INTRODUCTION

Waste management is the generation , prevention, characterization, monitoring, treatment, handling, reuse and residual disposition of solid wastes. There are various types of solid wastes including municipal (residential, institutional, commercial), agricultural and special (health care, household hazardous wastes, sewage sludge). The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste is also termed as any substance which may be in any state-solid, liquid or gas-which is no longer of any use to the humans or which is not safe for them is discarded and hence it is termed as waste.

Types of waste:

There are many waste types defined by modern systems of waste management, notably including:

Municipal Waste includes Household waste, Commercial waste, and Demolition waste

Hazardous Waste includes Industrial waste Bio-medical Waste includes Clinical waste Special Hazardous waste includes Radioactive

waste, explosives waste, and Electronic waste (e-waste

Sources of waste:

1 . Municipal wasteMunicipal sources of waste:

It includes waste from household, different organization, schools, colleges, other institutions, restaurant & other public places. It involves our daily life items like remnant food, used plastic bottles, plastic/polythene bags, broken utensils/furniture, old cloths/shoes, food/product packets, used papers etc.2.   Medical/Clinical sources of waste: It includes waste from different health care institute like hospitals, nursing homes, different medical clinic, and different pathological labs. It involves items like different expired medicines, operational ingredients, used needles & syringes, used bandage, blood, pharmaceuticals.

3. Agricultural sources of waste:It includes waste from different agricultural phenomenon. It involves activities like dropping seeds, applying different pesticides, horticulture, livestock breeding, seedling, personal gardening etc.4.   Waste from Automobiles: It includes exhaust contain various poisonous gases like CO,SO2,NO2 along with different hydrocarbons like CH4,C2H2,C2H6,butane,iso-butane.It causes due to incomplete combustions of petrol in cars. Sometimes old not working vehicles

are dumped that adds more waste to the environment. 5.   Industrial sources of waste: It includes various types of fossils fuel for energy which produces poisonous smoke containing hydrocarbon and different inorganic oxides like CO,NO,N2O,NO2,SO2 and mixed with different solid metals of Hg, Pb, As, dust etc.6.   Construction sources of waste: It includes waste from different construction activities of building roads. Sometimes old damaged building or roads are pulled off in order to build new one or for making new space. It involves different concrete waste, wood, plastic bags of cements & building materials.7.   Electronic sources of waste: It includes different electrical/electronic waste that involves TV, computers, vacuum cleaners, telephones, AC machines etc. These are called e-waste or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).Dumping of such not working e-waste affects our environment & human population as they contain lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominates.Waste management:It is the method of collection, transportation, proper processing, organization & monitoring of wastage. It defines the processing of products that are disposed by human daily activities & efforts are

taken in order to control their effects on environment & human & animals health.Hazardous waste:It refers to the wastes those are huge in size & amount and is able to cause harm to our health & environment. In the US, the method, storage & dumping of such waste is maintained by Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA state that hazardous wastes are divided into two categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic wastes involve: Which are tested to passes 1 or more of the following attributes: - ignitability, toxicity, vulnerable to chemical action & corrosivity.Listed wastes involve: which are especially marked by the regulatory authorities as the hazardous waste which may be disposed from a specific source or from a non-specific source or any refused chemical products.

Why do we need waste management?Waste management is essential, as it affects us all in many ways. We need to manage our waste……To effectively protect the environment and our natural resources.The adverse environmental effects of waste mainly happens from its disposal. If the waste that needs to be disposed of can be lessened, the environmental damage can consequently be lessened, as well.Landfill and incineration are two main solid waste disposal routes that, if poorly controlled, can worsen the pollution to the atmosphere, watercourses, and land surfaces. If we all treat waste made from raw materials in limited supply with care – we prevent our valuable natural resources from being exhausted, and give our environment a time to breathe.…To control the costs.In the UK, the waste disposal cost has traditionally been low. The suitable sites for landfill have been readily available. However, because many citizens became more and more concerned about the impacts of landfill and incineration to health and the environment, the availability of the sites were made limited, thus – increasing the cost of disposal.Also, since many local facilities trend towards becoming larger, they eventually produce larger amounts of waste. This made rural sites act by

increasing the costs of transporting and handling for waste. If everyone, from consumers to manufacturers, becomes more active in responsible waste management – then the waste disposal costs will not be that expensive for your family or business.…To avoid legal issues.To cover a wide range of waste management operations, the scope of waste legislation has been broadening. This time, all parties (including both the producer and consumer) in the waste management chain have their share of responsibilities in helping mitigate the harmful effects of waste. If you commit an offence, you would have to face warnings or pay the increasing fines – as imposed by the courts. This is why individuals, especially the organisations, should treat waste management seriously. Not only do you save yourself from paying hefty fines, but also save the environment and your health from receiving further damages.Manage waste not just because you are told to do so. Do it for your own and for everyone else’s good. Start managing your waste for a better way of living and better quality of life. Do your research, and look for the best waste management methods.