2
C. Sai Kalyani Yogini et al.
urban areas with high amount generated from later areas due to industrialization. One
of the main causes of huge waste generated in our country may be attributed to the
population explosion, change in the lifestyle, and lack of general awareness about the
sustainable waste management. The huge waste generated is a global concern as it
affects the environment by polluting the air, water, and soil. The general perception of
waste is something which may not be required any further. However, waste can be any
inorganic or organic material which can be converted to useful material with scientific
approaches without harming the environment. The way the waste is handled, stored,
or disposed may pose environmental as well as public health risk (Zhu et al. 2008).
The municipal corporation/councils hold the primary responsibility of managing
the waste. Additionally, due to public awareness, many non-governmental organizations and private companies are also playing crucial roles in helping and developing
strategies for effective management of waste. No doubt the current practice has made
an attempt to manage the waste to a certain extent; however, these practices do not
seem to be sustainable in the long run with our country moving toward development.
Everyone born on this earth has a right for clean air, water, and food and it is the
responsibility of us to maintain healthy environment for happy living. There is an
immediate requirement to develop and implement strategies to come over the waste
management issues.
Besides the various waste management approaches undertaken by the government and non-governmental organizations adoption of three ‘R’ approach of reduce,
recycle, and reuse would not only help in managing the waste generation but also
use them appropriately thereby reducing the burden of disposal. This paper explains
how the simple reuse, reduce, and recycle (3R) strategies can be used effectively in
sustainable management of waste when used appropriately.
2 Classification of Waste
The prerequisite for the strategy development for the sustainable waste management
is to segregate the waste and assess its impact on human health. The waste can be
classified as solid, liquid, or gaseous based on the physical form. The solid form can be
household, plastic, office, metallic waste, etc. The liquid waste comprises of effluents
from textile, tanneries, distilleries, pharmaceutical industries, etc. The gaseous waste
constitutes the waste from chemical industries, power plants, metallurgies, etc.
Figure 1 shows the classification of waste based on its physical form and its impact
on human health.
Based on the impact on human health, the wastes are classified as nontoxic, toxic,
or pathogenic. Kitchen waste, paper, cotton, fruits, and vegetable peels are considered as nontoxic waste as they do not have much impact on the human health and
they are biodegradable easily. The industrial waste from chemical, pharmaceutical,
metallurgies, nuclear, or electronic comes under the category of toxic or hazardous
waste (Mumford 1973) Appropriate strategies have to be developed for the disposal
C. Sai Kalyani Yogini et al.
urban areas with high amount generated from later areas due to industrialization. One
of the main causes of huge waste generated in our country may be attributed to the
population explosion, change in the lifestyle, and lack of general awareness about the
sustainable waste management. The huge waste generated is a global concern as it
affects the environment by polluting the air, water, and soil. The general perception of
waste is something which may not be required any further. However, waste can be any
inorganic or organic material which can be converted to useful material with scientific
approaches without harming the environment. The way the waste is handled, stored,
or disposed may pose environmental as well as public health risk (Zhu et al. 2008).
The municipal corporation/councils hold the primary responsibility of managing
the waste. Additionally, due to public awareness, many non-governmental organizations and private companies are also playing crucial roles in helping and developing
strategies for effective management of waste. No doubt the current practice has made
an attempt to manage the waste to a certain extent; however, these practices do not
seem to be sustainable in the long run with our country moving toward development.
Everyone born on this earth has a right for clean air, water, and food and it is the
responsibility of us to maintain healthy environment for happy living. There is an
immediate requirement to develop and implement strategies to come over the waste
management issues.
Besides the various waste management approaches undertaken by the government and non-governmental organizations adoption of three ‘R’ approach of reduce,
recycle, and reuse would not only help in managing the waste generation but also
use them appropriately thereby reducing the burden of disposal. This paper explains
how the simple reuse, reduce, and recycle (3R) strategies can be used effectively in
sustainable management of waste when used appropriately.
2 Classification of Waste
The prerequisite for the strategy development for the sustainable waste management
is to segregate the waste and assess its impact on human health. The waste can be
classified as solid, liquid, or gaseous based on the physical form. The solid form can be
household, plastic, office, metallic waste, etc. The liquid waste comprises of effluents
from textile, tanneries, distilleries, pharmaceutical industries, etc. The gaseous waste
constitutes the waste from chemical industries, power plants, metallurgies, etc.
Figure 1 shows the classification of waste based on its physical form and its impact
on human health.
Based on the impact on human health, the wastes are classified as nontoxic, toxic,
or pathogenic. Kitchen waste, paper, cotton, fruits, and vegetable peels are considered as nontoxic waste as they do not have much impact on the human health and
they are biodegradable easily. The industrial waste from chemical, pharmaceutical,
metallurgies, nuclear, or electronic comes under the category of toxic or hazardous
waste (Mumford 1973) Appropriate strategies have to be developed for the disposal