The characteristics of fresh municipal solid waste (MSW) are critical in planning, designing, operating or upgrading solid waste management systems. Physical composition, moisture content, compacted unit weight, permeability are the most important MSW characteristics to be considered in planning a system.
Solid waste is any objects or particles that accumulate at the location where they are produced. This type of waste is often divided into two subtypes based on where the waste comes from. Municipal solid waste is any non-liquid waste that is created by an individual person, household, small business, or institution.
Collected waste is compressed and dumped in remote areas. Landfilling is the most cost-effective method of waste disposal, especially in places like the United States that have large open areas. However, poor management of landfills can cause a variety of health, social, and economic issues.
Our waste is toxic.Municipal solid waste can contain every and any dangerous substance on the market in the United States. These substances include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, radioactive materials, and pharmaceuticals.
SOURCES AND TYPES OF SOLID WASTES
| Source | Typical waste generators |
|---|
| Residential | Single and multifamily dwellings |
| Industrial | Light and heavy manufacturing, fabrication, construction sites, power and chemical plants. |
| Commercial | Stores, hotels, restaurants, markets, office buildings, etc. |
The local corporations have adapted different methods for the disposal of waste – open dumps, landfills, sanitary landfills, and incineration plants. One of the important methods of waste treatment is composting. Open dumps refer to uncovered areas that are used to dump solid waste of all kinds.
Municipal Solid Waste, also called garbage or trash, is nonhazardous disposable materials generated by households, institutions, industries, agriculture, and sewage. Typically, municipal solid waste is collected, sperate and sent to either a landfill or municipal recycling center for processing.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) has been normally sorted into six categories, namely, food residue, wood waste, paper, textiles, plastics, and rubber. In each category, materials could be classified further into subgroups. Conversely, paper, vegetables and bones had the lowest heating value.
Types of Solid Wastes
- Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
- Construction and Demolition Debris.
- Industrial/Commercial Waste.
- Fluorescent and HID Lamps.
- Regulated Medical Waste.
- Used Electronic Equipment.
- Used Oil.
- Waste Tires.
Methods of solid waste disposal and management are as below:
- Open burning.
- Dumping into the sea.
- Sanitary Landfills.
- Incineration.
- Composting.
- Ploughing in fields.
- Hog feeding.
- Grinding and discharging into sewers.
The 7 R's: Refuse, Reduce, Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle, Rot, Rethink | Dunedin, FL.
5 Types of Waste; Do You Know Them?
- Liquid waste. Liquid waste refers to all grease, oil, sludges, wash water, waste detergents and dirty water that have been thrown away.
- Solid Waste. Solid waste is any garbage, sludge, and refuse found in industrial and commercial locations.
- Organic Waste.
- Recyclable Waste.
- Hazardous Waste.
Waste
- Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials.
- Examples include municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive waste, and others.
Industrial solid wastes are sources of toxic metals and hazardous wastes, which may spread on land and can cause changes in physicochemical and biological characteristics thereby affecting productivity of soils. Toxic substances may leach or percolate to contaminate the ground water.
Refuse, also called municipal solid waste, nonhazardous solid waste that requires collection and transport to a processing or disposal site. Refuse includes garbage and rubbish. Some forms of rubbish are recyclable, and some municipalities compost yard waste and other garbage on a large scale.
firm, hard, or compact in substance: solid ground. having relative firmness, coherence of particles, or persistence of form, as matter that is not liquid or gaseous: solid particles suspended in a liquid. pertaining to such matter: Water in a solid state is ice.
Plastic is a significant fraction of municipal solid waste and often consists of packaging waste and discarded tools and goods [10]. Because of this nature, it cannot be thrown in environment as such. Consumption and production of plastic polymer are based on demand and supply.
Refuse refers to any disposable materials, which includes both recyclable and non-recyclable materials. This term is often interchangeably with waste, but refuse is a broad, overarching term that applies to anything that is leftover after it is used, while waste only refers to leftovers that cannot be recycled.
Waste that is not created by community activities or residential/commercial establishments are non-municipal solid waste. This could also include solid waste generated by industries. While creating products, industries produce waste which is called Non-Municipal Solid Waste (NMSW).
