challenges in tackling the problem of urban
waste. The root factors for the worsening garbage problem in Pakistan are lack of urban
planning, outdated infrastructure, lack of public awareness and endemic corruption
Being the 6th most populated country in the world; there is a lot of consumerism and with it a
great deal of waste being produced. Like other developing countries, waste management sector
in Pakistan is plagued by a wide variety of social, cultural, legislative and economic issues. In
the country, more waste is being produced than the number of facilities available to manage it.
Types of solid waste management
Some of the major types of solid waste management are as follows:
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Hazardous Wastes
Industrial Wastes
Agricultural Wastes
Bio-medical Wastes
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
The term municipal solid waste (MSW) is generally used to describe most of the non-hazardous
solid waste from a city, town or village that requires routine collection and transport to a
processing or disposal site, Sources of MSW include private homes, commercial establishments
and institutions, as well as industrial facilities.
Municipal solid waste contains a wide variety of materials. It can contain food waste (like
vegetable and meat material, leftover food, eggshells etc, which is classified as wet garbage as

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well as paper, plastic, tetra-pack, plastic cans, newspaper, glass bottles, cardboard boxes,
aluminum foil, meta items, wood pieces, etc., which is classified as dry garbage.
Sources Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
These are the major sources of MSW.
Residential
Industrial
Commercial
Institutional
Construction and Demolition Areas
Hazardous Wastes
Hazardous wastes are those that can cause harm to human and the environment.
Sources of Hazardous Wastes
Wastes are classified as hazardous if they exhibit any of four primary characteristics based on
physical or chemical properties of toxicity, reactivity ignitability and corrosively.
Toxic wastes
Toxic wastes are those that are poisonous in small or trace amounts. Some may have acute or
immediate effect on human or animals. Carcinogenic or mutagenic causing biological changes in
the children of exposed people and animals. Examples: pesticides, heavy metals.
Reactive wastes
Reactive wastes are those that have a tendency to react vigorously with air or water are unstable
to shock or heat, generate toxic gases or explode during routine management. Examples: Gun
powder, nitro glycerin.
Ignitable waste
Are those that burn at relatively low temperatures (< 60 °C) and are capable of spontaneous
combustion during storage transport or disposal. Examples: Gasoline, paint thinners and alcohol.

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Corrosive wastes
Are those that destroy materials and living tissues by chemical reactions? Examples: acids and
base.
Infectious wastes
Included human tissue from surgery, used bandages and hypoderm needles hospital wastes.
Industrial Wastes
These contain more of toxic and require special treatment.
Food processing industries, metallurgical chemical and pharmaceutical unit’s breweries, sugar
mills, paper and pulp industries, fertilizer and pesticide industries are major ones which
discharge toxic wastes. During processing, scrap materials, tailings, acids etc.
Sources of Industrial Wastes
Burning coal
Burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and petroleum
Chemical solvents used in dyeing and tanning industries
Untreated gas and liquid waste being released into the environment
Improper disposal of radioactive material
Agricultural Wastes
Sources of Agricultural Wastes
The waste generated by agriculture includes waste from crops and live stock. In developing
countries, this waste does not pose a serious problem as most of it is used e.g., dung is used for
manure, straw is used as fodder. Some agro-based industries produce waste e.g., rice milling,
production of tea, tobacco etc. Agricultural wastes are rice husk, degasses, ground nut shell,
maize cobs, straw of cereals etc.
Bio-Medical Wastes
Bio-medical waste means any waste, which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or
immunisation of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining thereto or in the
production or testing of biological.

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