The most cost-effective and environmentally friendly method to deal with waste is to avoid it in the first place. Waste minimization, reuse, recycling, and energy recovery are more sustainable than traditional landfill or dump site disposal techniques for successful waste management.
Also Read: Recycling Waste Management System
Minimization of waste
The process of lowering the quantity of garbage produced by a person or a society is known as waste reduction. Waste minimization refers to how items and services that we all rely on are created, manufactured, purchased and sold, utilised, consumed, and disposed of.
Reuse of waste
The term “reuse” refers to the practise of using an object more than once. This comprises traditional reuse, in which the object is used for the same purpose again, as well as new-life reuse, in which the item is employed for a different purpose. Concrete, for example, is a sort of construction debris that may be recycled and used as a road basis; inert material, on the other hand, can be utilised as a layer that covers the deposited rubbish on landfill at the end of the day.
Recycling of Waste
Waste recycling entails reprocessing specific waste items, such as e-waste, so that they can be utilised as raw materials in other processes. Material recovery is another term for this. Composting is a well-known waste recycling technique in which biodegradable wastes are biologically digested, resulting in nutrient-rich compost.
Waste-to-Energy
Mass-burn incineration, RDF incineration, anaerobic digestion, gasification, and pyrolysis are some of the key waste-to-energy technologies. To avoid combustion, gasification and pyrolysis involve superheating municipal solid waste in an oxygen-controlled environment. The main variations between them are the heat source, oxygen level, and temperature, which range from around 300°C for pyrolysis to 11 000°C for plasma gasification. After a complex gas cleaning system, leftover gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane are discharged.
Incineration of MSW produces a substantial amount of bottom ash, of which roughly 40% must be landfilled. The remaining 60% can be processed further to separate metals that can be sold from inert elements that are frequently used as road base.
Waste Collection Trends
Recent advances in physical processes, sensors, and actuators used, as well as control and autonomy related issues in the area of automated sorting and recycling of source-separated municipal solid waste have been made because municipal solid waste can be a mixture of all possible wastes and not just those belonging to the same category and recommended process.
Automated subterranean vacuum garbage collection systems are also in use in cities around the world, including Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Leon, Mecca, and New York. The use of subterranean space can provide a setting for the creation of infrastructure capable of overcoming the limits of present waste management schemes in a more effective manner.
This method also reduces operating expenses, reduces noise, and increases flexibility. Various new innovations are also being developed and deployed at various sites, including IoT-enabled garbage cans, electric garbage trucks, waste sorting robots, eco dumpsters, and mechanisms, among others.
Conclusion
Waste management is a massive and ever-expanding sector that must be studied and updated on a regular basis in order to keep up with new threats and technology. With the government educating the general public and creating awareness among various sectors of society, setting adequate budgets, and assisting companies and facilities with planning, research, and waste management processes, the issues can be alleviated to some extent, if not completely eliminated. These efforts not only assist to protect the environment, but they also help to create jobs and promote the economy.
Suggested Read: Swachhbharat