Internship Report
Internship Report
Internship Report
The definition of waste can be very subjective since what is considered as waste to one person
may represent a valuable resource to another. Wastes are unwanted or usable materials. Waste is
and substance which is discarded after primary use or is worthless, defective and of no use.
Examples of waste include municipal solid waste (MSW), hazardous waste, wastewater,
radioactive waste, electronic waste and many others. Waste is also defined according to the Basel
Disposal of 1989, Art 2 as substances or objects which are disposed of or are required to be
The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) also defines waste as materials that are not prime
products for which the generator has no further use in terms of his or her own purpose of
2013).Waste may be generated during the extraction of raw materials, the processing of raw
materials into intermediates and final products, the consumption of final products and other
human activities. Materials that are left as residuals and are reused or recycled are not classified
as waste.
Another school of thought which is the European Union defines waste as an object the holder
Parliament and of the Council).A number of criteria are usually employed to classify wastes into
types. Such classification of waste provides the basis for the development of appropriate
management practices. Waste can be classified by physical state (solid, liquid, gaseous). Other
ways in which waste is classified is by its primary use (packaging waste, food waste, etc); by
SOURCES OF WASTE
Waste can be obtained from many sources and these sources according to Laura Thomas (1999)
a. Residential Source: This source of waste are generated from single and multifamily
dwellings. Types of waste generated by this source include food wastes, paper,
cardboard, yard wastes, wood, glass, metals, ashes, consumer electronics, batteries, tires
etc.
b. Industrial Source: The wastes obtained from this source are generated from light and
heavy manufacturing works, fabrication, construction sites, power and chemical plants.
Examples of waste that are generated from this source include housekeeping wastes, food
c. Commercial Source: Stores, hotels, restaurants, markets and office buildings are the
typical generators waste in this sector. Examples of the waste include paper, cardboard,
and many others also contribute a lot of waste in societies. Examples of wastes from
these sectors include paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, food wastes, glass, metals etc.
e. Construction and Demolition Source: New construction sites, road repairs, renovation
sites and demolition of buildings generate large amounts of wastes in communities. Some
water and wastewater treatment plants also contribute a lot of waste in the communities.
Some of these waste include street sweepings, landscape and tree trimmings, general
wastes from parks, beaches and other recreational areas, sludge etc.
processing sector of production. The wastes are generated by the heavy and light
processing services. Examples of these waste include industrial process wastes, scrap
agricultural operations. Crops, farms, orchards, dairies and vineyards generate a lot of
waste. These wastes include spoiled food wastes, pesticides, fertilizer run-off, silt drained
TYPES OF WASTE
Liquid Waste
Liquid waste is commonly found both in households as well as in industries. This waste includes
dirty water, organic liquids, wash water, waste detergents and even rainwater. Liquid waste can
be classified into point and non-point source waste. All manufactured liquid waste is classified as
point source waste. On the other hand, natural liquid waste is classified as non-point source
waste.
2. Solid Waste
Solid waste can include a variety of items found in households along with commercial and
industrial locations. Solid waste is commonly broken down into the following types:
Plastic waste – This consists of bags, containers, jars, bottles and many other products that can
be found in your household. Plastic is not biodegradable, but many types of plastic can be
recycled.
Paper/card waste – This includes packaging materials, newspapers, cardboards and other
recycled. They can be taken to recycling depot to dispose of waste type properly.
3. Organic Waste
Organic waste is another common household. All food waste, garden waste, manure and rotten
meat are classified as organic waste. Over time, organic waste is turned into manure by
microorganisms. However, this does not mean that they can be disposed anywhere. Organic
waste in landfills causes the production of methane, so it must never be simply discarded with
general waste.
4. Recyclable Rubbish
Recyclable rubbish includes all waste items that can be converted into products that can be used
again. Solid items such as paper, metals, furniture and organic waste can all be recycled.
5. Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste includes all types of rubbish that are flammable, toxic, corrosive and reactive.
These items can harm you as well as the environment and must be disposed of correctly.
Negative effects of improper waste management not only ends in a disgusting view but also
affects the overall economy of a country. State has to spend a lot of money to counter the effects
of improper waste management. Moreover, animals depended on the environment also face a
great threat due to the oil spills and leaching of chemicals which directly cause soil and water
contamination. Burning of any disposed waste and plastic materials results in air and
environmental pollution. Some of the catastrophic effects of today’s poor waste management
Ideally, we would like our plastic, glass, metal and paper waste to end up at a recycling facility.
It then returns to us as a renewable product. But the reality is entirely different. Contamination
occurs by spilling and burying hazardous components in soil. So, we need to be watchful of how
we process petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, heavy metals and lead. When a plastic
water bottle is incorrectly sent to a landfill, or left, at any other place, to be absorbed by the soil.
Plastic water bottles eventually break down to release a harmful component called,
capabilities, causes liver dysfunction and weight loss issues.)DEHA seeps into the surrounding
areas of the soil and water bodies to harm the animal and plant lives that depend on it.
2. Water Contamination
Water is an excellent solvent; it can contain numerous dissolved chemicals. As a result, while
moving through, water picks up pollution along the way. It often has dissolved substances like
various chemicals and gases. Rainfall easily mixes to toxic liquid substances and seeps into the
water streams to end up in nearby water bodies. Thus, the neighbourhood fountain, pond, lake or
Firstly, harmful greenhouse gases are created from decomposing waste. These rise up to the
atmosphere and trap heat. This adversely causes extreme weather reactions in the form of storms
and typhoons. Apart from temperature the level of precipitation in the air is also affected; from
acid rain to severe hail storms or global warming waste is causing a lot of harm to the
environment.
4. Air Pollution
On the occasions paper and plastic are burned at the landfill, causing landfill gas, the chemicals
released accumulate and contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and also hurt the
surrounding human population. Methane gas adds to it as well. Besides, chemicals such as
Despite strict measures to stop it, people continue to dump garbage, raw or untreated sewage into
water bodies. Any animal or marine life coming in contact gets impacted in the worst of ways.
The inevitable formation of algal bloom and clusters contaminates and eventually suffocates
bottles and Styrofoam can kill millions of marine lives each year (Conservation International,
2017)
6. Human Damage
Wastes in the societies harm children and those who live near such waste disposal sites. From the
fires at landfills to the accumulation of the air from these landfills in our cells, these expose
human lives to diseases such as cancer, respiratory disorders as well as visibility problems.
Additionally, contact with waste could lead to skin irritation and blood infections. Diseases
could also be contracted from flies which are carriers of illnesses after breeding on solid waste.
Mosquitoes feed on dead fish, sewage, rainwater and other objects deemed as ideal breeding
grounds and in doing so they carry and spread diseases especially malaria which claims a lot of
lives in a year.
One major type of waste is the municipal solid waste and this type of waste consist of everyday
items that are disposed or discarded by the public (Kumar et al, 2016). Municipal waste is
defined as wastes made up of everyday materials such as grass clippings, furniture, clothing,
bottles and cans, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, consumer electronics and batteries. These
wastes come from homes, institutions such as schools and hospitals and commercial sources such
composition of municipal solid waste varies greatly from municipality to municipality and it
changes significantly with time. In municipalities which have a well-developed waste recycling
system, the waste stream mainly consists of intractable wastes such as plastic film and non-
predominantly include yard wastes, market wastes, food wastes, plastic containers and product
Solid waste composition is influenced by factors such as culture, economic development, and
climate and energy sources. The composition of waste in a certain municipality also impacts how
waste is collected and disposed. Low-income countries have the highest proportion of organic
waste (Bhada-Tata et al, 2012). The composition of waste varies according to the pattern of
Studies by Girling (2005) and Furedy (1992) have revealed that one method of ensuring
sustainable solid waste management is to follow the waste hierarchy. The concept of a waste
hierarchy was first introduced into a European waste management policy in 1975, which showed
that waste should be handled differently based on its characteristics (Girling, 2005). It is
therefore expected that developing countries would draw upon this positive experience of the
developed world. Waste recovery provides a solution to the multi-billion dollar waste disposal
problem by reducing the waste and possibly, greenhouse gas emissions generated by the waste
sector based on the concept of the “3Rs” (reduce, reuse and recycle). The concept of the “3Rs”
or the hierarchy classifies waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of
waste minimization. The waste hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimization
strategies with source reduction being the most preferred option and landfilling the least.
Broadly, the objective of the concept is to as much as possible extract the maximum practical
benefits from products as to generate the minimum amount of waste meant for final disposal.
Following the waste hierarchy will enable institutions and local authorities identify ways to
reduce waste and offer the most wide reaching benefits in terms of reuse, recycling and cost
savings. A waste hierarchy is widely used as a simple communication tool that consists of the
DIAGRAM