In a world where waste incinerators are not an option and landfills are at over capacity, cities are hard pressed to find a solution to the problem of what to do with their solid waste. Handbook of Solid Waste Management, 2/e offers a solution. This handbook offers an integrated approach to the planning, design, and management of economical and environmentally responsible solid waste disposal system. Let twenty industry and government experts provide you with the tools to design a solid waste management system capable of disposing of waste in a cost-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Focusing on the six primary functions of an integrated system--source reduction, toxicity reduction, recycling and reuse, composting, waste- to-energy combustion, and landfilling--they explore each technology and examine its problems, costs, and legal and social ramifications.
Solid waste was already a problem long before water and air pollution issues attracted public attention. Historically the problem associated with solid waste can be dated back to prehistoric days. Due to the invention of new products, technologies and services the quantity and quality of the waste have changed over the years. Waste characteristics not only depend on income, culture and geography but also on a society's economy and, situations like disasters that affect that economy. There was tremendous industrial activity in Europe during the industrial revolution. The twentieth century is recognized as the American Century and the twenty-first century is recognized as the Asian Century in which everyone wants to earn ‘as much as possible’. After Asia the currently developing Africa could next take the center stage. With transitions in their economies many countries have also witnessed an explosion of waste quantities. Solid waste problems and approaches to tackling them vary from country to country. For example, while efforts are made to collect and dispose hospital waste through separate mechanisms in India it is burnt together with municipal solid waste in Sweden. While trans-boundary movement of waste has been addressed in numerous international agreements, it still reaches developing countries in many forms. While thousands of people depend on waste for their livelihood throughout the world, many others face problems due to poor waste management. In this context solid waste has not remained an issue to be tackled by the local urban bodies alone. It has become a subject of importance for engineers as well as doctors, psychologist, economists, and climate scientists and any others. There are huge changes in waste management in different parts of the world at different times in history. To address these issues, an effort has been made by the authors to combine their experience and bring together a new text book on the theory and practice of the subject covering the important relevant literature at the same time.
The collection, transportation and subsequent processing of waste materials is a vast field of study which incorporates technical, social, legal, economic, environmental and regulatory issues. Common waste management practices include landfilling, biological treatment, incineration, and recycling – all boasting advantages and disadvantages. Waste management has changed significantly over the past ten years, with an increased focus on integrated waste management and life-cycle assessment (LCA), with the aim of reducing the reliance on landfill with its obvious environmental concerns in favour of greener solutions. With contributions from more than seventy internationally known experts presented in two volumes and backed by the International Waste Working Group and the International Solid Waste Association, detailed chapters cover: Waste Generation and Characterization Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Management Systems Waste Minimization Material Recycling Waste Collection Mechanical Treatment and Separation Thermal Treatment Biological Treatment Landfilling Special and Hazardous Waste Solid Waste Technology & Management is a balanced and detailed account of all aspects of municipal solid waste management, treatment and disposal, covering both engineering and management aspects with an overarching emphasis on the life-cycle approach.
Solid waste management affects every person in the world. By 2050, the world is expected to increase waste generation by 70 percent, from 2.01 billion tonnes of waste in 2016 to 3.40 billion tonnes of waste annually. Individuals and governments make decisions about consumption and waste management that affect the daily health, productivity, and cleanliness of communities. Poorly managed waste is contaminating the world’s oceans, clogging drains and causing flooding, transmitting diseases, increasing respiratory problems, harming animals that consume waste unknowingly, and affecting economic development. Unmanaged and improperly managed waste from decades of economic growth requires urgent action at all levels of society. What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050 aggregates extensive solid aste data at the national and urban levels. It estimates and projects waste generation to 2030 and 2050. Beyond the core data metrics from waste generation to disposal, the report provides information on waste management costs, revenues, and tariffs; special wastes; regulations; public communication; administrative and operational models; and the informal sector. Solid waste management accounts for approximately 20 percent of municipal budgets in low-income countries and 10 percent of municipal budgets in middle-income countries, on average. Waste management is often under the jurisdiction of local authorities facing competing priorities and limited resources and capacities in planning, contract management, and operational monitoring. These factors make sustainable waste management a complicated proposition; most low- and middle-income countries, and their respective cities, are struggling to address these challenges. Waste management data are critical to creating policy and planning for local contexts. Understanding how much waste is generated—especially with rapid urbanization and population growth—as well as the types of waste generated helps local governments to select appropriate management methods and plan for future demand. It allows governments to design a system with a suitable number of vehicles, establish efficient routes, set targets for diversion of waste, track progress, and adapt as consumption patterns change. With accurate data, governments can realistically allocate resources, assess relevant technologies, and consider strategic partners for service provision, such as the private sector or nongovernmental organizations. What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050 provides the most up-to-date information available to empower citizens and governments around the world to effectively address the pressing global crisis of waste. Additional information is available at http://www.worldbank.org/what-a-waste.
Solid waste management issues are a highly emotive topic. Disposal costs need to be balanced against environmental impact, which often results in heated public debate. Disposal options such as incineration and landfill, whilst unpopular with both the public and environmental pressure groups, do not pose the same environmental and health risks as, for example, recycling plants. This book, written by international experts, discusses the various waste disposal options that are available (landfill, incineration, composting, recycling) and then reviews their impact on the environment, and particularly on human health. Comprehensive and highly topical, Environmental and Health Impact of Solid Waste Management Activities will make a strong contribution to scientific knowledge in the area, and will be of value to scientists and policy-makers in particular.
Solid waste has grown into a relatively difficult problem to solve for those responsible for its management; these responsibilities include the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of solid wastes, particularly wastes generated in medium and large urban centres. This problem is even more intense in economically developing countries, where the financial, human, and other critical resources are scarce in general. In the last decade, there has been a great interest and awareness regarding the environmentally safe management of waste worldwide, centralised in legislative, administrative, standardisation, and research activities in this field. Therefore, it is essential to develop short- and long-term waste management strategies (often named the 3Rs) and their consequent implementation in compliance with the formulated priorities for waste: (1) Reduce, (2) Recycle, (3) Reuse and (4) environmentally safe disposal. Several contradictions and lack of agreement still exist, even regarding the major basic definitions, e.g., which material should be treated as "waste" and which as a "beneficial raw material", which wastes are "hazardous" and which are "non-hazardous", etc. Quite often, different approaches and as a consequence, waste management/disposals are adopted for the same situation/materials. Environmental risk assessment procedures and mode of actions are varied greatly not only within national levels, but also at regional levels within the same country by different groups of scientists and/or policy makers. The general idea of the book has arisen from the mutual experience of many specialists in numerous disciplines from different countries involved in the problem of environmental assessment, economic and monitoring approaches, and control approaches for chemicals generated from solid waste disposal. Solid waste worldwide issues nowadays reflect the complexity and unbalanced development of our world at the beginning of the 21st century. This book covers a broad group of wastes, from biowaste to hazardous waste. The contributors to the book are recognised experts in the diverse fields associated with the issues of waste management and the reuse-recycle of materials, and are from different parts of the world. Authors present their experience and approaches considering both international and national/local specifics. The book is addressed to the wide range of end-users, decision-makers and professionals involved in environmental and agricultural issues: administration, designers, manufacturers, policy makers, farmers, researchers, academics and university students, and is focused on waste properties, environmental behaviour and management in an environmentally safe way. It was not the intention of the editor/authors to exhaust the subject, which is intensely broad, but to give a general idea with updating trends in the field of solid waste management concerning disposal, monitoring, assessment and remedial options, which are demonstrated also in case studies. The authors hope that this book to some extent will contribute to the trials and efforts for the proper, environmentally safe practices of solid waste disposal, and will provide state-of-the-art information and discussion, monitoring strategies, advanced approaches and methods, techniques and equipment for environmentally safe disposal and remediation of solid wastes.
Economic development of any nation is possible only if the environmental protection laws are followed seriously. Wastes, if not treated effectively, may harm public health leading to the deterioration of ecosystem and ultimately to the growth and economy of the nation. The coverage of both solid waste as well as liquid waste management in a single volume makes this book unique. It discusses various economical methods to manage wastes providing a practical approach to the book. It gives the knowledge of important techniques for converting wastes into the products useful for the mankind and also informs readers about the Indian legal framework relating to the solid and liquid waste management. The technologies explained in the book are field-tested and have been practically implemented either in India or the United States. Hence, these techniques are highly viable for communities and industries to improve their waste management practices. Blending theory and practices of waste management, the authors provide extensive case studies from their on-job experiences to exemplify how solid and liquid wastes can be managed successfully. The chapter on 'municipal waste management' exclusively covers the technologies applied to convert construction and demolition wastes and organic wastes into useful products. With the increase in electronic wastes, a chapter on 'electronic waste management' has found place in the book. Besides, the text covers management of plastic wastes, biomedical wastes, radioactive wastes, hazardous wastes, and also operations and maintenance of the treatment facilities. The chapter on 'liquid waste management' is focused on municipal wastewater and common effluent treatment plant for industrial wastewater. The review questions at the end of each chapter help students to assess their knowledge and develop self-efficacy in the subject. Whereas, the appendices provide performance evaluation of solid waste management systems and sewage treatment plants, numerical problems for practice, and glossary of important terms. The book primarily caters to the needs of undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Environmental Science and Engineering; Energy and Environmental Engineering; Environmental Engineering and Management; Municipal Solid Waste Management. Besides, it provides practical information to environmental professionals and to the students of Industrial Management, Civil Engineering and Biotechnology.
Endlessly Green looks at the history, the science and the art of composting and sustainable waste management through a kaleidoscope of philosophical, moral and ethical intricacies. The author digs into her rich pool of experiential learnings and raw inputs gathered through a decade of research, legwork and fearless execution. This engaging field guide equips community volunteers, activists, students, SWM practitioners and professionals with practical inputs on segregation, composting and organic gardening/farming, making sustainability imaginable in a concrete jungle. In doing so, it helps individuals discover the possibilities of bringing about a change in their environment by engaging their own environmental sensibilities. Endlessly Green is an extraordinary celebration of things small and significant and the fight against waste, culminating in a replicable and scalable end-to-end solution.
This book presents the application of system analysis techniques with case studies to help readers learn how the techniques can be applied, how the problems are solved, and which sustainable management strategies can be reached.
