PRODUCTION AND

OPERATION
MANAGEMENT
(03BM0206)
CAPSTONE REPORT ON WASTE
MANAGEMENT
By
Minaz Vhora
INTRODUCTION:
Waste management or Waste disposal is all the activities and actions required to manage waste
from its inception to its final disposal. This includes amongst other things, collection, transport,
treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. It also encompasses the
legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste management encompassing guidance on
recycling etc.

The term normally relates to all kinds of waste, whether generated during the extraction of raw
materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption
of final products, or other human activities, including municipal (residential, institutional,
commercial), agricultural, and social (health care, household hazardous waste, sewage
sludge). Waste management is intended to reduce adverse effects of waste on health,
the environment or aesthetics.

WASTE HIERARCHY:
The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste
management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimization. The waste
hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste
hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the
minimum amount of waste; see: resource recovery.[4] The waste hierarchy is represented as a
pyramid because the basic premise is for policy to take action first and prevent the generation of
waste. The next step or preferred action is to reduce the generation of waste i.e. by re-use. The
next is recycling which would include composting. Following this step is material recovery
and waste-to-energy. Energy can be recovered from processes i.e. landfill and combustion, at this
level of the hierarchy. The final action is disposal, in landfills or through incineration without
energy recovery. This last step is the final resort for waste which has not been prevented, diverted
or recovered. The waste hierarchy represents the progression of a product or material through the
sequential stages of the pyramid of waste management. The hierarchy represents the latter parts
of the life-cycle for each product.

LIFE-CYCLE OF A PRODUCT:
The life-cycle begins with design, then proceeds through manufacture, distribution, use and then
follows through the waste hierarchy's stages of reduce, reuse and recycle. Each of the above
stages of the life-cycle offers opportunities for policy intervention, to rethink the need for the
product, to redesign to minimize waste potential, to extend its use. The key behind the life-cycle
of a product is to optimize the use of the world's limited resources by avoiding the unnecessary
generation of waste.

PRACTICAL SCENARIO:
Since I am living near to air-port area, I have made a report on waste management on near to
Railway tracks sides/walls. We are facing a serious problem of cleaning and disposal of garbage
in our Society. The below pictures may illustrate the situation better:
1. Garbage near Airport Area Railway Tracks
2. Garbage near Amrapali Area Railway Tracks:
SOLUTION:
Above Photographs are enough to show the problem of Disposing Garbage in Airport and
Amrapali Area. There is actually need of SELF-INITIATIVE to make India Clean. If being a
person, we start inculcating habits of reducing waste than India will automatically become
Hygiene and Clean. It would be real Solution.

REMOVE:
When I observed the above garbage near to Railway Lines or on the sides of Railway Tracks, I
felt that Rajkot Railway Department is not active in notifying the RMC on Peoples Activity of
Throwing Garbage. The Land is owned by Railway so Ultimately its responsibility to get the
GARBAGE REMOVED from it.

REDUCE:
Want to help the environment? The most effective way is to reduce your waste before it becomes
rubbish become informed about the environmental impacts of products. If not satisfied, search
for better alternatives
-Bulk buy when possible, but don't buy more than can be used
-Choose products with less packaging
-Choose products with recyclable or reusable packaging
-Carry reusable shopping bags or boxes
-Say 'no' to unnecessary plastic bags and other packaging
-Re-use plastic bags and all types of containers over and over again
-Buy quality goods that will last
-Encourage manufacturers to play their part.
Reducing waste also means saving resources. Energy Information Centres can give information
on reducing energy consumption in the home by switching to high-efficiency fluorescent light
bulbs, using cold water for washing, and cooking efficiently.
Large amounts of water can be saved at home by fixing leaking taps, using dual-flush toilets,
running washing machines and dishwashers only when full, turning the tap off while cleaning
teeth, and using a control nozzle on the hose when washing the car or the dog. Design gardens to
be water-efficient

REUSE:
Look for products in reusable, refillable or recyclable packaging when shopping.
Donate unwanted clothing, furniture and white goods to charities.
Enquire if goods can be repaired rather than replaced.
Hold a garage sale.
Use rechargeable batteries rather than single-use batteries and ask the local council about how to
dispose of batteries properly.
Use retreaded tires if they are appropriate.
Use glass bottles and jars, plastic bags, aluminum foil and take away food containers over and
over again before recycling or disposing of them.
Carry lunches in a reusable container rather than disposable wrappings.
Re-use envelopes and use both sides of paper.

RECYCLE:
Recycling recovers materials used in the home or in industry for further uses. Only recycle after
trying to reduce and reuse.

Why recycle?
Recycling has environmental, economic and social advantages.

Recycling generates civic pride and environmental awareness

Recycling helps prevent environmental pollution
Recycling saves natural resources
Recycling conserves raw materials used in industry
Making products from recycled ingredients often uses much less energy than producing the same
product from raw materials
Recycling reduces the amount of material dumped in landfill sites
Goods are used productively and prevented from becoming litter and garbage.
How do I recycle?
Recycling is easy. First, call the local council to find out what recycling facilities exist locally.
There may be a curbside collection system, or a community drop-off system. Kerbside collection
of recyclables involves placing recyclables out on the footpath for collection on a set day-just
like a normal garbage collection.
Council will provide a recycling container and will details what can and cannot be included for
collection. The usual items include all glass jars and bottles, aluminum and steel cans, PET
plastic soft drink bottles and HDPE plastic milk and detergent bottles. It may also be possible to
include paper, light cardboard, newspapers and 'junk' mail, and milk and fruit juice cartons.

Community drop-off centers require a little more effort. Store recyclables at home and then take
them to the drop-off center. Remember to take boxes and bags home from the drop-off center to
prevent litter, and do not mix any non-recyclables with the

RECOVER:
Includes any technique or method of minimizing the input of energy to an overall system by the
exchange of energy from one sub-system of the overall system with another.
The energy can be in any form in either subsystem, but most energy recovery systems exchange
thermal energy in either sensible or latent form

TREAT:
The following are different forms of solid waste treatment technologies and facilities employed
in waste management infrastructure.

Composting

Incineration

Landfill

Recycling

Windrow composting

DISPOSE:

Incineration/Combustion
Incineration or combustion is a type disposal method in which municipal solid wastes are burned
at high temperatures so as as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. The biggest
advantage of this type of method is that it can reduce the volume of solid waste to 20 to 30
percent of the original volume, decreases the space they take up and reduce the stress
on landfills. This process is also known as thermal treatment where solid waste materials are
converted by Incinerators into heat, gas, steam and ash. Incineration is something that is very in
countries where landfill space is no longer available, which includes Japan.

Plasma gasification

Plasma gasification is another form of waste management. Plasma is a primarily an electrically

charged or a highly ionized gas. Lighting is one type of plasma which produces temperatures that
exceed 12,600 F. With this method of waste disposal, a vessel uses characteristic plasma torches
operating at +10,000 F which is creating a gasification zone till 3,000 F for the conversion of
solid or liquid wastes into a syngas.

During the treatment solid waste by plasma gasification, the wastes molecular bonds are broken
down as result of the intense heat in the vessels and the elemental components. Thanks to this
process, destruction of waste and dangerous materials is found. This form of waste disposal
provides renewable energy and an assortment of other fantastic benefits.