Table Of Contents

Waste Management Services

A waste collection service refers to the collection and transportation of waste from the point of use to a licensed dumping structure where it can be treated or recycled by municipal services or similar organisations. It can also be defined as a collection service from the point of use to a designated area for it to be treated by public or private firms that specialise in waste management processes.

Enterprises or the general government can also do waste collection services. Therefore, this service is a waste management process that could either be selective or non-selective. Waste collection services are carried out for a specific type of product or undifferentiated products, but they enclose all kinds of waste simultaneously.

In this article, we will discuss waste management collection services in detail. Read on.

Are Waste Collection Services Free?

The simple answer is no. The estimated costs of waste disposal and collection services may range between $65 and $150 per tonne of waste in municipal areas and between $64.24 and $146.36 per tonne in rural areas. These prices are dependent on the management plans. However, recycling bin services delivered to the public are generally free. Still, social amenity centres or recycling centres could bill individuals for specific items or large recycling quantities.

Classification Of Waste

Waste, also known as garbage, is any material unwanted in the environment or that may not be reused. It mainly consists of solid waste materials in the form of household, municipal, or industrial waste products and could be biodegradable or non-biodegradable.

Waste is classified into different categories, including industrial waste, domestic waste, commercial waste, liquid waste, agricultural waste, solid waste, green waste, hazardous waste, municipal solid waste, awkward waste, construction and demolition waste, etc.

Solid Waste Disposal And Management

Solid waste refers to any unwanted solid materials that cannot be reused or repurposed. Commonly, solid waste comes from household, commercial, agricultural, industrial, residential, or municipal activities. Solid waste management consists of several methods and processes to keep the environment clean and maintain balanced energy levels.

The categories of solid waste materials are; paper, plastic, glass, metal, and organic waste materials. This categorisation is based solely on the way they are disposed of. For the environment to be kept clean and stable without unpleasant odours and awful smells, solid waste must be strategically and systematically managed, collected, and treated. Therefore, the different categories of solid waste must be collected separately and in distinct bins to avoid mix-ups.

Solid waste disposal and management services are essential parts of the environment. Therefore, you must observe proper solid waste disposal and management practices to maintain perfect environmental hygiene. Solid waste management should be integrated into environmental planning.

Waste Collection Methods

Waste collection methods refer to the processes of collecting and treating solid waste. Recyclable solid waste is changed into valuable products in waste collection processes, which provides solutions for items that are not disposed of. In contrast, waste facilities cannot recycle solid waste, which is collected and treated appropriately by various methods.

When solid waste is not disposed of properly, it could lead to environmental hazards. It could also present a large variety of financial, managerial, and municipal problems that could alter the state of the environment and, hence, must be solved. Inappropriate dumping of municipal solid waste could cause diseases and several other health conditions that could, in turn, lead to life-threatening issues and deterioration.

Infections could also be spread by animals, such as rodents and insects that rummage through garbage. This is to say that the responsibilities of solid waste disposal management providers are complex, specialised challenges.

Solid Waste Disposal And Management Methods

Below are the methods by which solid waste is disposed of and managed:

• Solid waste sanitary landfills method

• Incineration method

• Composting method

• Disposal by ploughing into the fields

• Fermentation or biological digestion method

• Disposal by burning

• Salvaging method

Solid waste sanitary landfills

This method of solid waste disposal and management involves dumping the garbage in the Earth's crust, followed by the mechanical covering of the Earth by layers of levelled and compacted sanitary landfills. The process is easy, perfect, and beneficial. In these solid waste and sanitary landfills, earth layers are reduced using labour-saving devices to between 3 m and 5 m.

A portion of the Earth is removed and covered up for microbial activities to occur. Microorganisms work on the garbage and act on the organic matter in a degradative process. In this method, the depth is commonly restricted to approximately 3 m. Facultative microorganism bacteria break down the complex organic matter of these wastes into simpler water-soluble organic matter.

Incineration method

This method is adequate for combustible trash. Although it involves high operating expenses and structure costs, it is the most suitable for highly populated cities where the landfilling method of waste disposal and management is not readily available.

Composting method

This solid waste disposal and management method is synonymous with the sanitary landfilling process. It is the most widely used solid waste management method in developing countries. In this method, organic matter that can be decomposed is split from waste that cannot be decomposed and separately composted. Composting is a method that kills two birds with one stone as waste is safely disposed of and makes agricultural soil more fertile.

Disposal by ploughing into the field

The use of organic waste in agricultural fields has many advantages. Farmers have utilised this phenomenon to improve soil fertility since ancient times. Animal dung waste is added to the area, tilled, and thoroughly combined with soil. It eventually merges with the Earth and supplies vital nutrients needed for crop growth.

However, this method is uncommon for non-organic waste because it is not environmentally friendly. Ploughing hazardous wastes could lead to the contamination of the land, air, and water and negatively affect human health and wellness.

Biological digestion or fermentation

In this method of solid waste management, biodegradable waste is recycled into compost. This process of recycling can be done at any time. In this method, the waste could either be disposed of by aerobic or anaerobic fermentation.

Incineration of solid waste

With incineration, garbage is added to a suitably prepared heater under tightly controlled conditions. The portion of the trash that waste facilities can burn combines with oxygen to produce, for the most part, carbon dioxide, heat, and water vapour. Unfortunately, this method causes environmental pollution. Therefore, it is not often the most advisable in highly populated areas or residential areas.

Salvaging method

Salvaging is a method of waste management that involves recycling, reusing, and recouping solid waste materials, which include metal, paper, glass, rags and other specific types of plastic and so on can be recouped, recycled, and reused.

Salvaging is a cutting-edge solid waste management method that involves the observational collecting of recyclable solid waste. Any material that has been salvaged needs to be handled carefully and separated from the surrounding items.

Following different phases of recycling, the salvaged material is eventually reused.

Types Of Recycling Bins

In many parts of the world, and for many reasons, several people acknowledge the need for a waste and recycling bin. Recycle bins are containers that are used to hold trash or medium-sized drums that are generally used to keep recyclable garbage. They hold recyclable waste temporarily until it is ready to be recycled and before the recycling company comes to have the bin collected.

Recycle bins are essentially big containers usually found outside the home, in the streets, parks, schools, churches, mosques, stores, etc., to temporarily hold garbage collected for recycling.

Blue bin

The blue bin is very common. It is a type of recycling bin. The colour of a recycling bin indicates the kind of trash that must be deposited into it. The blue bin, for example, houses all paper garbage materials such as office paper, cardboard, and several other types of paper materials. This is because the colour blue symbolises the act of protecting the trees and ecosystem, especially wildlife and nature.

White bin

The white recycling bin is a waste collection device for soft plastic garbage. The white recycling bin collects soft plastic trash with coatings around it. Such plastic materials made with coatings or those with a thin line of coatings are deposited into the white plastic bin. You can also use the white recycling bin to collect plastic bags, biscuit packets, wraps, etc.

Green bin

The green recycling bins are used to collect various organic materials that are non-biodegradable. The process of organic material collection is an essential part of the community. Non-biodegradable organic materials are collected to keep the environment stable and reserved. This act is significant to the surroundings. Several biodegradable organic matters can be reused and recycled if collected appropriately.

Yellow bin

The yellow recycling bin is used to collect waste materials that are made of glass and metallic materials. The yellow bin is an all-inclusive waste collection device.

Red bin

The red bin is a recycling bin that's used to collect waste material from solid waste landfill trash. Materials that can be deposited into the red recycling bin are polystyrene, moist tapes, clutch wrap, glossed wrappers, etc.

What Are Waste Collectors Called?

They are called garbage collectors, and rash trucks, also known as garbage trucks, are used to pick up your garbage and transfer it to either a transfer station or a landfill.

How is waste collected and transported?

The waste collection practices keep the neighbourhood clean and the children healthy. Waste is gathered from the point of production, such as homes, offices, schools, industries, commercial areas, etc., to where it'll be treated and disposed of.

Waste transportation processes differ based on the types of waste materials to be collected, the area in which the waste materials are located, the distance between the area of collection and transportation region, and the distance to the waste processing or disposal location.

Waste is collected and transported by trash trucks, wheelbarrows, hand-in sacks, trailers, handcarts, bicycles, animal-drawn carts, motorised vehicles, hauliers, etc.

How often should waste be collected?

Two collections per week are usually the benchmark for waste collection in the neighbourhood. This should be done twice weekly to avoid pest infestation and the spread of airborne disease-carrying microorganisms. However, waste collectors must collect waste every day in market areas.

Waste Collection Schedule

The waste collection schedule largely depends on where you live, but trash is generally collected every week, Monday through Friday, from around 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Before your area's designated trash collection time and date, you must put out your trash bin to ensure the garbage collectors pick them up at the right time.

You need to contribute to the cleanliness and hygiene of your environment by observing the waste collection schedules. Moreover, always bag or wrap all open garbage material before putting them in your trash recycling bin. Determining an optimal collection path is a tricky challenge, particularly in large and densely populated cities.

An optimal route is defined as a route that brings about the most profitable use of labour and equipment. In some cases, selecting such an optimal route needs practical computer analyses. Many variables, including regularity of collection, haulage period, holidays, category of service, weather conditions, etc., affect the waste collection schedule.

The Purpose Of Waste Management

Waste management is a significant component of environmental safety. Waste management aims to provide a hygienic, profitable, and financial means for solid waste storage, gathering, transportation, and handling or treatment of garbage, without contaminating the environment, Earth, or vapour system. Basically, waste management methods provide a system of a planned strategy directed at effectively managing the generation, disposal, treatment, and transportation of waste.

Benefits Of Waste Collection Services

• Make the environment free of disease-causing microorganisms

• Make the environment clean and fresh

• It helps to conserve the Earth's energy

• Reduces environmental pollution

• Significantly lessens all types of waste materials in the environment

• The practice of waste management is highly lucrative

• Create employment opportunities

• Recycled products are eco-friendly

Disadvantages Of Waste Collection Services

• Effective waste collection services need a lot of money to start and effectively implement

• Recycled products do not have durable quality. Consequently, they have a short life span.

• Waste management recycling sites are dangerous places to be

• The process of waste management is not consistent

The Process Of Waste Collection Services

Reduction

Reuse

Recycling

This hierarchical process of waste collection services has 3Rs, which include waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. The hierarchical process of waste collection services has to do with the most preferable of the three methods according to a pyramid. In the hierarchy of waste management services, waste reduction, the process of minimisation of waste materials generated at home or in the industries, tops the pyramid, and it is the most preferred of these processes.

Hence, waste reduction is the bedrock of all waste management techniques and methods of waste management services. The waste reduction technique uses the fundamental precept that you should use all the generated trash to the utmost, and only a minimal amount of waste should be generated.

This tiniest amount of generated waste should, in turn, be used carefully to make other viable products through proper and complete recycling methods. If they cannot be recycled and reused, they must be appropriately disposed of in an eco-friendly manner or be used to obtain biofuel.

Waste Management Is Everyone's Responsibility

It is important to properly collect and transport solid-waste materials, whether green waste or e-waste, for you to maintain a healthy environment, protect public health and safety, and improve environmental quality. Waste collection is a labour-intensive activity that makes up roughly three-quarters of the entire cost of solid-waste management.

Those who are often charged with the responsibility of waste collection, treatment, and transportation are public employees working in tandem with local law. Still, sometimes private bodies also take part in this responsibility because it could be more cost-effective for private sectors to take this approach and for them to be paid by individuals, homeowners, or businesses that generate waste daily.

Garbage collection usually happens at least once a week because food waste rapidly decomposes and needs immediate attention to avoid disease spread. In some areas, homeowners and companies distinguish between waste that you can recycle and waste that cannot be recycled and put them in separate recycling bins for waste collection services.

That said, all you need to do is play your part in waste management by properly disposing of your garbage for collection. The most straightforward way to do this is to employ a reputable waste collection service or skip bin company, as they are familiar with the ins and outs of waste collection.