Interim+Progress+Report

**Interim Progress Report:** Waste Management
The management of solid waste is a challenge that urban areas around the world face. Essentially, human activities create waste, and it is how this waste is transferred and disposed of, which poses risks not only to the environment but also to public health. Waste management has become a major issue of concern for many under-developed nations. Many factors contribute to and drive the problems of waste management such as increasing populations, government infrastructure, government aid and funding, lack of resources, and lack of awareness which influences communities priorities.

Waste management is an important issue to address because of the health hazards, environmental hazards and negative effects on living conditions. Solid waste includes non-hazardous industrial, commercial and domestic refuse including household organic trash, street sweepings, hospital and institutional garbage, and construction wastes. The current situation that urban areas in developing countries face is that the waste density is 2-3 times greater than industrialized nations and the moisture content of the waste is 2-3 times greater. Organic waste is not being separated from the rest which adds to pollution because it increases methane gas and carbon dioxide production. Dust and dirt (street sweepings) from the underdeveloped structures impede waste management and make living conditions more difficult.

A typical waste management system (figure 2) in a low-income Asian country can be described by the elements:
 * Household waste generation and storage
 * Reuse and recycling on household level (includes animal feed and composting)
 * Primary waste collection and transport to transfer station or community bin
 * Management of the transfer station or community bin
 * Secondary collection and transport to the waste disposal site
 * Waste disposal in landfills

The transport of waste from households, factories, and other generation sites is a growing problem. The rapid urbanization of much of the developing world leaves little time for adequate layout and planning. Garbage dumps, along with their disease, odor and frequent fires would ideally be located on land away from the most densely populated areas.

There are human health risks associated with solid waste handling and disposal in all under-developed countries. This includes:
 * Diarrhea
 * Malaria
 * Polio
 * Dengue
 * Cholera
 * Typhoid

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

an arrange of systems to tackle the different forms of waste which have plagued third world countries -such as pits for organic waste which can be turned into composte. -a very simple recycling plan, which organizes anything recyclable from all other waste, where it can be sorted even more at a recycling plant (promotes recycling as it is easy, lacks effort for population) -government implemented incentives towards recycling, such as 5 cents for every bottle collected, or x amount of money for every bag of trash collected(boosts economy, forms of jobs) -redesign of current disposal plans in placed as well as the tools used for collecting, ultimately making the entire system easier and more efficient

Composting is an ideal way to recycle organic wastes from your home and community. Oraganic waste can be put into the composter, rather than going to the landfill in a plastic bag. Composting turns kitchen garbage, garden residues, weeds, wood products, animal wastes and many other normally unused materials into a dark, sweet smelling garden fertilizer. Soil produced through composting is rich in nutrients and can be used in gardens, or flower beds. Compost provides nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus to your plants, which are necessary for growth. Compost improves the physical properties of the soil, such as drainage, aeration, ability to retain nutrients and water, both on sandy and clay soils. Not all food and yard wastes can be put into a composting bin. For best results, some of the organic materials to put into composting bin include: · Coffee ground and filters · Fruits and vegetables · Egg shells · Grass clipping · Leaves · Nut shells · Shredded newspapers · Fireplace ashes Reference: http://eap.mcgill.ca/publications/eap56.htm

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Solid waste management in developing countries is an on-going environmental and health issue that requires as much attention from ordinary people, the media and policy makers as the larger macro issues. In developing countries, many small cities and rural areas lack municipal solid waste services and recycling services. In many cases garbage is illegally dumped resulting in large toxic waste sites. Millions of waste pickers risk their lives and their health every single day to collect materials such as glass, and plastics from the waste sites. Waste disposal sites are often set alight after waste pickers extract materials from it. Incineration of waste materials pollutes the environment by releasing hazardous byproducts including dioxins, heavy metals, halogenated organic compounds and the newly discovered threat, nanoparticles (Wilderness Committee). Fires going out of control and spreading to areas around is not unheard of and often result in extensive damage. Additionally, one often hears of horror stories linked to waste disposal sites such as the one about a garbage site in Jawaharnagar near Hyderabad, where three waste collectors were buried under heaps of garbage. The body of one of them, a 15-year-old boy, was retrieved. But the body of a woman was never traced (Sharma, 2010). ======

Questions to be answered:
What approaches have developed countries used that developing countries can use? How better to transport and dispose of solid waste? Why is solid waste management not a priority in under-developed countries?







**Bibliography**
Dhillion, Shivani. "Recycling Slum Faces Redevelopment." //BBC News//. 18 Apr. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. <[|__http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7354977.stm__]>.

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Sharma, Kalpana “Waste Pickers: Invisible environmentalists” < http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/jun/ksh-rags.htm> ======

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Wilderness Committee “Waste Incineration - Why Burning Garbage is a Really Bad Idea” Online at:  ======

Zerbock, Olar. //Urban Solid Waste Management: Waste Reduction in Developing Nations//. Rep. 2003. Print.

Zurbrügg, Christian. "Urban Solid Waste Management in Low-Income Countries of Asia How to Cope with the Garbage Crisis." Feb. 2003. Web. 4 Mar. 2012 <[|__https://www.sustainability.ethz.ch/projects/akademie_som] [|/so2011/Urban_Solid_Waste_Management.pdf__]>