Module 1: Overview of Solid Waste Management

Solid waste is one of the most pressing issues of our time World over; people are generating greater amounts of
garbage without much thought. Waste generation is projected to increase by 70% in the next 25 years.
With most of that growth coming from low-income countries. Historically, the causes and effects solid waste
management were considered local or regional. But with ever increasing volumes and changing waste
compositions, Solid waste management has become a global challenge with significant economic and
environmental costs.

Out of sight, out of mind. Once garbage leaves our homes and offices and factories. Do we really consider: What
happens to it? Who’s collecting it? What impact it’s having on our environment and our health? But the majority
of waste isn’t really out of sight. Waste stays in the environment for hundreds, if not thousands of years,
without degrading. Plastic waste is choking our oceans, yet plastic consumption is ever increasing. The time for
action is now.

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Welcome to the course Solid waste management. You are in the module, Overview of solid waste management.

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How to use this module

There are seven tutorial topics in this module, followed by a module and an assessment. You can go through the
tutorial topics in any order. But following the given sequences will give you a better learning experience.

Introduction
Before we delve deeper into the topic of solid waste management, watch this video to learn why solid waste
management is a universal issue that requires immediate attention.

What’s your take?

It's time to reflect on what you think about the problem of solid waste management, although waste
management is an urgent issue. Many local governments are still lagging behind in their efforts to improve
waste management service delivery. What do you think is preventing them from taking appropriate action?

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Success in simplicity
Amidst all the challenges, Navi Mumbai, a small city on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, has managed to
implement simple solutions to tackle waste management problems and has set an example for other low-
income and middle-income country cities to follow. Watch the video to learn more.

About this module

This module will explain how solid waste management impacts a country's economic development, environment,
public health, and communities. The adjoining infographic shows the key concepts this module covers.

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Learning goals
Study the learning goals of this module before proceeding. It will take you about 50minutes to complete this
module.

What is solid waste?

Let’s begin by defining what solid waste is. Solid waste is any garbage, refuse, trash. Or discarded material. Solid
waste is categorized into various types depending on where the waste is generated.

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Shown here are images of different types of solid wastes.

Reflection question
1t’s time for reflection! Now you know the categories of solid waste. Based on your experience. How would you
answer this question? Choose all applicable options to answer the question.

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Solid waste management

Now that you know what solid waste is. Let's look at the definition of solid waste management or SWM. The
solid waste management system is made up of various components. The chain starts with the generation of
waste. Then comes collection. Collected waste is then picked up and transported.

Waste may be transported to a transfer station first or may be taken directly to a waste treatment facility or o
landfill. Waste can be recycled or treated in various ways, including composting, anaerobic digestion, and
incineration. And residual waste after treatment is taken to landfills for disposal. Do you think the same
spesifications can be followed for each stage regardless of the type of waste?

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Sustainable source separation of waste: Panaji, India

Separation of waste at source is a critical part of SWM. Read the case of Panaji, a city in India where source
separation was successfully implemented. Then use your judgment to answer the question that follows.

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It’s time to reflect on the example you just reviewed. As a stakeholder of the program, you have to guarantee
that the program is a success. Use your experience and understanding of the example to answer the question.

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Municipal Solid Waste

Now, let’s focus on municipal solid waste. The definitions of MSW vary. In the US, the EPA defines MSW as
waste consisting of everyday items, which originate from households, institutions, and commercial sources. The
EU defines MSW as waste collected by or on behalf of municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector.
MSW is mostly made up of food waste, recyclables, and product packaging. Different types of waste require a
range of collection, treatment, and disposal options based on their characteristics and on policy decisions.
The IPCC describes MSW as “the most visible and troublesome residues of human society.”

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Types of MSW
MSW can be categorized into various types the main types are biodegradable and non- biodegradable. The third
type is household hazardous waste (HHW]. Household hazardous waste is classified as its own category, because
it is non—biodegradable and cannot be disposed of along with other inorganic municipal solid waste.

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Knowledge check
It's time now to take break and use your understanding to answer this question.

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Check your SWM mindset

Now, take a step back and read the scenario given here. This scenario is quite commonplace, but the decisions
you make after reading the scenario will define your waste management mindset. A proper mindset is the first
thing that must be in place to achieve success in effective waste management.

Some examples of SWM mindset

Now, let us look at some examples to reduce, reuse, and repurpose items to reduce the amount of waste going
to landfill.

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3Rs of Waste Management

You are now set to find out more about the3Rs of waste management. The 3Rs refer to Reduce. Reuse and
Recycle. The 3Rs are listed here in the order of preference. The 3Rs conserve natural resources; reduce space
needed for landfills: reduce energy needed for manufacturing, transport, and treatment; save money required
for landfills; and save costs associated with manufacturing and transport of goods.
On this screen, let's examine each of the 3Rsin more detail.

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Waste Hierarchy
The 3Rs you just saw are port of an inverted pyramid of waste management, with Reduce and Disposal forming
the upper and lower ends of the inverted pyramid—the upper end being the most favored and the lower end
being the least favored options. This inverted pyramid is called the waste hierarchy. What is your take away
from the waste management graphic? Think about it before finding out about it.

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Feasibility of the 3Rs

The 3Rs should be the natural first steps for on effective efficient waste management. You have also seen
examples of their effective use. But are the 3Rs really achievable on a large scale? Are they implementable? Can
the waste hierarchy be used to drive policies? Here is an example from the Republic of Korea for you to consider.

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Integrated solid waste management

The Republic of Korea example illustrates the concept of integrated solid waste management. ISWM includes all
aspects of running an efficient coordinated waste system including the waste hierarchy, stakeholders, policy and
legal, technology, finance and economics, environment, and institutional aspects. The lSWM is based on the four
basic principles of equity, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability as you see on this screen.

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Knowledge check
Now that you have studied the four basic principles of ISWM, read each example carefully and then match it to
the appropriate ISWM principle from the drop-down list.

Circular Economy
A relatively new concept is the circular economy which focuses on the “make, use, and recycle" economy.

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Importance of MSW data

Data is necessary as the first step before policies are formulated and before decision son programs, spending,
and technologies are made. In this section, we look at a variety of MSW data, including generation by region and
income, waste generation projections, waste composition, collection, and how the waste is treated and
disposed of.

Perspective for reviewing MSW data

When looking at solid waste data. It is important to have Cl sense of where we currently are and where we are
heading in the future for two main reasons us given here. We need to make sure infrastructure is created to
meet the growing needs of cities and towns while at the sometime, considering how waste trends will evolve in
the future.

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MSW data generation

Now, let's look at MSW data generation by region and income and the related projections.

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MSW composition
Waste composition refers to the categorization of materials in MSW.

MSW collection
Now, let's look at the MSW collection data by income and region.

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Global MSW treatment and disposal data

In this screen, let's look at the global Mistreatment and disposal data.

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Knowledge check
It's time now to check your understanding. Study the graph and answer the question.
Select all applicable answer options.

Waste generation, GDP and urbanization

Waste generation is a natural product of urbanization, economic development, and population growth. Navigate
through the slides to understand this more clearly.

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Decoupling waste generation and GDP

In the previous screen, you saw how higher-income countries tend to have higher levels of waste generation
than lower income countries. However, Japan is an example where waste generation and economic growth ore
decoupled. Let‘s watch this video to see how Japan achieved this.

Knowledge check
Now that you have watched the video on how Japan decoupled waste generation and GDP.
Answer this question.

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Effects of SWM
Let's now understand how solid waste management affects the economy, environment, public health and
communities. There are two key solid waste management conditions that have wide-reaching consequences on
these areas. These are poor waste collection and improper disposal or uncontrolled dumpsites. While these
problems are less common in high-income countries, they are widespread in low-income and some middle-
income nations.

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Positive effects of proper SWM

Now let us took at the benefits of implementing proper SWM policies and technologies. SWM is crucial for
economic and social development. Increasingly, people are realigning that wastes an asset, and not simply
something that has to be discarded. In many ways, solid waste management generates income and provides
employment opportunities for millions of people around the world through recycling, up cycling, and the sharing
economy. Clean cities attract investment, talent, and tourists. They become hubs for culture and innovation. By
reducing litter, odor, traffic, and dust from SWM operations cities become more attractive by improving public
health conditions and preserving the environment for the benefit of all.

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How solid waste contributes to climate change

How do you think the increasing amount of waste is impacting climate change? While solid waste has many local
impacts, it also has a big global impact through climate change. Solid waste contributes to climate change
through the generation of greenhouse gas emissions. The image on this screen shows how solid waste
contributes to climate change.

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Knowledge check
Time for an activity! You ore a sanitation officer of a city that has the following three challenges. You are
provided various solutions to tackle these challenges. Select the appropriate solution for each category of
challenge. Note that there might be more than one — or none! — solution for each challenge.

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Impacts of climate change on SWM

You are already aware of the impact of increasing waste on climate change through greenhouse gas emissions.
But what are the repercussions of climate change on solid waste management?
Climate change impacts, such as temperature fluctuations, changes in precipitation, and sea level rise have
direct and indirect negative consequences on the solid waste chain, particularly at waste facilities.

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GHG emission and reductions along the SWM chain

Greenhouse gas emissions are emitted from every component of the SWM chain. It is important to reduce these
emissions as much as possible.

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Knowledge check
Time for an activity! Read the scenario carefully and then decide how you would match each headline to the
related impaction climate change. Drag the appropriate icon to each headline statement and then select I'M
DONE.

Reflection question
Time for reflection! We all complain about these of plastics, but can you identify some specific reasons that
plastics are dangerous for marine life?

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Solid waste in the world’s oceans

Watch this video to learn about five shocking facts about plastic pollution in our oceans that need our
immediate attention.

Microplastics
The video you just saw explained how significant the problem of plastic waste in our oceans is. And that's only
one part of the problem. The other part is one that we cannot easily see — microplastics. Microplastics are tiny
pieces of plastic, about 5 mm or smaller. Unfortunately, their small size makes them a big problem.
Microplastics are easily eaten by fish and even smaller aquatic life that fish feed on. Over time, microplastics
accumulate in fish, which are ultimately consumed by humans. Microplastics never dissolve because plastics
non-biodegradable and so they stay in the ocean forever.

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What’s your take?

San Francisco is a global leader in waste management. San Francisco's success has been achieved largely by
robust public policy. If you were Cl part of the implementation and monitoring body in San Francisco, which of
the following measures would you have approved?

Examples of Singapore’s MSW system

Now watch this video to learn how Singapore has managed its waste effectively.

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Summary
You have reached the end of the module. Here are the key points covered in this module.

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