Solid Waste Management Principales
Solid waste management is accepted as a growing issue that has caused environmental pollution, especially in urban areas. According to the survey report of INUCN 1997 AD, solid waste generation per head per day for Kathmandu Metropolitan City was 0.56 kg. At the same time, solid waste generation for all municipalities in average was estimated to be 0.25 kg. per day per head. According to this estimation, the total daily waste generation is more than 1,000 metric tons daily from the urban areas of the country. So, for the proper management of solid waste, we should follow the principle of solid waste management. It is also called ”3r principal”. They are: Reduction, Reuse and Recycle of waste materials.
a. Reduction
This principle gives emphasis on less use of things and generating less quantity of wastes. If the usage of raw materials is reduced, the generation of waste also gets reduced. For this, we can develop our habits like using jute and paper bags while buying goods from the market to replace polythene bags, by not cooking more food than our requirement. Similarly, we can buy milk from the dairy in our own pot or utensils rather than using polythene. These are examples of the reduction principle. If the majority people follow this principle, we can preserve the natural resources in one hand and able to control environmental pollution in other hands.
The reduction measures can be summarized in the following points:
Using jute/ fabric bag while going to the market for shopping
– By not cooking food more than our requirements
– Reusing and recycling the inorganic waste.
– Making compost from the organic wastes
– Using our own pots/utensils while buying milk and milk products from dairies.
b. Reuse
The reusable waste materials should be used time and again in order to reduce the generation of wastes. In this method, the same thing can be used time and again in its original form. Without processing glass, beverage bottles, cans, Horlicks bottles can be reused time and again. Rubber rings can be made from discarded cycle tubes and this reduces waste generation during the manufacture of rubber bands. Similarly, the articles like iron rods, buckets, spades, water pipes, etc are kept for sale in the markets reusable articles ( Kawadi Saman). those articles also can be used for domestic purposes. It helps to save our resources and helps for the management of solid wastes.
c. Recycle
Recycling is the reprocessing of discarded materials into new useful products. old aluminum cans and glass bottles are melted and recast into new cans and bottles. In another word, recycle refers to the reuse of things time and again after certain measures of the recycling process. The already used papers, torn out plastics, factories or at home. this method brings the wastes in use frequently. In this way, it helps to reduce the use of raw materials on one hand and the cost of the materials is cheaper in other hands. Ultimately, it helps to keep the environment clean and save resources for future generations.