Conversion of Waste Into Different By-Products of Economic Value in India

The management of solid waste has become a major problem even in rural areas of India, due to shrinkage of agricultural land and depletion of forest areas. During the recent past, people in rural areas were decomposing the waste, and finally, it was used as a manure in their agricultural areas. However, the trend is completely changing the Indian scenario of converting the backyard waste into manure. Now with the help of scientific knowledge, the waste is utilized as an energy resource, and waste from the rural areas is considered a raw material for this process. Different technologies in India are available to convert waste into energy apart from the technologies that have impact on the environment.

Generation and Management of Biomedical Waste

Biomedical wastes (BMWs) are generated by the treatment of living organism as well as during research activities. With the increase of population in developing countries, generation of BMWs is increasing, but with inappropriate disposal management technologies. BMWs pose threats to the humans and also degrade the quality of environment. Handling of the BMWs by inexperienced and untrained staff increases the risk of accumulation of waste at the source as well as increases the chances of the spread of the dreadful diseases. The implementation of BMWs regulations is inadequate and unsatisfactory in developing countries: a major concern. Safe and reliable methods for management of BMWs are of utmost importance. The proper management of BMWs can be helpful in maintaining the overall quality of the environment. In order to get good results, the need is to increase the involvement of the ecofriendly techniques as well as increase awareness among the citizens, staff, and the workers directly involved in the management of the BMWs.

Biodegradable Waste a Nutrient Asset for Upholding Soil Health and Crop Production

Management of solid wastes is a grave concern because of its associated significant negative impacts on quality of the environs. Accretion and putrefaction of solid wastes have potent hazardous effects on biotic and abiotic factors of the environment including human beings. Unmanaged solid wastes especially organic in nature add efficient quantity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For dealing with wastes purely organic in nature, there is a need of an adequate waste management technology to reduce the quantity of organic waste being disposed of traditionally. Composting is an environmentally sound and sustainable approach to manage biodegradable fractions of solid waste. It has received considerable attention in the last few decades because of its potential of redressing the environmental pollution concerns associated with other waste disposal methods. This chapter is aimed to review supremacy of composting over other waste disposal methods.

Impacts of Food Industrial Wastes on Soil and Its Utilization as Novel Approach for Value Addition

Among the various agro-industries, food processing industries are the second prime generator of wastes after domestic sewage. In the current epoch of the rapid budding world, the wastes are mounting, which robustly sway the health of ecosystems and eventually the human population. For that reason, each agro-industrial sector has critical stipulation toward the secure utilization of agro-materials all the way through recycling of wastes. A crude disposal and littering of these waste materials frequently signifies a problem that is additionally provoked by different legal restrictions. Inadequate management of these solid waste constituents could lead to drastic change in physico-chemical properties of soils. The waste product, which is discarded into the environment, is loaded with valuable compounds. They are new, innate, and monetary sources of colorants, protein, dietary fiber, flavoring, antimicrobials, and antioxidants, which can be utilized in the food industry as a basis of natural food additives.

Recovery and Regeneration of Energy From Wastes

Management of domestic and industrial wastes is of great concern to all sections of society. Huge quantities of solid wastes are generated from cities, industries, agricultural activities, markets, and hotels on a daily basis. Inadequate management of these wastes poses a serious risk to environment. Generation of energy from these wastes could be helpful for proper management of waste. Recovery and generation of energy from wastes isn't only of economic importance but also could be a boon for conserving natural resources.

Zero Waste

Zero waste management means the holistic concept of waste management which recognizes waste as a resource produced during the interim phase of the process of resource consumption. Zero waste strategies may be applied to companies, to communities, industrial sectors, to schools, and homes since they include many stakeholders, not only those of the environment, but also technological aspects. Sustainability is also strongly supported by environmental protection, cost reduction, and additional jobs when it comes to waste management and handling back into the industrial cycle. Lowering global resource requirements force us to consider resource management and product management. The management of zero waste is therefore a holistic view of the sustainable avoidance and management of waste and resources. Although there are many null practice approaches and null waste approaches in the modern world, zero waste is a very complex system, and in the future, there are still many works.

Electronic Waste

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the swift waste streams and comprises of end of life electronic products. The Western countries as alternative destinations for disposal ship the wastes to underdeveloped and developing countries where labor cost is reasonably meager and environmental laws are feebly implemented. When not recycled, the e-waste is either incinerated or landfilled. These methods involve not only wasting valuable metals but also creating potential risk for the environment. These substances are detrimental to nervous system, kidneys, bones, reproductive system, and endocrine system, and some of them are even carcinogenic and neurotoxic. Thus, extensive research is needed to evolve sophisticated technology which may help to curb environmental pollution and contribute towards sustainable development in terms of recycling of precious metals.

White Pollution

Plastic derived from the petrochemical industry with a high molecular weight constitutes about 9-13% of total solid waste. Since the industrial revolution, the use of plastic has increased manifold without improving its adequate management as a waste. Most of the plastic waste produced in the world is mainly from packaging industry followed by building and construction. Plastic is a non-degradable deadly pollutant to degrade environmental quality and are known to remain in water and soil for years without making any change in their structure. Due to enormous generation, open burning of plastic is also preferred due to the lack of resource in the developing countries thus releasing toxic gases thereby causing air pollution. Plastic disturbs the balance of the environment by acting as physical barrier leading to the drainage of the drains, degrading soil properties, and are often ingested by the organisms ultimately leading to their death. Thus, it becomes more important to manage the plastic pollution keeping in view its detrimental impacts on the environment.

Impacts of Hazardous Waste on Soil Health

Soil, a natural medium for plant growth, provides the anchorage to the plants and supplies various nutrients required for the plant growth. It is an important ecosystem that not only provides the shelter to various organisms but also participates directly or indirectly in various biogeochemical cycles. However, in recent years, the earth's soil has been stripped away, rendered sterile, and contaminated with toxic chemicals due to various anthropogenic activities. This increasing wide spread pollution has caused vast areas of land to become non-arable and hazardous for both wildlife and human populations. Unlike many other organic pollutants, which are degraded in the soils, some of the hazardous compounds like heavy metals, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic compounds, and phthalates are of special concern as most of these are conserved. The presence of such compounds in soil ecosystem causes severe toxicity and imbalances in the soil ecosystem as a whole. The chapter focuses on various sources of soil pollutants and the effects of hazardous compounds on soil health.

Social Causatums of Improper Waste Management

A social dilemma is used to chronicle problems with a particular group of people living in that area. It is always the outcome of assorted factors looming beyond the distinctive control and when it comes to waste management, it encompasses all the execution process involved in managing the waste material. This chapter is an attempt to highlight the social problems associated with waste management. People, who are just helpless to place and pay for sanitation and spruceness services, tend to bundle their succulent and solid waste in the open. Open dumps along the roadsides are primarily in practice, which becomes the main reason for blockage of drains, spreading contagious infection, spreading of flies, and stray dog menace. The situation is worse in rural areas where the town area committees are not that active. Adverse breach of calamitous waste casting can be seen everywhere. Due to the influx in the population, the method used is inadequate, undervalued, and paucity of congressional exercises related to waste management are not functioning generously.