Waste Management and Disposal
INTRODUCTION
Waste is an unavoidable by-product of most human activity. Economic development and rising living standards in the Asian and Pacific Region have led to increases in the quantity and complexity of generated waste, whilst industrial diversification and the provision of expanded health-care facilities have added substantial quantities of industrial hazardous waste and biomedical waste into the waste stream with potentially severe environmental and human health consequences. Waste is a general term used to describe any material that is no longer useful. Its composition and volume largely depend on consumption patterns and the industrial and economic structures in place. Air quality, water and soil contamination, space consumption and odors all affect our quality of life.
On a global scale, calculating the amount of waste being generated presents a problem. The Basel Convention has estimated the amount of hazardous and other waste generated for 2000 and 2001 at 318 and 338 million tons respectively.
Waste is also a result of:
Overproduction – making things before they are needed
Waiting – the time and resources consumed in between major steps in a process.
Transporting – the unnecessary movement and handling of work.
Inappropriate Processing – involves resource overkill, also known as ‘gold platting’.
Unnecessary Inventory – in manufacturing the concern is Work-In-Progress (WIP).
Unnecessary / Excess Motion — refer to the unnatural acts that people are made to perform in doing their job.
Defects – errors are the common focus of improvement disciplines like six-sigma.
SOURCES OF WASTE
1. Municipal or Domestic Waste
Municipal solid waste is generated from households, offices, hotels, shops, schools and other institutions. The major components are food waste, paper, plastic, rags, metal and glass, although demolition and construction debris is often included in collected waste, as are small quantities of hazardous waste, such as electric light
Waste is an unavoidable by-product of most human activity. Economic development and rising living standards in the Asian and Pacific Region have led to increases in the quantity and complexity of generated waste, whilst industrial diversification and the provision of expanded health-care facilities have added substantial quantities of industrial hazardous waste and biomedical waste into the waste stream with potentially severe environmental and human health consequences. Waste is a general term used to describe any material that is no longer useful. Its composition and volume largely depend on consumption patterns and the industrial and economic structures in place. Air quality, water and soil contamination, space consumption and odors all affect our quality of life.
On a global scale, calculating the amount of waste being generated presents a problem. The Basel Convention has estimated the amount of hazardous and other waste generated for 2000 and 2001 at 318 and 338 million tons respectively.
Waste is also a result of:
Overproduction – making things before they are needed
Waiting – the time and resources consumed in between major steps in a process.
Transporting – the unnecessary movement and handling of work.
Inappropriate Processing – involves resource overkill, also known as ‘gold platting’.
Unnecessary Inventory – in manufacturing the concern is Work-In-Progress (WIP).
Unnecessary / Excess Motion — refer to the unnatural acts that people are made to perform in doing their job.
Defects – errors are the common focus of improvement disciplines like six-sigma.
SOURCES OF WASTE
1. Municipal or Domestic Waste
Municipal solid waste is generated from households, offices, hotels, shops, schools and other institutions. The major components are food waste, paper, plastic, rags, metal and glass, although demolition and construction debris is often included in collected waste, as are small quantities of hazardous waste, such as electric light