Library Research

Chapter I
A. Introduction Solid waste can be classified into different types, depending on their source; household waste is generally classified as municipal waste; industrial waste as hazardous waste, and biomedical waste or hospital waste as infectious waste. The term “solid waste ' ' means any garbage, refuse, or sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations. The term ' 'disposal ' ' means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid waste or hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such solid wastes, hazardous wastes, or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground waters, from community activities. One of our country’s major problems today is the increasing production of refuse. We produce refuse or solid wastes everyday and most of us are not aware that we can limit refuse production. Refuse are all the waste arising from human and animal activities that are normally solid and that are discarded as useless or unwanted. Refuse includes rubbish, food wastes, human wastes, dead animals, yard cuttings and other solid or semi-solid waste materials that may contain pathogenic germs which cause direct infections and diseases that can lead to death. The amount of refuse we produce everyday can be identified by the amount of garbage collected by the government trucks assigned to the different areas in the community. The problem of waste management and disposal becomes increasingly as population grows, more industries present in the community and material consumption expand. Improper waste disposal may cause foul odor, unsightly surroundings, diseases and pollution of air, soil, and water. It also provides breeding grounds for flies, mosquitoes and other insects. It attracts rats and other harmful diseases causing organisms. They also clog rivers, canals, streams, esteros and creeks that cause floods during rainy days.
Thesis Statement: Improper refuse disposal can cause serious impacts on our health and to our environment. Waste that is not properly managed, have a serious health hazard and lead to the spread of infectious diseases.
B. Statement of the Problem This research study entitled Effects of Improper Refuse Disposal seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What is refuse?
2. How can we classify refuse?
3. What are the factors that contribute in production of refuse?
5. What are the proper ways in refuse disposal?
C. Significance of the Study As a student, we should know about the harmful effects of improper disposal of our waste. We must learn how to dispose our waste materials properly to avoid diseases and pollution in our environment. This study is very important because it will help us how to reduce our waste in order to preserve and conserve our ecosystem and also to avoid particular diseases.
D. Definition of Terms Refuse- consists of the rubbish and all the things that are not in a house, shop, or factory, and are regularly thrown away. It can be solid or semi-solid waste materials other than human waste that may contain pathogenic germs which cause direct infections and diseases that can lead to death. Rubbish- are waste materials such as bottles, broken glass, tin cans, waste papers, discarded porcelain wares, pieces of metals and other wrapping materials. Night Soil- consists of human wastes, normally wrapped and thrown into sidewalks and streets. It also includes human waste from the pail system. Manure- Organic material that is used to fertilize land, usually consisting of the feces and urine of domestic livestock, with or without litter such as straw, hay, or bedding. Some countries also use human excrement (night soil). Though livestock manure is less rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash than synthetic fertilizer and therefore must be applied in much greater quantities, it is rich in organic matter, or humus, and thus improves the capacity of the soil to absorb and store water, thereby preventing erosion. Because manure must be carefully stored and spread in order to derive the most benefit, some farmers decline to expend the necessary time and effort. Manufactured chemical fertilizers, though more concentrated and efficient, are also more costly and more likely to cause excess runoff and pollution. Sanitary landfill- is a method of disposing of refuse on land without creating nuisances or hazards to public health or safety, by utilizing the principles of engineering to confine the refuse to the smallest practical are, to reduce it to the smallest practical volume, and to cover it with layers of earth at the conclusion of each day’s operation or at such more frequent intervals as may be necessary. Incinerators- a furnace-like device where trash is burned to get rid of almost all of the bulk of the trash. Composting- is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to houseplants or enriching garden soil. It is the way to recycle your yard and kitchen wastes, and is a critical step in reducing the volume of garbage needlessly sent to landfills for disposal. It 's easy to learn how to compost.

Chapter II
Introduction to Solid Waste/Refuse In natural systems there is no such thing as waste. Everything flows in a natural cycle of use and reuse. Living organisms consume materials and eventually return them to the environment, usually in a different form, for reuse. Solid waste or refuse is a human concept. It refers to any variety of discarded materials, not liquid or gas, that are deemed useless or worthless. Unfortunately, what is worthless to one person may be of value to someone else. Solid wastes are really misplaced resources. Therefore, learning how to effectively reduce the amount wastes and to recycle valuable resources from them is important if humans wish to maintain a liveable and sustainable environment.
Solid waste disposal has been an issue with which humans have had to deal with since they began gathering together in large, permanent settlements. With the migration of people to urban settings, the volume of solid waste in a given area greatly increased. Ancient cultures dealt with waste disposal in different ways: dump it outside their settlements; incorporate some of it into flooring and building materials; recycle some of it. Dumping and/or burning solid waste has been a standard practice over the centuries.
Classification of Refuse Refuse can be classified into garbage,rubbish, dead animals, street sweeping, night soil and yard cuttings. Garbage is leftover vegetables, animal and fish material food in kitchen and establishments. When these decay, they produce foul odor and serve as food for flies and rats. Rubbish are waste materials such as bottles, broken glass, tin cans, waste papers, discarded porcelain wares, oieces of metal and other wrapping materials. Ashes are remains from burned wood and coal. It may become irritable because of the dust associated with it. Dead animals are lifeless dogs, cats, rats, pigs, and chicken which die from diseases or accidents. Stable manure includes animal manure from barns, stables or the likes. Street sweeping are refuses swept from the streets like dust, manure, leaves, cigarettes butts and waste papers. Night soil consists of human waste, normally wrapped and thrown into sidewalks and streets. It also includes human waste from the pail system. Yard cuttings are those leaves, branches, grass, and other similar materials made during cleaning of gardens and typhoon aftermaths.
Factors that Contribute in Production of Refuse Large amount of refuse are amassed during rainy days and floods. Refuse are flown by the water on the streets and canals. Sunny days are the most convenient days to store, collect, and dispose refuse since there are no rusting water on streets. There is a large amount of refuse during wet season compared to dry season. Garbage and trashes are stored and not, frequently collected during wet season compared to dry season. Garbage and trashes are stored and not frequently collected during wet season. Factories produce large amount of products and results to contribution on the amount of refuse. The more industries present in the community, the larger amount of refuse produced. Bigger families accumulate a greater amount of refuse. Larger families, especially those with low economic status, produce large amounts of refuse in the community. This could be related to lack of education and concern to environment. Urban areas have greater amount of refuse collected compared to rural areas. Convenient and fast lifestyle in commercial areas prefers the use of disposables. Life in the province is slow phase type and simple.

Effects of Improper Refuse Disposal
Improper disposal of hazardous waste causes adverse effects on human health and the environment. The normal practices of waste disposal such as insanitary open dump, land filling, discharge in water courses, or open-pit burning will need modification when dealing with hazardous wastes. The principle hazard of improper waste disposal is contamination of soil and groundwater. This arises largely from the waste containing hazardous substances deposited in landfills or on the ground. Improper waste management continues to be a major problem that affects us all. Waste dumped into various waterways has created floating islands of toxic pollutants in our oceans. One of these islands, “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” has received media attention for its size—estimated to be twice the size of Hawaii—and its known destructive effects on wildlife and the food supply.
Diseases, such as Dengue fever, prevalent in developing nations, are believed to be perpetuated by unsanitary waste disposal methods. Higher prevalence of reproductive disorders, including low birth weight, are common in areas located near existing and former landfills. And although studies have produced equivocal results, “cancer clusters” are said to also exist in areas within close proximity to landfills.
Improperly disposing of waste prevents resources from being reused. This is particularly true of plastics, metals and paper. This loss of resources means a heavier reliance on virgin materials, which often require more energy to make new products than required by reusing existing resources. In addition to releasing toxins into the soil and water, improperly disposed waste also releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Solid wastes, when improperly disposed off can be an environmental hazard in that the surrounding environments as well as the fish are affected. This improper damping can lead to death of fish as well as diseases to man e.g. dysentery, cholera and so on. Some of these wastes can also be very harmful to the atmosphere. These wastes when improperly dumped into the atmosphere can lead to the destruction of the ozone layer and may cause diseases such as cancer. As a result there is problem in global warming. Air pollution can also lead to formation of acidic rain which is dangerous to crop life since it fastens the removal of soil fertility from the surface of the ground.
It also affects drainage. When solid wastes are dumped in drainage channels and gutters, the block the flow of the sewerage. This may cause flooding. At the same time, solid wastes also affect soil drainage which hinders the growing of crops. Since some of the waste materials are water proof, they can be dangerous to the aeration system of the soil hence hindering agriculture. It also leads to the reduction of fertile cultivatable land in form of dumping sites.
Waste materials like toxic if consumed by animals can be very dangerous to life and worse still if these wastes are dumped in water bodies. They are dangerous to aquatic life. Poor solid waste has also led to the death of animals (especially domestic animals). Death of animals like cattle leads to poverty and the death of animals like dogs, leads to insecurity in homes. Poor Domestic Waste management also displays an ugly scenario of the environment. This can affect the tourism industry, as the tourist may not get attracted to visit the country. It has also led to the spread of diseases in such a way that when wastes like broken bottles and these are dumped anywhere, they collect water in them (when it rains) and this may become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Wastes like human stool cause diseases when poorly dumped, as the flies will carry the germ from the stool. It can also lead to human injury. For example, when a person is walking and steps on the broken bottles or nails or even pins (shape objects), he can get injured which may lead to bleeding. (normal these waste shape objects are infected with germs) Uncontrolled damping of solid waste can lead to wastage of land where we find lots of land being used as damping sites for wastes. These same pieces of land are later on neglected by the inhabitants of the area. Poor waste management can be a source of under development around the societies surrounding that particular area. This ca cause harm to tourist industries of the particular countries.
Proper Ways in Refuse Disposal
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, theenvironment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct practice from resource recoverywhich focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources. All wastes materials, whether they are solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive fall within the remit of waste management.
Waste management practices can differ for developed and developing nations, for urban and rural areas, and for residential and industrial producers. Management of non-hazardous waste residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator subject to local, national or international controls. Solid waste is created, and disposed of everyday around the world. As it moves through this cycle it ends up in landfills or as pollution in the environment. The ways in which humans have developed solid waste management over the centuries still bases much on original strategies to dispose of waste. Landfills, incineration and environmental dumping have been primary methods to get solid waste out of view. These methods create further impacts if not properly monitored, and have severe repercussions for life on Earth. The sanitary disposal of refuse needs much closer attention both by the home owner and by authorities concerned when there is n existing public refuse collection and disposal system. In homes, the refuse disposal methods include composting which you can create compost in your own house to dispose off organic wastes. Ideally this should be in everyone 's homes as waste materials like branches and leaves can be easily disposed off. More importantly, compost is beneficial for the environment as unnecessary refuse is not dumped into a landfill. This goes a long way in ensuring that methane - a greenhouse gas, is produced in lesser volume in the landfills. Rather than throwing away leaves and other household organic matter, you should use them as compost. This will help in replenishment of soil, thereby reducing cost of land reclamation. Open burning of solid waste greatly reduces its volume, thereby decreasing the stress on a dumpsite. Open burning has remained one of the widely practiced methods of waste management. However, open burning releases toxic gases directly into the atmosphere and has many negative effects on our environment. The poisonous gases that are released into the atmosphere are harmful for humans as well as other animals. They affect the respiratory and reproductive system, and therefore, this sort of waste management is discouraged and other methods in which the release of poisonous gases in the atmosphere is controlled should be opted for. Incineration is a process in which the waste material is subjected to intense heating in the presence of oxygen inside an incinerator (furnace), resulting in the production of ash, flue, and gas. Incineration doesn 't exactly destroy all the waste; instead it decreases the volume of the waste by 60-70%. This compressed waste can then be buried in earth through the process of land filling. Although incinerators are used all over the world, public opposition to these have been growing as new research has claimed that the gases produced during this process pose greater danger to the environment than the waste materials. Landfills and dumps are used to store waste materials beneath the soil. In many cases, remnants of waste material are not disposed even during the process of incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification. These waste materials are transported to landfills and dumps, where these are buried under the soil. Care is taken to ensure that leachate (liquid waste) doesn 't permeate through and pose a threat to the environment. Many landfills/dumps are also designed in such a way that energy released during the process of decomposition of waste is tapped and used for generating power. Decomposition of waste takes a lot of time which, in turn, affects the refilling of landfills/dumps. However, with the introduction of bioreactor landfills, this challenge has been tackled to a large extent. Reduce- every year the amount of rubbish we produce increases and this leads to increased costs for society, both financial and environmental. The majority of the resources that we use to make things only to throw them away cannot be replaced. Reuse can be defined as recovering value from a discarded item without reprocessing or remanufacture. Typically this will involve an item being reused in its original function or similar. Importantly, the definition of reuse does not preclude relatively minor pre-treatments like washing, reconditioning or painting. Recycling is the recovery of used products and their reformation for use as raw materials in the manufacture of new products, which may or may not be similar to the original. Recovery of energy from waste is usually carried out through the collection and utilisation of heat generated through the controlled combustion (incineration, pyrolysis and gasification) of waste materials. Energy can also be generated from the methane released in the decomposition of waste in landfill.

Chapter III
Conclusion
I therefore conclude that improper disposal of solid waste has serious bad effects on our health and in our environment. Modernization and progress has had its share of disadvantages and one of the main aspects of concern is the pollution it is causing to the earth – be it land, air, and water. With increase in the global population and the rising demand for food and other essentials, there has been a rise in the amount of waste being generated daily by each household. This waste is ultimately thrown into municipal waste collection centres from where it is collected by the area municipalities to be further thrown into the landfills and dumps. However, either due to resource crunch or inefficient infrastructure, not all of this waste gets collected and transported to the final dumpsites. If at this stage the management and disposal is improperly done, it can cause serious impacts on health and problems to the surrounding environment. Waste that is not properly managed, especially excreta and other liquid and solid waste from households and the community, are a serious health hazard and lead to the spread of infectious diseases. Unattended waste lying around attracts flies, rats, and other creatures that in turn spread disease. Normally it is the wet waste that decomposes and releases a bad odour. This leads to unhygienic conditions and thereby to a rise in the health problems. The plague outbreak in Surat is a good example of a city suffering due to the callous attitude of the local body in maintaining cleanliness in the city. Plastic waste is another cause for ill health. Thus excessive solid waste that is generated should be controlled by taking certain preventive measures.
Recommendation
On a global scale, education is key. Those who exercise poor waste management techniques may not fully understand the impact of their actions. Teaching identification of different types of waste and appropriate disposal methods is one initiative that can be accomplished globally to reduce improper waste management. Many, however, know the consequences of their actions but have no other choice since their government doesn’t provide proper waste disposal methods. In such cases, we need to help those governments implement the necessary waste management infrastructure. Tougher punishment for companies who pollute our rivers and streams with toxic waste is another global initiative that can reduce pollution. We are all in this together, so it’s up to each one of us to be more responsible with what we throw away and how our waste is disposed.
We can keep ignoring the problem of improper waste disposal and continue filling the earth and air with toxic waste, or we can begin to address the problem individually. Each of us can make better choices with the items we purchase to reduce our waste. Things such as disposable baby diapers take many lifetimes to decompose. Instead of opting for plastic, we can choose cloth diapers that are not only better for our children, but best for the planet. We can also choose items that are sold in as little packaging as possible opting for fresh fruits and vegetables, sans plastic bags, instead of canned substitutes. Composting organic matter is another way to reduce waste. Many municipalities now offer composting facilities, making it easier than ever. While recycling and reclaiming materials goes a long way toward reducing pollution, the best way to help the environment is by reducing the resources you use. I recommend to buy items in bulk packaging, and choose open-air fruit instead of fruit in bags. Instead of buying one-time use items, buy reusable items like cloth napkins instead of paper ones. The best way to reduce waste is not to create it in the first place. If waste is prevented, there is no need or cost for the collection, processing and disposal.

Bibliography

Gonzales, Carolina, Lacia, Gerardo, Balanandi, Samson. MAPEH in Action III: Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc. 2008 pp. 327-334

Bibliography: Gonzales, Carolina, Lacia, Gerardo, Balanandi, Samson. MAPEH in Action III: Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc. 2008 pp. 327-334