Every day millions of tons of waste are discarded without any second thought. India alone generates over 62 million tons of municipal solid waste annually out of which only a fraction of waste is segregated and processed properly. Rest gets buried in landfills, clogs drainage systems, litters the environment or pollutes the rivers.
Waste segregation is a crucial part of the waste management system. The extra effort for separating biodegradable, recyclable, and hazardous waste at the household level ensures that the waste is managed effectively. Moreover, it improves resource recovery from waste and reduces the environmental damage caused by the waste.
However, the lack of awareness, limited infrastructure, and inconsistent implementation worsens the situation. Improper waste segregation leads to increased landfill overflow, air pollution from uncontrolled burning, and severe health risks.
But what impact would it have if every household would start sorting waste correctly? To understand better the importance of waste segregation, let’s look at its benefits, challenges, and practical tips to implement in our daily lives.
What is Waste Segregation?
Waste segregation is the term used for sorting and separating waste into different categories based on their composition and how they are to be processed. This is done to ensure each type of waste is handled, treated, and disposed properly. It prevents contamination, improves the recycling efficiency, and reduces the waste from negatively impacting the environment.
Waste is commonly categorized into the following types:
- Biodegradable Waste – Includes waste that decomposes naturally, such as food scraps, vegetable peels, garden waste, and paper.
- Non-Biodegradable Waste – These are opposite to biodegradable waste. Includes materials like plastics, glass, and metals.
- Recyclable Waste – Refers to waste that can be reused after it is processed, such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, newspapers, etc.
- Hazardous Waste – Includes waste that is harmful to the environment and living beings. For example: batteries, chemical solvents, medical waste, and pesticides.
- Wet Waste – Refers to waste with high moisture content, mainly food waste, fruit and vegetable peels, and leftover meals, which are suitable for composting.
- Dry Waste – Opposite of wet waste as it has a low moisture content. For example: plastic, metal, glass, fabric, etc.
- Biomedical Waste – Waste from hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, such as used syringes, bandages, and expired medicines.
- Electronic Waste (E-waste) – Discarded electrical and electronic devices like old phones, laptops, batteries, and circuit boards.
Importance of Waste Segregation for Better Waste Management
Prevents Waste Contamination
When waste is mixed, biodegradable materials like food scraps contaminate the waste that can be reused or recycled. Once these materials get ruined, the only option that remains is to send them to the landfills. So when the waste is segregated at the source it becomes easier and cost-effective for the recycling centers to process it.
Reduces Landfill Overload
Most of the waste that is sent to the landfills is recyclable, reusable or it can be transformed into compost. Waste segregation ensures that the recyclable waste is sent to the recycling centers, biodegradables are sent to the compost bin and hazardous waste gets the standard treatment. This way waste segregation helps in reducing waste in the landfill and also reduces the cost for waste management.
Minimizes Pollution
We often see plastic waste (used for food packaging) clogging the drains, polluting the rivers and littering the environment. If the proper waste segregation had been carried out most of it would have ended up in the recycling centers. Ensuring that it would not pollute the environment. Likewise, hazardous materials, like batteries, e-waste, and medical disposables when handled with specialized treatment. Reduces the pollution it can cause to the environment.
Improves Waste Treatment
Different waste categories require different disposal methods. The waste segregation ensures each waste is treated properly. For example, segregated biodegradable waste is transformed into compost, valuable resources can be recovered from recyclables and hazardous waste is handled carefully.
Reduces Greenhouse Gases
Greenhouse gas is released when biodegradable waste decomposes in landfills without proper aeration. The garbage segregation ensures that this waste goes through composting. To reduce the emission of harmful gases and help combat climate change.
Supports Public Health and Safety
Sanitation workers, waste pickers, and people handling trash often face health risks when the waste is not sorted. Sharp objects, chemicals, and medical waste can cause injuries, infections, or even long-term health problems. Moreover, the communities living close to dump yards face serious health risks. Proper waste segregation ensures the safe disposal of the waste. Thus minimizes the health risks.
Reduce Waste Management Cost
When the waste is sorted properly at the source, it lowers the cost. Because when different categories of waste are mixed, it takes more effort and money to separate. Also, some get contaminated, which can’t be processed further. Proper segregation makes waste management systems more efficient and cost-effective.
Improves Organic Waste Utilization
A good portion of biodegradable waste is sent to landfills, where it should not end. Instead, learn to make compost at home and transform the waste into nutrients for your garden. Or you can set up a biogas plant and harvest natural gas for cooking.
Most Effective Ways to Segregate Waste at Home
Segregating waste at home is a great initiative you can take as an individual. It is a simple task you can perform to sort waste using different colors of dustbins for different types of waste. Or, you can do it without it. Waste Segregation is an effective way to support sustainable waste processing and keep the surroundings clean.
Follow these tips for more effectiveness:
- Start by understanding the importance of waste segregation and the different types of waste that are generated. Includes wet waste, dry waste, recyclable, and hazardous waste.
- Use different dustbins for different waste categories. Use green bin for biodegradable waste, blue bin for recyclables, red for hazardous and yellow for biomedical and sanitary waste.
- The last tip, dispose of this waste as per the regulation set by your local waste management department.
Challenges in Waste Segregation
Waste segregation is important for effective waste management, but several challenges make it difficult to implement consistently.
The lack of awareness among people is a primary challenge. Many people don’t know the concept of waste segregation. They simply put all the different types of waste in the same bin. Unfortunately, all the waste goes to landfills, where it causes infinite damage to the ecosystem.
Now there is another group of people, with the awareness, but they do it inconsistently. They take it as time-consuming or unnecessary. So, it is important to make people aware of the importance of waste segregation.
Some municipal services do not have proper regulations for waste segregation, or maybe they are not strict. Also, the lack of infrastructure contributes more to the problem. Additionally, the lack of coordination between households, and waste collectors, makes the process inefficient and complex.
Lastly, some materials are difficult to classify. This creates confusion and leads to incorrect disposal.
How the Future Looks with Proper Waste Segregation
In the future proper waste segregation will significantly improve the health of the environment and provide better health for everyone. It will help in lowering the problem of increasing landfills, pollution, and proper waste management. Moreover, it will reduce unwanted energy consumption and conserve natural resources.
Air quality will improve because open dumping and burning of waste will decrease with proper waste sorting. Waste segregation will prevent the toxic substances from entering the ecosystem. Additionally, organized waste collection systems will create better working conditions for everyone in the recycling sector. It will create more economic opportunities in the recycling sector.
The streets will become cleaner, and no unwanted waste will be piled up on the roads and public places. The rivers and water bodies will become pollution-free. We’ll only get to see positive changes without any disadvantages. A future with waste segregation is a future with less pollution, a healthy ecosystem, and a more sustainable way of living.
