Waste Management — Impact of Waste Accumulation

Spoilage of landscape refers to the heaps of rubbish garbage and trash in urban cities that is left uncared or untreated. It affects the environment in following ways:

1. It spoils the aesthetic beauty of the land and causes severe damage to the earth.
2. It becomes the breeding ground for insects, flies and mosquitoes.
3. It may spread infectious diseases.

Pollutants are the products which are released into the biosphere in large quantities and which affect the normal functioning of ecosystems and have an adverse effect on plants, animals and man.

Two examples of air pollutants are:

1. Carbon monoxide.
2. Sulphur dioxide.

Two diseases caused by air pollution are:

1. Asthma.
2. Lung cancer.

Eutrophication refers to excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants in water bodies. It occurs due to introduction of nutrients and chemicals through discharge of domestic sewage, industrial effluents and fertilizers from agricultural field. It causes depletion of oxygen and reduction of light and heat in the water bodies which results in death of aquatic animals and rotting of plants.

The disease caused by mercury contamination in Japan is Minamata.

The burning of organic waste has following effects on environment:

1. It releases toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases.
2. Smoke contains particulate matter which can enter lungs and affect respiratory system.
3. The smoke when combines with condensed moisture cause smog, which is dangerous for lungs.

Three diseases caused due to water pollution are:

1. Cholera
2. Dysentery
3. Minamata

The term biomagnification means increasing concentration of various toxic substances along the food chains.

Pollutants like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with the moisture in the air to become sulphuric acid and nitric acid. Rain, snow and other precipitation containing sulphuric acid and nitric acid fall to the earth causing acid rain.

Acid rain causes extensive damage to forests, fish, animals and human beings. It also damages the statues and stonework of buildings. It may cause crop destruction and respiratory problems in children.

Following are the hazards of soil pollution:

1. The toxic substances present in soil dissolve in water and percolates with water, polluting the ground water.
2. Leaching of fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural fields lead to eutrophication in water bodies.
3. Polluted soil becomes unfit for growing crops.
4. Direct pollution of land by pathogenic organisms also increase toxicity in Soil.
5. It may endanger life of humans, animals and insects.

The effects of untreated solid wastes are:

1. Accumulation and fermentation of waste can cause various infectious and chronic diseases.
2. Exposure to hazardous wastes can affect human health and lead to chemical poisoning.
3. Agricultural and industrial waste cause serious chemical and radioactive hazards to human life.
4. Medical wastes can create serious health hazards by spreading diseases.
5. Problems of insects, flies and rodents increase.
6. Some chemicals present in waste like cyanides, polyclorinated phenyls and mercury are very toxic and can lead to death.

It is essential to have proper disposal of wastes because careless disposal can lead to following problems:

1. can cause spread of diseases
2. can aggravate problem of insects, flies and rodents
3. toxic substances in waste can cause cancer and genetic disorder
4. colour pigment of plastics contain heavy metals.
5. Some chemicals present in waste like cyanides, polyclorinated phenyls and mercury are very toxic and can lead to death.

The diseases spread by industrial effluents are:

1. Heavy metal poisoning
2. Cancer
3. Liver and kidney damage
4. Respiratory diseases
5. Gastrointestinal ulcer
6. Neurological disorders
7. Minamata
8. Itai-itai
9. Skin diseases
10. Birth defects

Farm wastes are generally burnt or dumped as such. If burnt they produce smoke, harmful gases and cause air pollution. The farm waste have residues of pesticides which can leach and cause water and soil pollution. Two harmful substances they may contain are aluminium phosphide (pesticide) and cresol (used in fibre treatment).

Three pollutants produced by chemical effluent from industries are Fluorine, Arsenic and Cadmium. Following are the effects of these pollutants on terrestrial life:

1. Cattle and sheep are most commonly affected by Fluorosis.
2. Arsenic causes chronic poisoning in animals and humans.
3. Earthworms and other soil organisms are extremely susceptible to cadmium poisoning.

DDT was used as an insecticide and is the most widespread man-made pollutant. It is fatal to fish. It affects various systems of aquatic animals and is immensely destructive to them.

Fluorides are harmful to cattle because its higher concentration can cause fluorosis in them. It can damage their bones and teeth. Diarrhoea, weight loss, lowered fertility and reduced milk production are major effects of fluorides seen in cattle.

Plastics affect marine life in several ways:

1. Entanglement — Marine animals, especially sea turtles, birds, and seals, can become entangled in plastic debris, leading to injury, suffocation, and death.
2. Ingestion — Marine animals can ingest plastic fragments, causing physical harm and toxic effects, including starvation due to blockages of their digestive systems.
3. Chemical pollution — Plastics can absorb toxic chemicals from seawater, and these chemicals can then be ingested by marine life when they ingest the plastic.

Two reasons why waste must be managed efficiently are:

1. Inefficient waste management can lead to many communicable and hazardous diseases.
2. Direct handling of solid waste can result in various types of chronic diseases affecting the waste workers and the rag pickers.

Waste should be recycled as it helps to conserve the natural resources that otherwise would be used by manufacturers. It also helps reduce the pollution that may result from disposal of various waste materials.

Developing Countries face more problems than developed countries in managing waste because developing countries lack the latest technology, public awareness and better waste management techniques. Lack of education, population explosion and unplanned urbanization makes it even more difficult for them to manage waste.

Environmental pollution is a serious problem in India due to the rapid growth of population and industries. Urbanisation has resulted in overcrowded cities, leading to problems with garbage disposal, air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, and nuclear pollution, causing harm to life and the environment. This has led to an increase in airborne and water borne diseases and the spoilage of the landscape. Therefore, the need for management of waste in India becomes very important.

All electronic items like computer, TV, mobile, tablets, washing machines, etc., which have become old and useless, constitute E-waste.

Recycling E-waste is important because of the following reasons:

1. Conservation of resources — Recycling e-waste conserves valuable resources such as metals, plastics, and glass that can be reused in the manufacture of new products.
2. Reduction of pollution — E-waste contains toxic chemicals and heavy metals that can harm the environment and human health if not properly disposed of. Recycling e-waste helps to reduce the release of these harmful substances into the environment.
3. Energy savings — Recycling e-waste requires less energy compared to producing new products from raw materials. This can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve energy.
4. Economic benefits — E-waste recycling can create jobs and support local economies, as well as reduce the need for new raw materials and reduce costs for manufacturers making electronics more affordable.

Two methods of managing waste efficiently and properly are:

1. Segregation of waste into recyclable and disposable waste.
2. Recycling of waste into raw material.

We can reduce the generation of waste in following ways:

1. Reducing the use of polybags and replacing them by cloth bags or paper bags.
2. Promoting awareness towards judicious use of products.
3. Purchasing items like solar heater and other solar products which will help in reducing the waste generated at source.
4. Use of biodegradable and ecofriendly products.
5. Composting household organic waste.
6. Repairing and using old items rather than buying new ones.

We can utilize the household waste in the following ways:

1. The household waste like vegetable peels, garden waste can be converted into manure by composting.
2. The old cloths can be used for making doormats, cushion covers etc.
3. Boxes and jars can be used as flower pots.
4. Making new notebooks from unused pages of old notebooks.

Plastic and polythene bags can be replaced by cloth or paper bags as they are biodegradable.

The 3 Rs refer to Reducing, Reusing and Recycling.

• Reducing refers to reduce generation of waste at the source. For example, use of washable napkins instead of single use napkins and use of cloth bags instead of polybags.
• Reusing refers to the reuse of items where possible in the same form or a physically different form, instead of buying new products. For example, making dolls, cushion covers, doormats, etc. from old cloth pieces. Flyash from power plants is used as a cement substitute. It is used for making bricks, roads and filling up low lying areas.
• Recycling refers to processing the waste into raw material usable in other useful materials. For example, baggasse, a by-product of sugar industry is used for manufacturing paper. Plastics are recycled by plastic manufacturers.

Waste paper can be reused to make new paper through the process of paper recycling. Many different products result from paper recycling. For instance, new computer paper and stationary result from recycling used chip board or box board. It is also used in manufacturing such building materials as insulation, plaster board and roofing.

Recovering heat from combustible waste.

Reuse

Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Vegetable peels

Electronic waste

Industrial waste

Water pollution

Eutrophication

Air pollution