ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY

Environment is defined as all of the things effect on living organisms. The term of “biosphere” is

environment in practice. It involves in the earth and atmosphere. Human has got a right to life in

an unpolluted environment. Certain wastes have properties that make them hazardous and

potentially harmful to human health or the environment.

World Health Organization (WHO) defines the air pollution as “everything that damages

human, animals and plants”. Unfortunately, the same organization sprayed DDT, a highly

toxic material to the organisms, from the planes for fighting with mosquito before DDT has

been forbidden. As it is clearly seen that a clear definition of environmental pollution could

not be made since various definitions were made by different disciplines.

Anyway there is no need to make a definition. We should know that environmental

engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the

environment (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for

human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites. Major reason of

the environmental pollution is rapid population growth and increasing of consumption

demand as a consequence of this.

Waste Categories & Types

Waste includes all items that people no longer have any use for, which they either intend to

get rid of or have already discarded. Additionally, wastes are such items which people are

require to discard, for example by lay because of their hazardous properties. Many items can

be considered as waste e.g., household rubbish, sewage sludge, wastes from manufacturing

activities, packaging items, discarded cars, old televisions, garden waste, old paint containers

etc. Thus all our daily activities can give rise to a large variety of different wastes arising from

different sources.
Over 1.8 billion ton of waste are generated each year in Europe. This equals to 3.5 ton per

person. This is mainly made up of waste coming from households, commercial activities (e.g.,

shops, restaurants, hospitals etc.), industry (e.g, pharmaceutical companies, clothes

manufacturers etc.), agriculture (e.g., slurry), construction and demolition projects, mining

and quarrying activities and from the generation of energy. With such vast quantities of waste

being produced, it is of vital importance that it is managed in such a way that it does not cause

any harm to either human health or to the environment.

Types of waste

Generally, waste could be liquid or solid waste. Both of them could be hazardous. Liquid and

solid waste types can also be grouped into organic, re-usable and recyclable waste.

Let us see some details below:

Liquid type:

Waste can come in non-solid form. Some solid waste can also be converted to a liquid waste

form for disposal. It includes point source and non-point source discharges such as storm

water and wastewater. Examples of liquid waste include wash water from homes, liquids used

for cleaning in industries and waste detergents and other liquid forms from industries.

Solid type:

Solid waste predominantly, is any garbage, refuse or rubbish that we make in our homes and

other places. These include old car tires, old newspapers, broken furniture and even food

waste. They may include any waste that is non-liquid.

Solid Wastes

Solid Waste Sources

- Municipal Solid Waste

- Industrial Waste

- Hazardous Waste

- Hospital Waste

- Construction and Demolition Waste

- Waste from electrical and electronic equipment

- End-of-Life Vehicles and Tyres

- Agricultural Waste

Municipal Solid Waste

Trash or garbage from household, schools, offices, market places, restaurants and other public

places.. Such waste comprises household waste, construction and demolition debris, sanitation

residue and waste from the street. The consumer market has grown rapidly leading to products

being packed in cans, aluminum foils, plastics, and other such non-biodegradable components

which cause immeasurable harm to the environment. Types of the municipal solid wastes are:

1. Biodegradable waste: food and kitchen waste, green waste, paper (can also be recycled).

2. Recyclable material: paper, glass, bottles, cans, metals, certain plastics, etc.

3. Inert waste: construction and demolition waste, dirt, rocks, debris.

4. Composite wastes: waste clothing, Tetra Paks, waste plastics such as toys.

5. Domestic hazardous waste (also called "household hazardous waste") & toxic waste:

medication, e-waste, paints, chemicals, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, spray cans, fertilizer and

pesticide containers, batteries, shoe polish.

Composition of municipal wastes is shown in the figure given below:

Industrial Solid Waste

Some of the largest waste generated by industrial sectors includes the production of basic

metals, food, beverage, tobacco products, wood products and paper products. Waste from

manufacturing sector continues to rise, despite national and international declarations to

reduce waste from manufacturing industries.

Hospital Solid Waste

Health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, surgical treaters, veterinary hospitals and labs.

Hospital waste is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings

or animals and also in the research activities in these fields as well as in the production and

testing of biologicals.

Agricultural Solid Waste

Agricultural activities like horticulture, fruit and vegetable growing, seed growing, market

gardens, hobby plants.. It is composed of organic wastes and wastes such as plastic, scrapped

machinery, fencing, pesticides, waste oils and veterinary medicines.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste could be highly toxic to humans, animals, and plants; are corrosive, highly

inflammable, or explosive; and react when exposed to certain things such as gases.

Industrial and hospital waste is considered hazardous. In addition, certain types of household

waste are also considered as hazardous. The main disposal route for hazardous waste is

landfill, incineration, and physical or chemical treatment.

Construction and Demolition Waste

Such waste arises from activities such as the construction of buildings and civil

infrastructures, total or partial demolition of buildings and civil infrastructure, road planning

and maintenance. It is made up of numerous materials including concrete, bricks, wood, glass,

asbestos and plastic, many of which can be recycled in one way or another.

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Waste

It consists of end of life products and comprises of a range of electrical and electronic items

such as: refrigerators, telecommunication equipment, freezers, washing machines, medical

equipment, hairdryers and televisions.

Solid Waste Treatment

- Waste Prevention and Minimization

- Re-use

- Recycle

- Composting

- Incineration

- Land filling

Hazardous type:

Hazardous or harmful wastes are those that potentially threaten public health or the

environment. Such waste could be inflammable (can easily catch fire), reactive (can easily
explode), corrosive (can easily eat through metal) or toxic (poisonous to human and animals).

In many countries, it is required by law to involve the appropriate authority to supervise the

disposal of such hazardous waste. Examples include fire extinguishers, old propane tanks,

pesticides, mercury-containing equipment (e.g, thermostats) and lamps (e.g. fluorescent

bulbs) and batteries.

Organic type:

Organic waste comes from plants or animals sources. Commonly, they include food waste,

fruit and vegetable peels, flower trimmings and even dog poop can be classified as organic

waste. They are biodegradable (this means they are easily broken down by other organisms

over time and turned into manure). Many people turn their organic waste into compost and

use them in their gardens.

Recyclable type:

Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new, useful products. This is done to

reduce the use of raw materials that would have been used. Waste that can be potentially

recycled is termed "Recyclable waste". Aluminum products (like soda, milk and tomato cans),

Plastics (grocery shopping bags, plastic bottles), Glass products (like wine and beer bottles,

broken glass), Paper products (used envelopes, newspapers and magazines, cardboard boxes)

can be recycled and fall into this category.

Sources of waste

Municipal sources of waste:

This includes trash or garbage from households, schools, offices, market places, restaurants

and other public places.

They include everyday items like food debris, used plastic bags, soda cans and plastic water

bottles, broken furniture, grass clippings, product packaging, broken home appliances, paper,

cardboard, metals, textiles, organics (food and garden waste) and wood.

 Packaging waste

Packaging is defined as any material which is used to contain, protect, handle, deliver and

present goods. Items like glass bottles, plastic containers, aluminium cans, food wrappers,

timber pallets and drums are all classified as packaging. Packaging waste can arise from a

wide range of sources including supermarkets, retail outlets, manufacturing industries,

households, hotels, hospitals, restaurants and transport companies.

Packaging waste represents up to 17 % of the municipal waste stream. As it has a relatively

short life, it soon becomes a waste that must be treated or disposed off.

 Medical/Clinical sources of waste:

Medical/clinical waste, normally refers to waste produced from health care facilities, such as

hospitals, clinics, surgical theaters, veterinary hospitals and labs. They tend to be classified as

hazard waste rather than general waste.

Items in this group include surgical items, pharmaceuticals, blood, body parts, wound

dressing materials, needles and syringes.

Agricultural sources of waste:

Typically, this is waste generated by agricultural activities. These include horticulture, fruit

growing, seed growing, livestock breeding, market gardens and seedling nurseries.

Waste items in this group include empty pesticide containers, old silage wrap, out of date

medicines and wormers, used tires, surplus milk, cocoa pods and corn husks.

End-of-life Automobiles:

When cars are all old and not working again, where do they end up? Many people just leave

them to rust in the fields, but there is a better way to deal with them. In many cities, these

vehicles are sent to the plant, where all the removable parts are taken out for recycling. The

rest is flattened up and shredded into pieces for recycling. The last bits that cannot be used

again is sent to a landfill.

 Industrial sources of waste:

Since the industrial revolution, the rise in the number of industries manufacturing glass,

leather, textile, food, electronics, plastic and metal products has significantly contributed to

waste production. Take a look at the things in your home, every item there was probably

manufactured and possibly, waste was produced as a result.

Construction/demolition sources of waste:

Construction waste is that resulting from the construction of roads and building. Sometimes

old buildings and structures are pulled down (demolished) to make space for new ones. This

is particularly common in old cities that are modernizing. This is called demolition waste.

Waste items include concrete debris, wood, earth, huge package boxes and plastics from the

building materials and the like.

Electronic sources of waste:

This is waste from electronic and electrical devices. Think of DVD and music players, TV,

Telephones, computers, vacuum cleaners and all the other electrical stuff in your home. These

are also called e-waste, e-scrap, or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

Some e-waste (like TV) contains lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants.

These are harmful to humans and the environment. It is therefore important that the right

authorities ensure the proper disposal of such waste.

How is waste treated and disposed off?

Waste management simply means the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing

and monitoring of waste materials to minimize its' consequences on humans and environment.
There are several methods of managing all the various types of waste. Some of these methods

cause additional harm to the environment, but not doing anything is not an option.

Let us see below two common ways of managing waste:

Incineration method of waste management:

This simply means burning waste. This method is common in countries with limited landfill

space. Incineration chambers can be small for domestic use, but there are large ones for

municipal use as well. It is great for treating waste with contamination (like those from

hospitals) and hazardous waste from factories, but the method produces too much carbon

dioxide. Modern incineration processes are more efficient and release less dioxin than home

fireplaces and backyard barbecues. This method is very common in Denmark, Germany and

the Netherlands. This method is effective, but expensive.

Sanitary Landfills as waste disposal:

Generally, this term means a large piece of land away from living places where all the waste

from a town is deposited. But there is more to landfills. Proper landfill management involves

sorting out all the waste (waste separation), and sending only the waste that cannot be

recycled and composted to the site.

Proper landfills, are also lined at the bottom to minimize the leakage of soil pollutants and

other toxins from getting into the water table. This method is effective, but expensive and

difficult.

In many towns, sorting is not done, and all the waste (paper, food, diapers, glass) is mixed up

and deposited. That is a problem because, glass, and plastics take thousands of years to

decompose. Additionally, the landfills soon become full, smelly and unsafe for the

environment.

Proper waste management is not cheap, but it is something we all have to get involved and

discuss it. The effect of not getting involved can be catastrophic to our health and

environment.