Solid Waste Management
Lecture 13
Today’s Themes
• 1. Definition, Types and Sources of Waste
• 2. Waste Disposal
• 3. Integrated Waste Management
• 4. Solid Waste Disposal
1. Definition, Types and Sources
of Waste
1.1 Waste
• Waste: Any unwanted or discarded material
from residential, commercial, industrial or
agricultural activities that may cause health or
environmental problems
• Waste and its management is a problem in both
urban and rural areas
• Types of waste:
– Solid
– Liquid
1.2 Types of Waste
• Solid Waste
– Waste materials that cannot be easily passed through
a pipe
– When solid wastes accumulate, water may pass
through and the distinction between solid and liquid
waste may become blurred
• Liquid Waste
– Waste materials that can be passed through a pipe i.e.
sewage or watery mud
– May become concentrated into a more solid form
1.3 Waste Sources
• The principal sources of solid waste are
agriculture and mining
• More than half of all solid waste is generated
by agricultural sector, which includes farms,
orchards, ranches and animal feedlots
• Second largest solid waste generator is mining
– Waste occurs as discarded piles of waste rock
– Another major component of solid mine waste is
leftovers after processing
1.4 Waste Sources
• Other industries also generate solid waste in the
form of paper, cardboard, scrap metal, wood,
plastics, glass, tires and rags
– Many industrial waste materials are potentially reusable
or recyclable
• Some waste from stores, offices and small
industries are collected along with residential
waste. Together they comprise Municipal Solid
Waste, the smallest but fastest-growing source of
solid waste
2. Waste Disposal
2.1 Early Concepts of Waste Disposal
• Early concept of waste disposal was “dilute
and disperse”
• Factories were located near rivers- easy
disposal of waste into the river
• With a few factories and sparse population,
volume of waste produced was relatively
small- dilute and disperse seemed to remove
the waste from the environment
2.1 Early Concepts of Waste Disposal
• As industrial and urban areas expanded, the
concept of dilute and disperse became
inadequate
• “Concentrate and contain”- a new concept on
managing materials and eliminating waste
• Containment not always achieved
– Containers may leak or break and allow waste to
escape
2.2 Modern Trends of Waste Disposal
• Environmentally preferable concept is to
consider wastes to be resources out of place
• Waste, if produced, would be a resource to be
used again
– This is referred to as the “Zero waste” movement
• Waste from one part of the system would be a
resource for another part
• Economically feasible to reuse and recycle more
resources
2.2 Modern Trends of Waste Disposal
• In developing countries, waste management
programs involve simply moving waste from
one site to another and not really managing it
3. Integrated Waste Management
• Defined as a set of management alternatives
which combine different strategies to properly
reduce and/or dispose off waste
• Mostly practiced in developed countries
4. Solid Waste Disposal
4.1 Solid Waste Disposal Processes
• Disposal processes include:
– Composting
– Incineration
– Open Dump
– Landfill etc.
4.2 Composting
• Process in which organic materials such as
lawn clippings and kitchen scraps decompose
to a rich, soil-like material
• A process of rapid, partial decomposition of
moist, solid, organic waste by microorganisms
• Large-scale composting is generally carried out
commercially
4.2 Composting
• Disadvantage: necessity to separate organic
material from other waste
• Probably economically advantageous only
when organic material is collected separately
from other waste
• Composting is an important component of
waste management and can be used as
organic soil fertilizer, topsoil, cover etc.
4.3 Incineration
• Burning of waste in a specially designed
facility
• Widely used method of solid waste disposal
• Modern incinerators are designed to burn
garbage at very high temperatures
• They typically have very effective technologies
to remove hazardous emissions before they
are allowed into the atmosphere
4.3 Incineration
• All incinerators, even modern ones, generate
residual ash, which may contain toxics
• Incineration of urban waste is not necessarily a
clean process
• Modern incineration facilities have special
devices in smokestacks to trap pollutants, but it’s
expensive. Plants themselves are also expensive
• Some incinerators use the heat they generate to
produce electricity
4.4 Open Dump
• In the past, solid waste was usually accumulated in open
dumps, where the refuse was piled up without being
covered or otherwise protected
• Although open dumps have been closed in recent years
and new open dumps are discouraged, many are still being
used worldwide
• Dumps have been located wherever land is available,
without regard to safety, health hazards and aesthetic
degradation
• Common sites are natural low areas, such as swamps or
floodplains; and hillside areas above or below towns
4.4 Open Dump
• The waste is often piled as high as equipment allows
• Sometimes refuse is ignited and allowed to burn or
leveled and compacted
• Generally open dumps:
– create a nuisance by being unsightly
– provide breeding grounds for pests
– create a health hazard
– pollute the air, groundwater and surface water
• Fortunately, open dumps are giving way to the better
planned and managed Landfills
4.5 Landfill
• Waste disposal sites that are engineered and
monitored to contain wastes within the site
• Common approach to waste management and
are used by municipalities around the world
• Modern landfills are designed to confine the
waste and prevent it from causing
environmental and health problems in nearby
areas
4.5 Landfill
• Hazard of landfill: Leachate (Noxious,
mineralized liquid which forms from waste
and mixes with groundwater)
• Modern landfills are engineered to include
multiple barriers (double-lined) to prevent this
and other problems
4.5 Landfill
• Typical construction and design of a Landfill
includes:
– Clay and plastic liners to limit movement of
Leachate
– Surface and subsurface drainage to collect Leachate
– Pipelines and pumps to collect methane gas which
is produced when waste decomposes
– Groundwater-monitoring to detect leaks or
Leachate below and adjacent to the landfill
4.5 Landfill
• Typical daily procedure is to compact waste as
much as possible and regularly cover it with a
compacted layer of soil and/or clay
• Soil layer isolates the waste from birds and
rodents and prevents some infiltration by
precipitation
• When the Landfill is full it is sealed off and the
area above it can be used for various purposes
