Waste Generation and Management

A is False and R is True.

Reason — Waste is often considered useless in its current form but not all waste is worthless. Many wastes can be reused, recycled, or repurposed.
Waste refers to items that are discarded after their initial use, regardless of whether they still have potential value.

A is True and R is False.

Reason — Old, torn clothes are commonly referred to as rags, and they fall under domestic waste. Rags are part of municipal solid waste, many rags can be reused or recycled, for example, as cleaning cloths, stuffing material, or in textile recycling.

A is False and R is True.

Reason — Incineration is the process of burning waste at high temperatures to reduce its volume. Disposal of waste by dumping it in a pit is known as landfill.
While incineration reduces waste volume, it can release toxic gases and particulate matter, which can be harmful to health and the environment if not properly managed.

A is False and R is True.

Reason — E-waste contains both harmful substances (like lead, mercury, cadmium) and valuable materials (like gold, silver, copper). That is why proper recycling is essential—to recover valuable metals and prevent environmental harm.
These electronic items contain toxic heavy metals (like lead and cadmium) and valuable metals (like silver and copper), which are extracted during e-waste recycling.

A is False and R is True.

Reason — Electrostatic precipitators are designed to remove particulate matter (like dust, ash, and soot), not gaseous pollutants.
Electrostatic precipitators are highly efficient and can remove up to 90–99% of particulate matter, depending on their design and maintenance. This helps reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality.

Electronic waste is the waste generated by discarded electrical items (i.e. the appliances that use electricity). Some items under this category are:

1. Fluorescent tubes
2. Lead acid batteries
3. Mobile phones
4. Refrigerators
5. Electronic toys
6. Radios

Common wastes produced in mining operation are:

• Dust
• Coal
• Iron
• Copper
• Zinc

During operation of getting minerals, a large quantity of waste material is generated. This waste material is called mine tailing. The application of mine tailing is that it can be mixed with materials for tile production and masonry cement.

Composting means putting the waste organic matter to decay so that it can be used for fertilizing the agricultural land. The procedure to produce compost is described below:

1. A trench of about 5m long, 1.5m wide and 1.5m deep is dug.
2. A layer of well mixed refuse and waste is spread in it for about 30cm thickness.
3. This layer is fully wetted with a watery mixture of cow-dung and some mud.
4. A second layer of mixed refuse is spread over the first layer till the heap rises to project over the ground level by about half a metre.
5. Leave the set up undisturbed for around 3 months during which water is sprinkled at regular intervals.
6. A trench is then opened and the material is taken out and rearranged in conical heaps and covered with a layer of soil.
7. Compost is ready after 50-60 days to be used in fields for cultivation or in garden flower beds, etc.

Incineration is the disposal of waste by burning which causes the release of fumes and other toxic substances.

Usefulness of incineration of wastes:

1. The ash left over occupies much less landfill space.
2. Electricity can be generated from the heat released during burning.

Precautions:

1. The process should be carried out at very high temperatures.
2. Should be equipped with pollution control devices.
3. Incinerators should be installed away from residential areas.

Non-hazardous

Reason — The 'Municipal solid waste' consists mostly of domestic wastes of township which is non-hazardous.

plastics

Reason — Plastics are non-degradable and are extremely harmful for environment.

Aluminium

Reason — Aluminium can be recycled many times as its quality is not hampered after recycling.

Bagasse

Reason — Bagasse is sugarcane plant residue left after extraction of sugarcane juice.

Fly ash

Reason — It is gaseous waste and contains very fine solid particles.

Bagasse is the plant residue left after extracting the sugarcane juice. It is used as fire wood or in paper industry.

Pesticides and fertilizers

1. The degradable part
2. The non-degradable part

1. e-Waste
2. e-waste
3. e-Waste

1. Reusable
2. Degradable
3. Non-degradable

Non-degradable

Yes, composting is a useful method contributing in crop farming as compost is good for soil and plant health.

Sludge is solid precipitated material which is produced during secondary treatment of effluents and it can be used as a manure.

Yes, incineration leads to certain kind of pollution as it results in release of fumes and gases.

1. Scrubbers
2. Electrostatic precipitators

(a) Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use.

(b) Fly ash is gaseous waste of cement industry which contains fine solid particles of non-combustible ash.

(c) e-Wastes are electronic wastes that consist of discarded appliances using electricity like computers, TVs, etc.

(d) Composting means putting the waste organic matter to decay so that it can be used for fertilizing the agricultural land.

(e) Mine tailing are the left-over material after the processing of the mined products like copper, silver, gold, etc.

(a) Broken glass utensils are a kind of non-degradable waste as they cannot be decomposed and broken down by living micro-organisms. These need to be disposed in deeply dug pits so as to cause no harm. One of the applications of broken glass is that it can be used in glass industries in larger quantities after melting.

(b) Large cities are seeing huge population growth and they lack in the usage of efficient and safe disposal method for the waste generated in these cities. Large cities are producing large quantities of non-degradable waste that ends up in landfills for disposal. Due to these reasons, landfills are coming up fast near large cities.

(c) Municipal sewage is first separated into degradable and non-degradable wastes because degradable wastes can be broken down into non-toxic waste in septic tanks, while non-degradable waste requires to be buried at safe places in order to avoid hazardous effects.

(a) Sludge

(b) Scrubbers, Electrostatic precipitators

(c) Incineration

(d) Ash

(e) Domestic wastes

(a) Some of the electronic wastes may contain valuable metals such as gold, silver and copper .

(b) Fly ash is the gaseous waste of cement industry.

(c) Scrubbers are used to remove gaseous and particulate air pollutants.

(d) Domestic liquid waste is termed as sewage.

(e) Bagasse are the plant residue left after extracting the sugarcane juice.