Solid Waste

Ø Consists of all the unwanted undesired materials thrown into the dustbin

Ø It may be composed of biodegradable or non-biodegradable wastes.

Ø Open dumps used for disposing solid waste serves as breeding ground for rats and flies. Therefore, sanitary landfills are used as a substitute for these.

Ø Biodegradable wastes can be either aerobically on anaerobically broken down using microbes. The non-biodegradable waste can be recycled, reused, or dumped in landfills.

Ø Hospital wastes also contain hazardous materials, which have to be disposed properly. Hospital wastes are generally incinerated.

Ø Irreparable computers and other electronic goods make up e-wastes, which are either dumped in land fills or are incinerated. E-waste can be recycled also to recover metals such as copper, iron, silicon, gold, etc.

Ø To use the plastic waste in an efficient way, polyblend, a fine powder of recycled modified plastic, has been developed. When polyblend is mixed with bitumen, it can be used to lay roads with greater water repellent capacity and greater life.

Case Study of Remedy for Plastic Waste

A plastic sack manufacturer in Bangalore has managed to find the ideal solution to the ever-increasing problem of accumulating plastic waste. Ahmed Khan, aged 57 years old, has been producing plastic sacks for 20 years. About 8 years ago, he realised that plastic waste was a real problem. Polyblend, a fine powder of recycled modified plastic, was developed then by his company. This mixture is mixed with the bitumen that is used to lay roads.

In collaboration with R.V.College of Engineering and the Bangalore City Corporation, Ahmed Khan proved that blends of Polyblend and bitumen, when used to lay roads, enhanced the bitumen’s water repellant properties, and helped to increase road life by a factor of three. The raw material for creating Polyblend is any plastic film waste. So, against the price of Rs. 0.40 per kg that rag pickers had been getting for plastic waste, Khan now offers Rs.6. Using Khan’s technique, by the year 2002, more than 40 kms of road in Bangalore has already been laid. At this rate, Khan will soon be running short of plastic waste in Bangalore, to produce Polyblend. Thanks to innovations like Polyblend, we might still avoid being smothered by plastic waste.