Welcome to Waste Management Guide
Solid Waste Management Article
Basics of Solid Waste Management
from:Introduction
Industrial advancement and development is mostly accompanied by a certain measure of fallouts, which reflect themselves in various forms. However, along with such drawbacks, another round of development and innovation sets in, further leading to evolution of solutions to handle such problems.
In today's era of rapid industrial growth and development, it is the issue of waste management, energy conservation and resource planning which takes the front seat in all streams of research and development. Newer techniques are being developed on a regular basis to help the industrial world handle the entire gamut of such fallouts.
Solid Waste – The Concept
The practice of solid waste management is one of such concepts that have gained immense popularity in the last few years. Solid waste is one of the major products in the category of industrial as well as household waste. Experts cite an increase in population along with urbanization as the most critical reason for the increased quantities of solid waste. Apart from being one of the most common types of waste product, solid waste is also one of the most hazardous forms of waste products, primarily owing to its difficulty in absorption and disposal into the environment.
To begin with, to deal with study of solid waste management, it is first important to understand the basic concept of solid waste. Based on their source, general usage and user groups, solid waste can be generally classified into three different types of categories. These include:
i) Household waste that is generally also classified as municipal waste management services
ii) Hazardous waste
iii) Biomedical waste or hospital waste, also classified as infectious waste
Amongst these categories, the source of municipal waste is the widest and covers a vast range of originating points. The municipal solid waste generally comprises of household waste, construction and demolition debris, sanitation residue and also the waste from the streets. Generated mostly from residential and commercial complexes, the procedure of solid waste management for such products is extremely complexed, apart from being one of the most researched subjects on the matter.
Moving on, the category of hazardous waste mostly comprises of industrial and hospital waste, mainly containing toxic substances, making solid waste management in such matters extremely important. Such hazardous waste is generally known to be highly toxic to humans, plants and animals, apart from being corrosive in nature as well. Even household waste such as old batteries, shoe polish, old tins, old medicines and medicine bottles can be classified as hazardous waste.
Lastly, in order to understand the concept of solid waste management, it is the most important to understand the concept of hospital waste, which is mostly generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or even in research activities.