Understanding Waste Management

A lot has been written and read about waste management in recent days. From newspapers to online communities to school workshops  we get to hear a lot about this. But in spite of all, there are many among us, who still miss the clear picture of the subject.

My post deals about the need and importance of waste management and the ways we can implement it in our society. Lets start with understanding what waste management is :

Waste management comprise of two words; waste and management. The term definitely sounds simple but the fact is that waste management is a complex process. 

So to make things simple, let’s first understand about [WASTE] and then understand how to [MANAGE] it?

What is Waste

Waste can be in the form of solid, liquid, gas. In many cases it can be radioactive also. Waste can be non hazardous and hazardous too. It can be industrial or residential too. Therefore, different types of waste need different type of handling. The handling however varies from area to area; region to region and country to country.Waste if not managed properly can lead to landfills, elimination of hazardous gases and spread of diseases.

Reduce, reuse and recycle are the three pillars of waste management process. We will deal with these terms after we understand what type of waste is generally disposed by people living in apartments and how it should be collected.

How can we Manage waste?

For efficient management of waste at household level, segregation is very important. BBMP has made the segregation of waste compulsory and every household must follow the same.

Type of waste	Includes	collection
Wet waste	Comprise of cooked and uncooked food, vegetable and fruit peels	To be collected from home on a daily basis. Should not be mixed with dry waste.
Dry waste	Paper waste (such as papers, tickets, bills, flyers); plastic( used bottles, bags, milk packs, pouches); metal waste (  utensils, cans, metal items)	To be collected from homes on weekly basis, Should not be mixed with wet waste
Sanitary waste	Includes diapers, sanitary pads and bandages	To be collected along with wet waste. Should be wrapped well in paper.
Inert waste	includes cement, mud and construction material	To be collected separately as and when required. Should not be mixed with dry and wet waste.

Waste segregation is the first step towards waste management. We can move a level ahead at individual level by following the three main pillars of waste management.

• Reduce - Aim at generating least possible waste. Start using jute bags instead of plastic bags. Switch to online bills instead of paper bills.
• Reuse - Try using stuff to their fullest. Make efficient use of papers from both sides.
• Recycle- Recycling is only possible when waste is segregated at the source. 

Collective Segregation - When every household has done their task of waste segregation, the next step is to ensure efficient segregation at society level. This can be done by using different color bins

1.     Red Bin - For collection of wet waste.

2.     Green bin - For dry paper waste

3.     Blue bin - for dry plastic recyclable waste

4.     Black bin - For hazardous waste

Last but not the least - Keeping our society and surroundings clean is the duty of every resident. Create awareness by talking about the same to your neighbors and encouraging them to follow the same. Lets make Orchid Enclave a clean green and peaceful society.

Call for action

If you have suggestions / clarifications / concerns or would like to contribute to the cause, please feel free to……<do something>