Various types of household waste
collection schemes, this is a major challenge in
relation to the proper management of household
waste. In developing countries, it is more common
practice to separate and reuse all valuables from
household waste.
Collection and Transport
Households usually keep waste to be discarded
in designated containers. These may be metal
or plastic dust-bins or plastic and paper bags. In
large buildings and apartment blocks, centralized
containers are sometimes provided into which
occupants place their waste. In most developed
countries, it is usual for household waste to be
collected from premises on a regular basis since
food waste, in particular, decays rapidly.
In cities and urban areas, waste is collected
for disposal in specially designated vehicles
fitted with compaction equipment to increase
the payload, which can be transported, often
over significant distances to sanitary landfill
site. In large conurbations, it has been found
economically viable to transfer the collected waste
to railway containers for transport to a landfill site;
large barges are also used for transport on water.
In some instances, waste is bailed to facilitate
mechanical handling.
Recovery Operations
The next important principle in respect of
waste avoidance and minimization is recovery
of recyclable components to the greatest
possible extent. In many industrialized countries,
sophisticated recovery programmes have been
introduced for household waste. Nevertheless,
too many valuable resources are still lost
from inadequate separation, collection and recovery
systems, most often due to the unsustainable
market for several recovered waste materials.
In some developing countries, components of
waste streams are usually segregated and used.
Combustibles may be used as fuel either as such,
or after densification. Paper may be used in smallscale paper/cardboard making and plastic wastes
can also be reused in applications not requiring
high quality and clean material.
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