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E.S. - Definition, scope & importance, need for public awareness
DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
The word environment is derived from the french word 'environ' meaning surroundings. Hence,
everything surrounding us is called "ENVIRONMENT".
Every organism is surrounded by materials and forces that constitute its environment. It is the
environment from where every organism must derive its requirement. The environment creates favourable
conditions for the existence and development of living organisms.
The survival of any organism requires a steady supply of materials and removal of wate products from its
environment.
The degradation of the environment has become a serious problem for the existence of human beings.
Pollution of soil, water and air causes harm to living organisms as well as loss to valuable natural
resources.
Environmental studies involves educating the people for preserving the quality of environment.
The scope of environmental studies include:
1. Developing an awareness and sensitivity to the total environment and its related problems
2. Motivating people for active participation in environmental protection and improvement
3. Developing skills for active identification and development of solutions to environmental problems
4. Imbibe and inculcate the necessity for conservation of natural resources
5. Evaluation of environmental programmes in terms of social, economic, ecological and aesthetic factors.
IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES In the industrialized era that we live today, every component that we intake - be it, air, water or food
are contaminated by industrial activities. THERE IS NO ZERO POLLUTION. To minimize this problem,
knowledge of environmental studies is essential. An in-dept study of environmental studies will help us in
the following ways:
1. We will begin to appreciate and adopt the idea of "DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT DESTRUCTION OF
THE ENVIRONMENT"
2. Knowledge about "VARIOUS TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTS & DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL
HAZARDS"
3. Playing an effective role in protecting the environment by "DEMANDING CHANGES IN LAW AND
ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS".
4. Having a "POSITIVE IMPACT" on "QUALITY OF LIFE".
5. Creating a "CONCERN AND RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT".
NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS: Increasing population, Urbanization and poverty have generated pressure on the natural resources
and lead to a degradation of the environment. TO PREVENT THE ENVIRONMENT FROM FURTHER
DEGRADATION, the supreme court has ordered and initiated environmental protection awareness
through government and non-government agencies to take part in protecting our environment.
Environmental pollution cannot prevented by laws alone. Public participation is equally important with
regard to environmental protection.
Environmental Education (EE) is a process of learning by giving an overall perspective of knowledge and
awareness of the environment. It sensitizes the society about environmental issues and challenges
interested individuals to develop skills and expertise thereby providing appropriate solutions.
Climate change, loss of biodiversity, declining fisheries, ozone layer depletion, illegal trade of
endangered species, destruction of habitats, land degradation, depleting ground water supplies,
introduction of alien species, environmental pollution, solid waste disposal, storm water and sewage
disposal pose a serious threat to ecosystems in forest, rural, urban and marine ecosystems.
Both formal and informal education on the environment will give the interested individual the knowledge,
values, skills and tools needed to face the environmental challenges on a local and global level.
Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house" or "living relations"; -λογία, "study of") is the scientific
study of the distributions, abundance and relations of organisms and their interactions with
the environment.[1] Ecology includes the study of plant and animal populations, plant and
animal communities and ecosystems. Ecosystems describe the web or network of relations
among organisms at different scales of organization. Since ecology refers to any form
of biodiversity, ecologists research everything from tiny bacteria's role in nutrient recycling to
the effects of tropical rain forest on the Earth's atmosphere. The discipline of ecology emerged
from the natural sciences in the late 19th century. Ecology is not synonymous with environment,
environmentalism, or environmental science.[1] [2] [3] Ecology is closely related to the
disciplines of physiology, evolution, genetics and behavior.[4]
Like many of the natural sciences, a conceptual understanding of ecology is found in the broader details
of study, including:
life processes explaining adaptations
distribution and abundance of organisms
the movement of materials and energy through living communities
the successional development of ecosystems, and
the abundance and distribution of biodiversity in context of the environment. Ecology is distinguished
from natural history, which deals primarily with the descriptive study of organisms. It is a sub-discipline
of biology, which is the study of life.
There are many practical applications of ecology in conservation biology, wetland management, natural
resource management (agriculture, forestry, fisheries), city planning (urban ecology), community health,
economics, basic & applied science and it provides a conceptual framework for understanding and
researching human social interaction (human ecology)
What is biodiversity?
The source document for this Digest states:
Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and
other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this
includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.
Biodiversity forms the foundation of the vast array of ecosystem servicesthat critically contribute to human well-being.
Biodiversity is important in human-managed as well as natural ecosystems.
Decisions humans make that influence biodiversity affect the well-being of themselves and others.
Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem services to which human well-being is intimately linked. No
feature of Earth is more complex, dynamic, and varied than the layer of living organisms that occupy its
surfaces and its seas, and no feature is experiencing more dramatic change at the hands of humans than
this extraordinary, singularly unique feature of Earth. This layer of living organisms—the biosphere—
through the collective metabolic activities of its innumerable plants, animals, and microbes physically and
chemically unites the atmosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere into one environmental system within
which millions of species, including humans, have thrived. Breathable air, potable water, fertile soils,
productive lands, bountiful seas, the equitable climate of Earth’s recent history, and other ecosystem
services (see Box 1.1 and Key Question 2) are manifestations of the workings of life. It follows that large-
scale human influences over this biota have tremendous impacts on human well-being. It also follows that
the nature of these impacts, good or bad, is within the power of humans to influence
eco system and sustainable development
What is an Ecosystem?
An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a given area, interacting
with each other, and also with their non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate,
atmosphere). Ecosystems are the foundations of the Biosphere and they determine the health of the
entire earth system.
In an ecosystem, each organism has its own niche or role to play.
Consider a small puddle at the back of your home. In it, you may find all sorts of living things, from
microorganisms to insects and plants. These may depend on non-living things like water, sunlight,
turbulence in the puddle, temperature, atmospheric pressure and even nutrients in the water for life.
This very complex, wonderful interaction of living things and their environment, has been the foundations
of energy flow and recycle of carbon and nitrogen.
Anytime a ‘stranger’ (living thing(s) or external factor such as rise in temperature) is introduced to an
ecosystem, it can be disastrous to that ecosystem. This is because the new organism (or factor) can distort
the natural balance of the interaction and potentially harm or destroy the ecosystem.
sustainable development
What is Environmental Sustainability?
The goal of environmental sustainability is to conserve natural resources and to develop alternate
sources of power while reducing pollution and harm to the environment. For environmental sustainability,
the state of the future – as measured in 50, 100 and 1,000 years is the guiding principle. Many of the
projects that are rooted in environmental sustainability will involve replanting forests, preserving
wetlands and protecting natural areas from resource harvesting. The biggest criticism of environmental
sustainability initiatives is that their priorities can be at odds with the needs of a growing industrialized
society.
What is Sustainable Development?
Sustainable development is the practice of developing land and construction projects in a manner that
reduces their impact on the environment by allowing them to create energy efficient models of self-
sufficiency. This can take the form of installing solar panels or wind generators on factory sites, using
geothermal heating techniques or even participating in cap and trade agreements. The biggest criticism of
sustainable development is that it does not do enough to conserve the environment in the present and is
based on the belief that the harm done in one area of the world can be counter balanced by
creating environmental protections in the other.
According to Brundtland Commission in its 1987 report “Our Common Future”,
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Sustainable development has 3 goals: to minimize the depletion of natural resources, to promote
development without causing harm to the environment and to make use of environmentally friendly
practices.
Human made Pollution
We all know that harmful emissions really stepped up their game as a consequence of the Industrial
Revolution in the 18th century. What you may not know, however, is that manmade pollution stretches
back far farther than that – even as far back as prehistoric times.
How we do know? Well, discovery of a remarkably well-preserved set of teeth in Tel Aviv, Israel last
year contained traces of plaque on them. Since we are all so familiar with the word plaque these days
from our frequent trips to the dentist, this might not sound significant; but in fact, the plaque points to the
idea that the cavemen to whom the teeth belonged used to prepare the meat he had caught by roasting it
inside his cave/shelter. As a result, the smoky fumes from the primitive barbecue blackened his teeth and
gave us what could be considered the first known case of manmade pollution.
Of course, these days, manmade pollution has escalated rapidly out of control. As well as the air pollution
caused by cars and factories mentioned above, we are also contaminating our water supplies with
wastewater effluent, run-off, oil spills and other careless methods of waste disposal. We’re ruining our
soil with pesticides and fertilisers; we’re sterilising whole towns and cities through nuclear accidents;
we’re damaging our own hearing and disrupting animal breeding and foraging patterns with undue noise
pollution patterns. To be frank, we’re causing an incredible amount of pollution on a daily basis… and
it’s only getting worse.
Natural Pollution
However, pollution has been around for much longer than even that prehistoric cavemen and his
dentures. Volcanoes erupt, spitting sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere and sometimes even the
stratosphere. Naturally-occurring forest fires can deplete sources of oxygen and emit vast levels of smoke,
soot and other harmful gases in the process, thus significantly affecting air quality (of course, forest fires
can be started by humans, too). Strong winds can cause erosion and lift up particulate matter, depositing it
sometimes thousands of miles away. The decay of organic material leads to the creation of methane, the
principal guilty party when it comes to global warming and climate change. Even the defecation, death
and decay of animals can compromise water sources.
Obviously, all of these contributions to pollution pale in the face of the human impact on our
environment. For one thing, they have been around for millennia and the Earth seems to have survived
just fine in that time; for another, they emit miniscule amounts of pollution in comparison to our own
sterling efforts.
Therefore, although Mother Nature is not free from blame when it comes to pollution, she can’t hold a
candle to (and can’t be blamed for) our own scandalously high effect.
effects and control measures of pollution
Causes of Environmental Pollution
Pollution from cars, trucks, and other vehicles is and has been our major environmental pollution
issue for almost a century now. The problem is we did not realize this until the problem had manifested to
monumental proportions.
Fossil fuel emissions from power plants which burn coal as fuel contributed heavily, along with vehicles
burning fossil fuels, to the production of smog. Smog is the result of fossil fuel combustion combined
with sunlight and heat. The result is a toxic gas which now surrounds our once pristine planet. This is
known as “ozone smog” and means we have more problems down here than we do in the sky.
Carbon dioxide is another product from all of the vehicles on the planet as well as unreformed power
plants and other industrial facilities. A continually growing population of humans and clear cutting of
forests has exacerbated this problem so natural defenses are no longer present and carbon dioxide levels
are on the rise.
Water pollution is a major issue. Many industries dump wastes into rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams in
an attempt to hide wastes from EPA inspectors.
Solutions to Environmental Pollution
Gas emission pollution is being mitigated in a variety of ways with car emission control, electric and
hybrid vehicles and public transportation systems. Not all major cities have successful implementation
and decent public transportation in place, but the world is working on this issue constantly and
we have managed to reduce emissions profoundly over the last decade. There is much catching
up to do.
The cost of radioactive power plants is becoming apparent and the days of coal power plants are
nearly dead. The radiation is a serious issue. Radioactive leakage from power plants and nuclear
testing have already contaminated oceanic life to such a degree that it will take hundreds of years
to return to normal. More radiation solutions are in the works with various ecologically friendly
power technologiesbeing built every day.
Solar power is a fantastic solution. Now that solar radiation is at a climactic peak, we can reap
power from the sun using solar panel systems. These range from home systems to larger scale
systems powering entire communities and cities.
Wind power is coming into play. This may not seem like much at first, but when you get about
100 feet off the ground, there is a great deal of wind up there. By building wind turbines to
harvest natural wind energy, electricity is produced. Wind turbine power and solar power are
both powerful forces against fossil fuel power and radioactive power. The one problem here is
power companies. They want to stay with radioactive power plants because they actually can’t be
removed. It has become the crusades of many individuals and small corporations to make the switch and
there are plenty of people following this as populations cry out for help.
Electromagnetic radiation (ER) reduction. Once major manufacturers of computers and
electronic devices realized the blatant potential for huge ER emissions directly into the eyes and
brains of users, they started to implement hardware protocols to minimize risks and reduce ER
production significantly. Newer devices are in the lead to knock this problem out and,
fortunately, this is working.
Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is well aware of all leaks and tricks industries
are using to dump wastes. This agency now has extremely strict protocols and testing procedures
implemented against such facilities so populations are not affected. Additionally, the EPA is
measuring air pollution and implementing regulatory procedures for vehicle emissions. They also
monitor pollen issues and, with the help of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), they
implement solutions to reduce pollen in the air.
Dropping pollen counts is a major focus for EPA and CDC activities. Asthma and other allergic
conditions are flooding medical care facilities and pharmaceutical companies with serious public
health problems. The response has been swift and various methods to control emissions and
reduce pollen counts are in the works. Children and elderly people are at the highest risk for
environmental pollution related health problems. The good news is we are directly on the horizon
to cut down the causes and risks while providing practical health solutions for the general public
throughout the world.
These water sources feed major crops and food becomes contaminated with a variety of
chemicals and bacteria, causing rampant health problems.
Radiation comes into play as well. This is an exceedingly nasty pollution issue and requires
extensive description. Primarily, there is radiation from the sun. As the natural ozone layer
around the Earth has become depleted. The sun is wonderful, but the only reason we are able to
survive on this planet so close to the sun is due to the fact of natural shielding against solar
radiation. As the protective ozone layer around the planet has become thinner, ultraviolet
radiation has risen significantly, causing increases in skin cancers and other types of cancer in all
countries, killing millions of people every year.
More radiation is a problem. The sun shining brightly on a naked planet is not the only source of
radiation we are exposed to. Electromagnetic radiation is another insidious culprit. Once upon a
time, the major concern around this type of radiation was due to high tension wires which carry
huge amounts of electricity to cities. Now, we even carry sources of this radiation with us as cell
phones, laptops, tablets and other wireless devices.
Units of measurement
Air quality measurement are commonly reported in terms of:
micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3)
parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb)
For particulate matter, sizes are expressed in micron or micrometer.
ppm is a volume-to-volume ratio, which makes it independent of local temperature and pressure.
Unit conversions
Under standard conditions (0° Centigrade, 101.325 kPa), one mole of an ideal gas occupies 22.414 liters. The mass of a pollutant p, Mp in grams can therefor be converted to its equivalent volume Vp in liters:
Vp = Mp/gMW * 22.414 l/g
with MW the molecular weight of the pollutant. For measurements at pressure and temperature other than the standard conditions, corrections to the standard volume must be applied, based on the ideal gas law:
22.414 l/g * (T/273.15K) * (101.325 kPa/P)
where T and P are the ambient temperature and pressure at the time of measurement, respectively.
Therefore,
ppm = Vp/Va
where Va and Vp are the air and pollutant volume, respectiviely. Combining the equations gives the conversion formula:
ppm = [Mp/gMW * 22.414 * T/273.15K * 101.325kPa/P] / Va * 1,000 l/m3
with the pollutant mass in µg (microgram).
As an example, consider the following conversions:
Substance Mass formula Mol.weight µg/m3 ppm ppb
Nitrogen Dioxide NO2 46 1 0.00050 0.50
Nitrogen Oxide NO 30 1 0.00077 0.77
Sulphur Dioxide SO2 64 1 0.00037 0.37
Ozone O3 48 1 0.00048 0.48
Solid waste managementWhat is Solid Waste Management?
Solid waste management is a term that is used to refer to the process of collecting and treating
solid wastes. It also offers solutions for recycling items that do not belong to garbage or trash. As
long as people have been living in settlements and residential areas, garbage or solid waste has
been an issue. Waste management is all about how solid waste can be changed and used as a
valuable resource. Solid waste management should be embraced by each and every household
including the business owners across the world. Industrialization has brought a lot of good things
and bad things as well. One of the negative effects of industrialization is the creation of solid
waste.
According to Britannica, “Solid-waste management, the collecting, treating, and disposing of
solid material that is discarded because it has served its purpose or is no longer useful. Improper
disposal of municipal solid waste can create unsanitary conditions, and these conditions in turn
can lead to pollution of the environment and to outbreaks of vector-borne disease—that is,
diseases spread by rodents and insects.”
Various Sources of Solid Waste
Everyday, tonnes of solid waste is disposed off at various landfill sites. This waste comes from
homes, offices, industries and various other agricultural related activities. These landfill sites
produce foul smell if waste is not stored and treated properly. It can pollute the surrounding
air and can seriously affect the health of humans, wildlife and our environment. The following
are major sources of solid waste:
Residential
Residences and homes where people live are some of the major sources of solid waste. Garbage
from these places include food wastes, plastics, paper, glass, leather, cardboard, metals, yard
wastes, ashes and special wastes like bulky household items like electronics, tires, batteries, old
mattresses and used oil. Most homes have garbage bins where they can throw away their solid
wastes in and later the bin is emptied by a garbage collecting firm or person for treatment.
Industrial
Industries are known to be one of the biggest contributors of solid waste. They include light and
heavy manufacturing industries, construction sites, fabrication plants, canning plants, power and
chemical plants. These industries produce solid waste in form of housekeeping wastes, food
wastes, packaging wastes, ashes, construction and demolition materials, special wastes, medical
wastes as well as other hazardous wastes.
Commercial
Commercial facilities and buildings are yet another source of solid waste today. Commercial
buildings and facilities in this case refer to hotels, markets, restaurants, go downs, stores and
office buildings. Some of the solid wastes generated from these places include plastics, food
wastes, metals, paper, glass, wood, cardboard materials, special wastes and other hazardous
wastes.
Institutional
The institutional centers like schools, colleges, prisons, military barracks and other government
centers also produce solid waste. Some of the common solid wastes obtained from these places
include glass, rubber waste, plastics, food wastes, wood, paper, metals, cardboard materials,
electronics as well as various hazardous wastes.
Construction and Demolition Areas
Construction sites and demolition sites also contribute to the solid waste problem. Construction
sites include new construction sites for buildings and roads, road repair sites, building renovation
sites and building demolition sites. Some of the solid wastes produced in these places include
steel materials, concrete, wood, plastics, rubber, copper wires, dirt and glass.
Municipal services
The urban centers also contribute immensely to the solid waste crisis in most countries today.
Some of the solid waste brought about by the municipal services include, street cleaning, wastes
from parks and beaches, wastewater treatment plants, landscaping wastes and wastes from
recreational areas including sludge.
Treatment Plants and Sites
Heavy and light manufacturing plants also produce solid waste. They include refineries, power
plants, processing plants, mineral extraction plants and chemicals plants. Among the wastes
produced by these plants include, industrial process wastes, unwanted specification products,
plastics, metal parts just to mention but a few.
Agriculture
Crop farms, orchards, dairies, vineyards and feedlots are also sources of solid wastes. Among the
wastes they produce include agricultural wastes, spoiled food, pesticide containers and other
hazardous materials.
Biomedical
This refers to hospitals and biomedical equipment and chemical manufacturing firms. In
hospitals there are different types of solid wastes produced. Some of these solid wastes include
syringes, bandages, used gloves, drugs, paper, plastics, food wastes and chemicals. All these
require proper disposal or else they will cause a huge problem to the environment and the people
in these facilities.
Effects of Poor Solid Waste Management
Due to improper waste disposal systems particularly by municipal waste management teams,
wastes heap up and become a problem. People clean their homes and places of work and litter
their surroundings which affects the environment and the community.
This type of dumping of waste materials forces biodegradable materials to rot and decompose
under improper, unhygienic and uncontrolled conditions. After a few days of decomposition, a
foul smell is produced and it becomes a breeding ground for different types of disease causing
insects as well as infectious organisms. On top of that, it also spoils the aesthetic value of the
area.
Solid wastes from industries are a source of toxic metals, hazardous wastes, and chemicals.
When released to the environment, the solid wastes can cause biological and
physicochemical problems to the environment and may affect or alter the productivity of the
soils in that particular area.
Toxic materials and chemicals may seep into the soil and pollute the ground water. During the
process of collecting solid waste, the hazardous wastes usually mix with ordinary garbage and
other flammable wastes making the disposal process even harder and risky.
When hazardous wastes like pesticides, batteries containing lead, mercury or zinc, cleaning
solvents, radioactive materials, e-waste and plastics are mixed up with paper and other scraps are
burned they produce dioxins and gasses. These toxic gases have a potential of causing various
diseases including cancer.
Control measures of urban and industrial wastes
An integrated waste management strategy includes three main components
1. Source reduction
2. Recycling
3. Disposal
Source reduction is one of the fundamental ways to reduce waste. This can be done by
using less material when making a product, reuse of products on site, designing products or
packaging to reduce their quantity. On an individual level we can reduce the use of unnecessary
items while shopping, buy items with minimal packaging, avoid buying disposable items and
also avoid asking for plastic carry bags.
Recycling is reusing some components of the waste that may have some economic value.
Recycling has readily visible benefits such as conservation of resources reduction in energy used
during manufacture and reducing pollution levels. Some materials such as aluminum and steel
can be recycled many times. Metal, paper, glass and plastics are recyclable. Mining of new
aluminum is expensive and hence recycled aluminum has a strong market and plays a significant
role in the aluminum industry. Paper recycling can also help preserve forests as it takes about 17
trees to make one ton of paper. Crushed glass (cullet) reduces the energy required to manufacture
new glass by 50 percent. Cullet lowers the temperature requirement of the glassmaking process
thus conserving energy and reducing air pollution.
However even if recycling is a viable alternative, it presents several problems. The
problems associated with recycling are either technical or economical. Plastics are difficult to
recycle because of the different types of polymer resins used in their production. Since each type
has its own chemical makeup different plastics cannot be recycled together. Thus separation of
different plastics before recycling is necessary. Similarly in recycled paper the fibers are
weakened and it is difficult to control the colour of the recycled product. Recycled paper is
banned for use in food containers to prevent the possibility of contamination. It very often costs
less to transport raw paper pulp than scrap paper. Collection, sorting and transport account for
about 90 percent of the cost of paper recycling.
The processes of pulping, deinking and screening wastepaper are generally more
expensive than making paper from virgin wood or cellulose fibers. Very often thus recycled
paper is more expensive than virgin paper. However as technology improves the cost will come
down.
Disposal of solid waste is done most commonly through a sanitary landfill or through
incineration. A modern sanitary landfill is a depression in an impermeable soil layer that is lined
with an impermeable membrane. The three key characteristics of a municipal sanitary landfill
that distinguish it from an open dump are:
• Solid waste is placed in a suitably selected and prepared landfill site in a carefully prescribed
manner.
• The waste material is spread out and compacted with appropriate heavy machinery.
• The waste is covered each day with a layer of compacted soil. The problem with older landfills
are associated with groundwater pollution. Pollutants seeping out from the bottom of a sanitary
landfill (leachates) very often percolate down to the groundwater aquifer no matter how thick the
underlying soil layer. Today it is essential to have suitable bottom liners and leachate collection
systems along with the installation of monitoring systems to detect groundwater pollution.
The organic material in the buried solid waste will decompose due to the action of
microorganisms. At first the waste decomposes aerobically until the oxygen that was present in
the freshly placed fill is used up by the aerobic microorganisms. The anerobes take over
producing methane which is poisonous and highly explosive when mixed with air in
concentrations between 5 and 15 percent. The movement of gas can be controlled by providing
impermeable barriers in the landfill. A venting system to collect the blocked gas and vent it to
the surface where it can be safely diluted and dispersed into the atmosphere is thus a necessary
component of the design of sanitary landfills.
Even though landfilling is an economic alternative for solid waste disposal, it has become
increasingly difficult to find suitable landfilling sites that are within economic hauling distance
and very often citizens do not want landfills in their vicinity. Another reason is that no matter
how well engineered the design and operation may be, there is always the danger of some
environmental damage in the form of leakage of leachates. Incineration is the process of burning
municipal solid waste in a properly designed furnace under suitable temperature and operating
conditions. Incineration is a chemical process in which the combustible portion of the waste is
combined with oxygen forming carbon dioxide and water, which are released into the
atmosphere.
This chemical reaction called oxidation results in the release of heat. For complete
oxidation the waste must be mixed with appropriate volumes of air at a temperature of about
815o C for about one hour.
Incineration can reduce the municipal solid waste by about 90 percent in volume and 75
percent in weight. The risks of incineration however involve airquality problems and toxicity and
disposal of the fly and bottom ash produced during the incineration process. Fly ash consists of
finely divided particulate matter, including cinders, mineral dust and soot. Most of the
incinerator ash is bottom ash while the remainder is fly ash. The possible presence of heavy
metals in incinerator ash can be harmful. Thus toxic products and materials containing heavy
metals (for example batteries and plastics) should be segregated.
Thus extensive air pollution control equipment and high-level technical supervision and
skilled employees for proper operation and maintenance is required. Thus while sanitary landfills
and incinerators have their own advantages and disadvantages, the most effective method of
solid waste management is source reduction and recycling.
Vermi – Composting
Nature has perfect solutions for managing the waste it creates, if left undisturbed. The
biogeochemical cycles are designed to clear the waste material produced by animals and plants.
We can mimic the same methods that are present in nature. All dead and dry leaves and twigs
decompose and are broken down by organisms such as worms and insects, and is finally broken
down by bacteria and fungi, to form a dark rich soil-like material called compost.
These organisms in the soil use the organic material as food, which provides them with
nutrients for their growth and activities. These nutrients are returned to the soil to be used again
by trees and other plants. This process recycles nutrients in nature. This soil can be used as a
manure for farms and gardens.