What major types of waste disposal techniques can you rely on? If you are looking for a reliable means of managing your waste, this piece offers just that.
According to the World Bank’s report, we produce around 2.01 metric tons of municipal solid waste globally annually. In the US alone, residents produce over 292.4 million tons, as per the EPA (the United States Environmental Protection Agency). This translates to around 4.9lbs per person daily.
Proper waste management and disposal is crucial with such enormous amounts of waste. But have you ever thought about how this process takes place? What happens after putting your garbage bins on your pavement?
Also, what are the best waste disposal methods for your waste to ensure the environment’s safety?
Today, we will examine all the different waste disposal and remediation techniques to help you better understand waste management.
Types of Waste
Virtually every human activity brings forth some sort of waste product. In every activity, different types of waste are generated. Waste can be categorized as:
- Municipal waste
- Organic waste
- Medical waste
- Chemical waste
- Hazardous waste
- Radioactive waste
- Industrial waste (non-hazardous)
- Construction waste
- Mining and extraction waste
- Fossil fuel-burning waste
All these types of waste pose different environmental effects and thus must be managed well. Some are pretty destructive and require special handling.
How to Properly Dispose of Waste
In most cases, only professionals in this field know how to properly dispose of waste. For this reason, we’ve developed easy and effective tips to ensure that your waste doesn’t contaminate the environment.
Here are your options:
Hire a Skip
This is among the best types of waste disposal approaches you can take. Here, you’ll save the environment and do it worry-free. A skip company will help you manage your waste professionally.
This method of waste disposal is ideal for both households and commercial settings, helping to reduce illegal dumping. For instance, skip bins can come in handy when working on projects that generate substantial amounts of waste, like renovation or even spring cleanup.
So, why hire a skip?
- It helps to reduce your carbon footprint
- Ensures safety at work
- It saves you time and resources
- It’s safe for you and your health
- Skip bins come in various sizes, ideal for any type or amount of waste
- Skip bin services are easily accessible
The method offers a well-managed waste management system that ensures your waste is discarded properly.
Contact a Waste Disposal Company
Whether it’s residential or commercial waste, hiring a professional trash removal company is an excellent idea. With a reliable garbage service provider, you can rest easy knowing all your trash is handled.
A waste management company offers you various services, from dumpster rentals to trash removal and recycling services. This way, whether you are disposing of commercial, industrial, or residential waste, all your waste disposal needs are sorted.
You only need to pick a bin size and type that fits you. The company delivers it to you, comes for it when full, and does the recycling.
What are the reasons why you should hire a professional waste disposal company?
- They guarantee convenience, ensuring that there’s no garbage build-up in your compound.
- It’s cost-effective
- Eliminates risks, promoting safety and health
This is an ideal alternative to hiring skip bins. The companies have professionals trained to assess your waste situation and offer the best, tailored solution.
For instance, unlike a skip bin, which you might end up not using half of it, the professionals here will advise you accordingly. They will give you a quotation and answer any queries you might have about waste management. You might even notice that a wheelie bin hire fits you better.
This way, you don’t waste resources paying for something you won’t use.
Use Local Authority Regular Waste Disposal Services
If you don’t want to deal with private parties, you can seek waste disposal services from your local authority. Local authorities are tasked with collecting and disposing of household wastes for their communities. Also, if requested, they can effectively handle commercial and industrial types of waste.
Local authorities commonly collect and dispose of household waste, although they might also offer other specific services depending on the communities’ needs. So, if you are more comfortable dealing with the local authorities, it’s still a pretty viable option.
The services they offer include:
- Kerbside/curbside collection of household garbage
- Hard garbage collection
- Collection of garden organic waste
- Recycling various items, including organic garden materials, metals, e-waste, paper, etc.
- Commercial waste collection, if requested
- Community education about waste disposal
- Providing and servicing trash bins in public places.
Generally, local authorities provide and regularly empty garbage bins for household waste. This method of waste disposal guarantees that the waste is well handled, both for your safety and that of the environment.
Through recycling, combustion, or landfill methods, municipal waste disposal services ensure that even the hazardous waste doesn’t become detrimental to the environment.
Composting
If you are dealing with organic waste like the garden, plants, and kitchen remains, compositing is the way to go. The process allows you to convert these wastes into a composite for your growing plants. This means that you not only get rid of your waste but also in a way that’s beneficial to you.
Unlike the other complicated types of waste disposal, composting is pretty simple. In fact, it is the natural biodegradation of organic matter. All you need to do is pile your organic waste into a specific site and let the microbes do the decomposing job for you.
While composting is somewhat slow and can take up considerable space, it’s still one of the most eco-friendly waste disposal methods. For this reason, more and more people are embracing composting for their home waste management.
You can buy composting bins online or at your local hardware shop and make your composting process stress-free. Dump your household organic waste here and wait for it to decompose. Then, use the compost to grow our backyard flowers or indoor plants.
Types of Waste Disposal Bins
Depending on the type of waste, numerous waste disposal bins fit each situation. Whether for home or commercial use, here are some common waste bins available.
Roll-off Containers
These are large waste containers ideal for large projects that produce a lot of waste, such as home remodeling or gutting. Roll-off waste bins are an excellent option for various types of solid waste disposal, such as brick, concrete, wood chips, etc.
They can range from 12 to 22 feet long, 4.5 to 7 feet tall, and stand around 8 feet wide.
Mini Roll-Off Waste Bins
Mini rolls are smaller waste bins ranging from 10 to 12 feet long, 4 to 7 feet high, and around 7 feet wide. They are ideal for smaller projects or minimal amounts of garbage. Due to their size, they fit perfectly for home projects and household waste disposal.
Examples of waste disposal bins include:
- PetFusion Portable Outdoor Waste Can– ideal for pet waste disposal
- Simplehuman 4.5 Liter / 1.2 Trash Can – ideal for bathrooms and small spaces
- FG614400RED Slim Jim Trash Can – ideal for larger amounts of household wastes
See related: 11 Best Products to Help Climate Change to Buy Today
What are the Different Types of Waste Disposal Methods?
When it comes to disposing of waste from our households and businesses, several options are available. Here are the most common types of waste disposal techniques.
Landfills
This is the most common waste disposal method, especially in developing countries. The process involves burying waste materials in the ground. However, before the waste gets into the ground, it’s first treated to eliminate odors and various hazards that might arise from the landfill.
While it might be the most popular, it’s certainly not the most effective or the safest. Firstly, the land for creating these landfills is becoming scarce daily. Also, although they are treated and monitored, these sites still produce dangerous gases like methane and others, which cause contamination in the environment.
Sometimes, landfills’ effects can even become fatal to plants, animals, and humans living nearby. For this reason, more regions are reconsidering landfills as a means of waste disposal.
In fact, more developed countries have developed more effective disposal methods, some of which are environmentally friendly.
Reusing and Recycling
Reusing involves using an item for the same original purpose or a different one (repurposing). Here, the item is not treated or transformed but used as it was.
This process is one of the most eco-friendly waste disposal methods, as it requires no energy, thus saving money and resources. Reusing mainly involves buying second-hand items such as furniture, cars, clothing, etc.
On the other hand, recycling involves using an old item as the raw material for a new one. Here, the waste items are remodeled to form similar or new products. It’s simply converting waste products to new products.
Recyclable materials such as plastic, paper, metal, electronics, and some kinds of glass are crushed and reprocessed into new items. For instance, glass bottles can be reprocessed to create fiberglass. Recycled plastic bottles are also commonly used to make new kitchenware, trash bags, carpeting, and bottles.
The process helps to reduce waste disposal by ensuring useful waste is made into usable items. It also uses less energy than manufacturing new products and reduces air and water pollution.
Incineration
This simply means combustion as a way of disposing of municipal waste. Solid waste is burned at extremely high temperatures, reducing it to ash residues, steam, and gases.
Incineration is a better solid waste disposal method as compared to landfills. It helps reduce the initial waste amount by up to 80%. It requires an even smaller space, thus not straining the environment.
It is among several waste disposal methods gradually replacing landfills, especially in countries like Japan and the US, where space is becoming scarce.
This is among several waste disposal methods that handle hazardous waste. The interaction process is the ultimate answer to the pressing question – Where does the hazardous waste go? Plasma Gasification
This is another effective method of waste disposal. The process involves using plasma in extremely hot temperatures to turn organic matter into synthesis gas (syngas). Plasma is usually a highly ionized gas with temperatures exceeding 12,600 °F.
Primarily, a plasma gasification vessel uses distinctive plasma torches powered by electric arcs at +10,000 °F to convert the waste materials into syngas and slag as the byproduct. The process is widely used commercially and is known to gasify various organic wastes, including refuse from biomass, fuel, hazardous waste, solid hydrocarbons, and industrial waste.
As a result of the high temperatures, the process breaks down the molecular bonds in these wastes, rendering them harmless. Also, the process acts as a renewable energy source and offers several other benefits.
Waste to Energy (WtE)
This waste management process converts waste materials into energy, either heat or electricity.
Waste-to-energy mainly helps turn non-recyclable waste materials into electricity, heat, or fuel through multiple processes. Since the waste can be used multiple times, waste-to-energy qualifies as a renewable energy source.
This process can reduce carbon emissions, offering an alternative to fossil energy sources. If largely embraced, it can also reduce global warming and climate change effects.
Special Waste Disposal
Not all types of waste can be disposed of normally. Some are extremely hazardous and require extra care and caution during disposal to avoid environmental contamination.
For instance, biomedical waste is disposed of through special waste disposal methods. These include even the different types of radioactive waste disposal techniques. This helps to protect the environment against these hazardous elements.
Waste Minimization/Avoidance
What if we can minimize the amount of waste generated from our homes and places of work? Wouldn’t that mean less strain on our waste disposal efforts?
This is the easiest way to create a waste-free environment, but that still proves unachievable. We must recycle, reuse, and embrace practices that ensure minimal waste generation. This way, the landfills can finally breathe easily with less waste.
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