Today, let us understand different types of wastes and how to get rid over of it.
Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) or E-Waste
This kind of waste comprises end-of-life electrical and electronics equipment and and gadgets which have lost there usefulness. These include a variety of home appliances such as toasters, mixers, refrigerators, electrical fixtures, bulbs and tube lights, heaters, fans, remote controls, television remotes, electrical cords, lamps, smart lights, night lights, Fitbit, smart watches, blood pressure monitors, diabetic testing equipment etc. These also include communications and information technology devices like cell phones, smartphones, desktop computers, computer monitors, laptops, circuit boards, hard drives etc. Then there are copiers/printers, it servers and server racks, cords and cables, wifi dongles, power strips, power supplies, uninterrupted power supplies (ups systems), power distribution systems (PDU’s).
The list is unending! The medical facilities also generate the e-waste in the form of dialysis machines, imaging equipment, autoclave, defibrillator etc.
Chemical Waste
Chemical waste comprises all the waste consisting of a chemical substance. Sources include industry, farms, commercial enterprises, and even housing. Cleaners, insecticide sprays, and coolants are examples of household chemical waste. If the waste is not recycled properly, both industrial and household batteries can be harmful. TV tubes, computers, and electrical appliance components contain chemicals that can cause chemical contamination. Lead and mercury from electronic components can seep into the soil and increase its toxicity in the soil and water.
Bio-Medical Waste
This is a kind of waste generated in pathology labs, diagnostic centers, small and large hospitals, clinics, dental clinics, blood donation camps, veterinary colleges and hospitals, research laboratories in the pharmaceutical industries etc. Schools and colleges are also potential sources of generation of bio medical waste. This kind of waste is also generated in the houses where the patient is bed ridden and is getting treatment at home. Hospital waste includes cotton swabs soaked in patient’s blood or other body fluids, discarded wound bandages and dressing materials, needles and syringes, plastic tubing, catheters, blades, scalpels, human organs and tissues removed during surgery, placenta and other tissue removed during delivery of a baby, aborted fetuses.
Construction; Demolition waste
In India, there is a frenzy of construction activities for variety of ‘developmental projects’. Hundreds and thousands of kilometers of roads are constructed, huge tunnels and underpasses are created, taller and taller buildings are being constructed for commercial and residential purposes and so on and so forth.
For all such activities, lot of excavation is done which generates this type of waste in huge volumes. Old, dilapidated buildings are demolished , to be replaced by very tall, multistoried buildings as a part of redevelopment plan! During all such activities, lot of cement and concrete debris, bricks, stones, sand, glass, wood, large packaging cabinets, and plastic building materials comprise construction and demolition waste.
This waste, if not managed properly and systematically, ends up along the highways and even into the waterbodies causing severe damage to the environment.
Radioactive waste
This is a byproduct of nuclear reactors, fuel processing plants, hospitals and research facilities. Radioactive waste is also generated while decommissioning and dismantling nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities.
(The writer is an environment expert. Views personal.)
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