Solid waste management
Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Environment and Sustainable Development"
Meaning
Solid waste management is the handling and disposal of solid waste, from collection to safe disposal. Solid waste is garbage that is not liquid or gas, such as household trash, plastics and industrial residue. It is one of India's five priority environmental issues. When waste is dumped carelessly, it pollutes land and water and harms health. In India, the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 apply, and single-use plastics were banned from 1 July 2022.
Example
Fly ash is the leftover ash from thermal power plants. If it is dumped, it pollutes water and land. If it is used to make bricks and cement, it becomes a useful input and stops being a waste problem.
Don't confuse with
- Extended producer responsibility (EPR): under EPR, producers must collect and recycle their own products at the end of their life. Solid waste management is the whole system of handling waste, and EPR is one tool within it.
Related concepts
- Poverty-induced degradation and pollution from affluence
- Land degradation
- Deforestation
- Soil erosion
- Open access resource
- Biodiversity loss
- Air pollution
- Industrial pollution
- Water pollution
- Groundwater overuse