sources of solid waste management and recycling

2. Sources of solid waste
Worldwide, rapid industrialization, urbanization,
huge agricultural production and changes of life
style of people increased the rate of solid waste
generation.
Throughout the world, solid waste management
is a major environmental issue.
Solid waste is no longer out-of-sight and out-of-
mind.

2. Sources of solid waste
Solid waste means any garbage, refuse,
trash, junk, debris, and sludge from sewage
treatment plants and other unwanted
discarded solid materials (no longer useful
in its current form) resulting from
industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural
operations, etc.

Today, solid waste is not only a problem for our
Earth but also for the outer space surrounding
our Earth. Space solid waste (SSW) are moving
with high speed and endangering satellites.
SSW includes old satellites and their shredded
fragments.
There are efforts to collect the SSW to protect
the active satellites.

2.1 Domestic solid waste (DSW)
Domestic solid waste (DSW) is normally discharged
from households, schools, offices, marketplaces,
restaurants and other public places in urban and
businesses areas.

DSW can be sorted into:
• Biodegradable organic waste.
• Plastics.
• Paper and cartons.
• Glass.
• Textiles.
• Metals.
• Rubber.
• Others.
In almost each category, materials could be classified further into
subgroups.

DSW may include also construction and demolition
waste, solid materials (fine, medium and large floating
objects) and sewage sludge from sewage treatments
plants, waste from streets, broken home appliances,
small quantities of hazardous waste, such as electric
light bulbs, batteries, automotive parts, and discarded
medicines and chemicals, wood waste, etc.
The composition of DSW differs from country to
country, from city to city and from district to district.
Each country produces a different average MSW.

Biodegradable organic waste (BOW) is usually
any material coming from green plants and
animals such as food waste, non-hazardous
wood waste, landscape waste, and
pruning waste.

Food waste/Food debris (FW): FW refers to food that completes
the food supply chain up to a final product, but still doesn't get
consumed because it is discarded (either before or after it is left
to spoil) and usually found in municipal solid waste. The causes
of FW in homes and restaurants include overbuying,
overproduction, and spoilage (bad management).
According to the Major of Amman, there was about35 tons of
bread in waste containers in Amman alone on 28.3.2020 due to
Corona Crises.

When FW ends up in landfills and then
decompose to produce CH4 and CO2 in addition
to leachate. Discharging FW means wasting
water, energy and generates greenhouse gases.
FW Food waste should be first minimized; the
rest can be used as animal feed or reused via
composting to produce compost or via
anaerobic digestion facility to produce CH4.

Plastic waste component of the urban solid
waste is a huge problem; it has huge volume
and low density or bulk density.
As it is non-biodegradable, it can stay in the
environment for a very longer time causing
severe environmental degradation. The
environmental degradation harm the human,
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and
environmental health.

DSW is causing a growing problem for the following
reasons:
1. DSW is concentrated in highly populated areas; thus,
it must be removed quickly and efficiently to protect
human and environmental health.
2. DSW is growing in volume and decreasing in bulk
density.
3. DSW contains more and more hazardous waste such
as rests of solvents, paints, old batteries, medical
materials, pesticides, e-waste, etc.

To determine if the DSW contains hazardous
components, read the labels on the products.
Labels that read "danger," "warning," "caution,"
"toxic," "corrosive," "flammable," or "poison“
might contain hazardous materials.

Although we cannot completely stop using
hazardous products, we can make sure that
waste are managed properly.
The best way to handle hazardous domestic
waste (HDW) is to reduce the amount
generated by giving waste to someone else to
use.
Many communities have collection programs for
HDW to reduce their hazards.

Collection programs for HDW ensure the safe
disposal in facilities designed to treat or
dispose of hazardous waste.
More than 4 000 HDW collection programs exist
in the United States.
No HDW collection programs exist in Jordan.

2.2 Industrial waste (IW)
The term “industry” covers a great range of
industrial activities, each with different kind of
IW.
IW is generated during:
1. extraction and processing of raw materials,
2. manufacturing product,
3. use and
4. disposal.

2.2 Industrial waste (IW)
The IW may be gaseous, particulate, liquid,
radiation, heat, or noise.
Gaseous, particulate, radiation, heat, or noise
are difficult to control once released in the
environment, thus it is better to treat before
release.

2.2 Industrial solid waste
A land polluted by IW causes serious health problems.
Polluted lands (brown fields) present a rehabilitation
challenge.
In many countries unknown polluted sites has been
built upon such as Love Canal (USA), and Leeerkirk
(Holland), etc.
The health hazards associated with industries include
not only those of IW but also the production
processes, the raw materials and fuels.

It is in the workplace that the health impact of
industrial pollutants is best understood.
Diseases caused by chemicals have been observed in
most organs of the body after exposure in the
workplace.
Examples are:
• Chronic lung diseases (silicon, asbestos).
• Kidney diseases (cadmium, mercury).
• Carcinogenic diseases of different organs (asbestos,
silicon, aromatic amines, benzene, etc.).

The problematic of IW are related to the :
1. Lack of regulation (laws).
2. Lack of management programs and concern
(midnight dumping).
3. Advanced treatments of industrial
wastewater and waste gases without safe
disposal of the separated pollutants.

2.3 Hazardous waste (HW)
HW is any discharged material (in solid, liquid, or
gaseous form) that may pose threat to human health
and/or the environment.
Certain industrial and institutional wastes are
categorized as HW because of the special care
needed for their storage, transport and disposal or
treatment.
HW can be grouped as:
1. physical hazards such as radioactive waste.
2. chemical hazards such as organic and inorganic
chemicals and electronic waste.
3. biohazards such as medical waste.

The nature of HW varies very much
1. Highly flammable because of the high
content of solvents.
2. Highly reactive or generate toxic gases on
contact with water or other chemicals.
3. Contain pathogens causing diseases like
hospital waste.
4. Highly toxic such as cyanide, and heavy
metals.

The nature of HW varies very much
5. Highly carcinogenic.
6. Highly explosive.
7. Radioactive waste.
8. Corrosive waste with very high pH (>10) or
very low pH (<3).
9. Industrial sludge which contains toxic and
carcinogenic compound.
10. Others.

Health risks of HW
Knowledge about the health risks of HW is still
inadequate; however, the following adverse
health effects have been suggested:
• Increase in the occurrence of certain forms of
cancer.
• Decreased weight at birth.
• Increased frequency of abortions.

Concerns of HW
HW must be labeled, carefully handled and
treated or disposed (isolated from the
environment) in an acceptable way.
One particular area of concern is the trans-
boundary movement of HW.

Trans-boundary of HW
Many countries export their HW to other countries for the
following reasons:
1. either because they do not have the expertise or facilities, or
2. because it is cheaper, or
3. a way in which commerce can avoid tight environmental
controls at home. As pollution controls are tightened in
industrial countries, there is a temptation for export of HW
to developing countries where regulations, labor cost, and
public resistance are more favorable.
Developing countries may not know the risks, or may be forced
by circumstances (debt) to accept HW in return for re-
payment.

There are 2 ways for exporting HW:
1. A factory can be re-located in a
developing country.
2. HW can be transported to a
developing country for disposal.

Some efforts have been made to improve controls on
the export of HW.
The Basle Convention 1991 and its amended 1995 is
intended to regulate international trade in HW, and
especially to ensure that HW is not exported to
developing countries.
About 105 countries signed the convention, but it has
gaps, and a number of countries did not ratify it.

A successful industrial HW
management must consider
1. Prevent or reduce HW generation to the most
possible level.
2. Recycling and re-using waste products in the process
as much as possible, either directly as it is or by
transforming it to other usable forms via chemical or
physical treatment. In some cases, waste produced
from one industry can be reused in other industry.
3. Using cost effective technology for treating the
unusable HW by various physical, chemical or
biological treatments to eliminate or reduce their
hazards.

Chemical treatment of HW ranges from simple
disinfections to complex de-toxification plants.
Biological treatment of HW includes bioremediation,
phyto-remediation, etc.
Physical treatment of HW is incineration in special
incinerators to avoid emission of dangerous fumes or
dust.
Incinerators must achieve complete combustion at high
temperature (to treat dioxin, furan, PCBs and others
1300-1400 ºC for at least 2 min.).

There are mobile high-temperature incinerators,
which can be taken by road to where
decontamination is needed.
In the future some dangerous compounds may
be incinerated in incinerators at over 9000 ºC
using solar power or plasma-centrifugal
furnaces.

4. A controlled disposal of un-avoidable part of HW
must be done. There are different methods for
disposing HW such as HW- special landfills and
incineration.
Currently, special landfills and incineration are the main
options for dealing with HW in many European
countries.
It is important to note that the incineration itself
further produces residual waste (bottom ash and fly
ash) which is hazardous and needs a disposal option.

b. Medical waste (MW)
MW includes all wastes from hospitals, clinics, or other health
care units that contain or have come into contact with
diseased tissues or infection microorganisms that is capable
of transmitting disease to humans and/or animals.
In addition, it includes health care waste produced inhumes like
self administration of insulin.

Types of medical waste:
1. Human blood and blood products that could cause
blood borne disease. This kind of waste must be
treated by steam sterilization. After sterilization,
the liquid portion can be discharged to sanitary
sewer system.
Animal blood is not regarded as medical waste unless it
is capable of transmitting disease to humans. It is
used, in non-islamic countries, for food, feedstuff
and fertilizer production.

2. Infectious materials: blood-soaked bandages, etc.
3. Culture dishes and other glassware.
4. Surgical gloves (after surgery).
5. Contaminated sharps (waste that can pierce and
injure the skin): needles, syringes, disposal blades.
6. Pathogenic tissues and removed body organs.
7. Pharmaceuticals: expired, spilled or contaminated.
8. Chemical waste: solvents, disinfectants and broken
mercury thermometers.
9. Medical radioactive waste.

Medical waste must be separated at source in
adequate containers according to their
hazards:
1. Highly infected MW in red special containers.
2. Metallic MW in yellow special containers.
3. Chemical MW in brown special containers.
4. Radioactive waste (treatment ) in blue special
containers.
5. Non-hazardous MW in black containers.

All MW must be collected dally via a special schedule.
All MW should be labeled with source and date.
The storing of MW must be:
1. Totally isolated from kitchen and patients.
2. The storage period must not exceed 24 hours in
winter and 20 hours in summer.
MW must be transported via special MW trucks. No
other material is allowed to be transported with MW
trucks.

The
primary methods of treatment and disposal of medical wast
e are:
• Incineration.
• Autoclaves.
• Mechanical/Chemical Disinfection.
• Microwave.
• Irradiation.
Bottom ash from incineration of medical waste must be landfiled
safely.

The WHO has stated that improper disposal of
medical waste can cause the following diseases:
• Parasitic Infections.
• Lung Infections.
• Skin infections.
• HIV and Hepatitis B and C Viruses.
• Others.

c. Hazardous Electronic Waste (e-
waste)
Electronic waste or e-waste is posing a serious problem
to public health and environment.
e-waste typically includes discarded computers, mobile
phones and their chargers, television, washing
machines, microwave ovens, headphones, air
conditioners, refrigerators, etc.
The global volume of e-waste generated in 2011 was
about 42 million tons; it is expected to increase by
nearly three times by 2020.

waste)
Computers accounts for almost 70% of e-waste
material, followed by telecommunication
equipment (12%), electrical equipment (8%)
and medical equipment (7%).
Computers, televisions and mobile phones are
most dangerous because they have high levels
of lead, mercury and cadmium and they have
short lifespan, so they are discarded more.

waste)
Only about 5% of total e-waste gets recycled
due to poor infrastructure, legislation and
framework which lead to:
1. depletion of natural resources,
2. damage of environment and health of the
people.
About 95% of e-waste generated is managed by
the un-organized sector and scrap dealers
(dismantle the disposed products instead of
recycling it).

waste)
At present (2011), roughly 45% of all electrical goods
sold in the UK are recycled, the rest go to landfill.
e-waste accounts for approximately 40 % of the lead
and 70% of heavy metals found in landfills.
According to the most recent figures available, Ghana
processes more than half of all UK e-waste.
Other destinations for unwanted e-waste include
China, India, Pakistan and Nigeria.

waste)
Developing countries are facing the main
problem of e-waste management which is
either internally generated or are imported
from other industrial countries.
Few developed countries with over a decade of
experience in managing e-waste have
succeeded in managing the e-waste.

waste)
In developing countries , those in charge of
dismantling e-waste (mostly children) are
exposed to the harmful metals inside and the
processing increases the risk of pollution.
The main harmful metals in e-waste are:
1. Lead from monitors and others damages the
central nervous system and the bones of
mankind (especially women).

waste)
2. Cadmium from semiconductors and others is
carcinogenic and can trigger kidney defects.
3. Mercury from switches and others can
damage nerves system as well as inhibit growth.

waste)
4. Arsenic (As) is present in circuit boards, LCD displays, and
computer chips.
Arsenic was used as a pesticide until its production ban in 1985.
Low levels of arsenic are found in soil, water and air.
The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic
poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver.
The US-Food and Drug Administration says that long-term
exposure to high levels of arsenic is associated with higher
rates of skin cancer, bladder cancer and lung cancer, as well as
heart disease.

waste)
5. Bromine from cables and printed circuit
boards can impair memory and lead to
behavioral disorders.
6. Lithium from batteries can cause birth and
heart defects.

waste)
These pollutants lead to water, air and soil
pollution.
High and prolonged exposure to these
pollutants emitted during unsafe e-waste
recycling leads to damage of nervous systems,
blood systems, kidneys and brain
development, respiratory disorders, skin
disorders, bronchitis, lung cancer, heart, liver,
and spleen damage.

waste)
China recently changed their laws to include
circuit boards in the category of hazardous
waste, which put an end to the importation of
e-waste into the country and actually
bankrupted a variety of Chinese processors of
the materials.
Modern recycling processes and proper disposal
of e-waste reduce health hazards and help
conserve natural resources.

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