Humans have always produced trash and have always disposed of it
in some way, so solid waste management is not a new issue. What
has changed are the types and amounts of waste produced, the methods of disposal, and the human values and perceptions of what should be done with it. Solid waste management is the one thing just about every city government provides for its residents. Solid waste management is arguably the most important municipal service and serves as a prerequisite for other municipal action.
Solid wastes have both a direct and an indirect impact on our
environment and welfare. Direct effects include the impact on animal and plant life and the effects on human health and the environment. Indirect impacts are mostly long-term such as climate change and ecosystem contamination that may have a profound impact on some regions in the world, because people in these areas depend on some of the natural systems for survival (Woodwell GM, 1970).
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 RA 9003 describes
solid waste management as a discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid wastes. The manner by which these activities are conducted shall be in accord with the best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, other environmental considerations, and public attitudes. The Act provides for a comprehensive ecological solid waste management program by creating the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, appropriating funds, declaring certain acts prohibited, and providing penalties.
The problem is further aggravated by the lack of financial as well
human resources trained in SWM practices in the sphere of collection, transportation, processing and final disposal. Whereas aspects like recycle, reuse and recovery of the solid waste is grossly demand and supply driven or disorganized in most cases. In this scenario, the responsible persons or agencies concerned with the public health and environment protection face the crisis of ineffective MSWM. The waste generated in the developing countries is similar in composition, the variation between regions being dictated by the climatic, cultural, and industrial, infrastructural and legal factors.
In the past, refuse was typically discarded in the most convenient
manner possible with little regard to its effects on human health or the environment. Before modern notions of hygiene developed, city streets were typically open sewers that bred diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Even until the middle of the twentieth century, household trash was commonly disposed of and burned in open dumps that were neighborhood eyesores, emitted offensive odors, and attracted rats and other vermin. Chemical wastes were often haphazardly stored in on-site industrial piles or treatment ponds. Particularly noxious waste might be buried, but few controls existed to keep the toxic substances in them from seeping into nearby surface water or contaminating groundwater.
Over the past few decades, humans have become increasingly
concerned about not only the management and disposal of waste but also the difficulty of balancing the benefits of a healthy environment with the economic costs of achieving those benefits. Conflict often arises over what disposal methods should be used, whether costs of certain disposal methods outweigh benefits (or vice versa), and who should bear the economic burden. Many factors must be considered when discussing the topic of waste management: Economic, political, environmental, personal, and ethical issues all play major roles in the decision-making process. The growth of population and rising standards of living means that the consumption of goods and energy is increasing. On the one hand, consumption leads to an increase in the generation of waste. On the other hand, the correlation between increased wealth and increased energy consumption is very strong as well.
The municipal solid waste (MSW) is defined as all waste generated
within the municipalities (cities and villages) by the activities of its inhabitants (households) and businesses (e.g. trade waste), which is separated into its components and transported to waste treatment facilities, where it is recovered or disposed.
An overview of various aspects of the municipal solid waste (MSW)
is provided comprising all domestic and non- hazardous wastes in the rural areas of the above countries with emphasis on the generation and composition of MSW, management needs, collection systems practiced, transportation and disposal systems used.
Solid waste management (SWM) is an integral part of the rural
environment and planning of the rural infrastructure to ensure a safe and healthy human environment while considering the promotion of sustainable economic growth.