Solid waste management

Solid waste management means all the activities that include the minimization of the health, environmental and aesthetic impacts of solid wastes. Its main goal is to reduce the waste volumes and to protect the health of the urban population. The other goals are to support the economy and to generate employment and income. In many cases the poorest people living in the peri-urban areas are suffering most from ineffective and deficient solid waste management. The difficulty to arrange the decent waste collection and handling in a cost–effective and sustainable way result from the narrow aspects and the short-term view of the situation. The solution will be found by considering both technical and non-technical aspects like cultural, social, legal and economical aspects. Involvement and co-operation of all the stakeholders influenced of the waste water management is also a critical point to implement a sustainable solid waste management system. Actions and good solutions for the solid waste management are needed because the economical growth and development are interrelated. Especially this is critical in economically fast growing countries where population is also highly increasing like China and India.

 

The problems of an effective solid waste collection and handling system are related to inadequate service coverage, limited utilization of recycling activities, inadequate landfill disposal, management of hazardous and healthcare waste, and lack of the financial resources. The technical solutions for the waste collection and handling in the industrialized countries are often unsuitable for the developing countries. Already the different composition and characters of waste are producing difficulties. In developing countries the municipal solid waste often contains high amount of biodegradable and inert matter, which leads to a high density and a high moisture content of the waste. This prevents the suitability of vehicles and systems operating in industrialized countries for using these in developing countries. Another problem is that often the infrastructure is not suitable for big trucks and collection points are out of reach. A further problem is that in developing countries waste collection is often in juridical point of view in no man’s land, where different public departments are arguing about the responsibility and costs. Collection is the largest cost in most municipal solid waste management systems covering 70-90% of the costs in developing countries.

Collection system of municipal waste in developing countries is often arranged in communal level so that people bring their waste directly to the collection point nearby. The disadvantages are the disposal of hazardous waste into the container. The primary transport arranges the waste from the communal collection point to a transfer station from where the secondary transport will remove the waste to a disposal site. There are many alternatives to handle the waste. The major organic treatment option is composting. The disadvantages are high operation and managing costs, high transport costs, poor quality product if deficient pre-sorting, poor understanding of the process and competition of chemical fertilizers. It’s a good option if realized in a small scale but it needs some space and maintenance. Often organic waste is used for animal feed in developing countries so sufficient input has to also evaluate. Vermicomposting and biogasification are alternative options but they are still in a pilot project level. Non-organic waste can be recycled, incinerated or disposed in a sanitary landfill, which is a place carefully selected, constructed and maintained by means of engineering techniques. Incineration is an expensive investment and is typically only cost-effective in areas, where is no suitable space for a landfill. Potential emissions might also be harm if proper planning and education is not implemented.

   

In many cases developing countries may not have all this knowledge and resources to develop the necessary solid waste management system. Rapid population growth in urban areas are complicating situation even more. Corrupted and economically weak governments often turn to quick and cheap solutions which mostly are unsustainable. Industrialized countries don’t understand the local circumstances and technological or knowledge support given might be totally wrong. Recycling of inorganic material is often a well-developed activity performed by the informal sector in developing countries. Could this be the key issue in some way?