WASTE MINIMIZATION

TECHNIQUES

WHAT IS WASTE ?
unwanted or useless solid materials generated

from combined residential, industrial and

commercial activities in a given area

WHAT IS MINIMIZATION ?
the act ofloweringsomething to

itssmallestvalue or extent.

WASTE MINIMIZATION
refers to the use of source reduction and/or

environmentally sound recycling methods prior to energy

recovery, treatment, or disposal of wastes.

Waste minimization does not include waste treatment,

that is, any process designed to change the physical,

chemical, or biological composition of waste streams. For
example, compacting, neutralizing, diluting, and
incineration are not typically considered waste
minimization practices. EPA's preferred hierarchical
approach to materials management includes source
reduction, recycling, energy recovery, treatment, and
finally, disposal.
-from The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

In contrast, the United Nations Environmental Programme

(UNEP) uses
the following definition:
Waste minimization refers to strategies that are aiming to
prevent waste through upstream interventions. On the production side,
these strategies are focusing on optimizing resource and energy use and
lowering toxicity levels during manufacture. Strategies that are considered
to minimize waste and thus improve resource efficiency in or even before
the manufacturing process are, for example, product design, cleaner
production, reuse of scrap material, improved quality control, waste
exchanges, etc. On the consumption side, waste minimization strategies
aim to strengthen awareness and prompt environmentally conscious
consumption patterns and consumer responsibility to reduce the overall
levels of waste generation.

all definitions emphasize the importance of avoiding the

creation of waste rather than focusing on the
management of residuals after they are generated

Reasons of waste minimization:

1.

Energy requirement
- rises exponentially with increasing waste

2.

Reduce total cost

- for collection, segregation, intermediate storage,
transport, treatment and final storage

3.

Profitability
- waste = inefficiency
- reduce waste = efficiency & profitability

WASTE MINIMIZATION
TECHNIQUES

AVOID
Disposal of an item must
be considered before you
purchase it.
The most easier method of
waste management is to
reduce creation of waste
materials thereby reducing
the amount of waste going
to landfills. Waste
reduction can be done
through recycling old
materials like jar, bags,
repairing broken items
instead of buying new one,

REDUCE
Source Reduction of waste Stopping
waste before it starts way to
enhance environmental cleanliness
Source reduction, also known as
waste prevention or pollution
prevention, is the elimination of waste
before it is created. Source reduction
is decreasing the amount of materials
or energy used during the
manufacturing or distribution of
products and packages.Source
reduction means stopping waste

TWO TYPES
Good Housekeeping
Process Change

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING - Systems

to prevent leakages & spillages
through preventive maintenance
schedules and routine
equipment inspections. Also,
well-written working
instructions, supervision,
awareness and regular training
of workforce would facilitate

Process Change - 3 techniques

for production process
modification:
a) operation and maintenance procedures
b) material change
c) equipment modifications

a) operation and maintenance procedures

corrective and preventive maintenance can reduce waste generation
caused by equipment failure.
can help spot potential sources of release and correct a problem before
any material is lost.
b) material change
-the replacement of materials used in either a product formulation or in a
production process, can either result in elimination of a hazardous waste or
facilitate recovery of a material.
-Example: In pharmaceutical company replace solvent based tablet coating
process with a water based process
C) EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS
installation of more efficient equipment or modification of equipment can

reduce the generation of waste.

- installation of completely new equipment may be involved.

REUSE
2nd hand goods, refillable
containers, choose pre-loved
items. Repair an item and
extend its life. Make an old
item into something useful in a
new way.

EXAMPLE

Reuse of bulbs
Plastic bottles (with LED lights)
repurposed as a chandelier
during Ramadan in the Muslim
Quarter, Jerusalem

RECYCLE
Recycling is the process of
converting waste products into
new products to prevent energy
usage and consumption of fresh
raw materials.
Recycling is the third component
of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
waste hierarchy.
The idea behind recycling is to
reduce energy usage, reduce
volume of landfills, reduce air and
water pollution, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and

TWO TYPES:

ON SITE
RECYCLING:-

OFF SITE
RECYCLING

Reuse of wasted materials in

the same process or for
another useful application
within the industry.

Modification of the waste

generation process in order to
transform the wasted material
into a material that can be
reused or recycled for another
application within or outside
the company.

EXAMPLE OF RECYCLING

RECOVE
R
Resource recovery is the process of
taking useful discarded items for a
specific next use. These discarded
items are then processed to extract
or recover materials and resources
or convert them to energy in the
form of useable heat, electricity or
fuel.

TWO TYPES:

- on-site
- off-site
On-site Recovery
- reduce possible handling losses and allow the management of
the waste to remain within the compass of the producer.
Recovered material can be reused as raw material
Example: in printing industry, use vapor recovery system to
recover solvents
Off-site Recovery
- if on-site recovery is not feasible, for economic or other reasons,
off-site recovery should be considered.
- Waste may be transferred to other company for use as a raw
material in the other companys manufacturing process.
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TREATME
NT
Waste is treated prior to
disposal to reduce its
hazardous nature (e.g. clinical
wastes, regulated wastes,
organic wastes)

TYPES:

CHEMICAL

Lowers the toxicity of a

hazardous wastes by changing
its chemical nature

BIOLOGICAL

form of disposal in which the

final state of the wastes is
mediated by microbial
intervention

 PHYSICAL

Used to remove or separate

and concentrate hazardous
and toxic materials;
commonly used

DISPOSA
L
For those things that cannot be
reduces, reused or recycled,
they are disposed responsibly

BENEFITS

Efficient production practices.

Economic returns.
Cost savings that go directly to the bottom line (reduced raw

material consumption, reduced waste disposal cost savings

due to reduced volumes and recovered value of wastes);
Quality of products produced.
Development of new and more sustainable processes

Environmental responsibility
Reduced impact on the environment

 WHILE THERE MAY BE CURRENT BARRIERS,

INCLUDING SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, OR
ECONOMIC, TO ZERO-WASTE DESIGN, IT IS
IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE CONCEPT OF WASTE
IS HUMAN. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS NOTHING
INHERENT ABOUT MATERIALS, ENERGY, SPACE OR
TIME THAT MAKES IT WASTE. IT IS WASTE ONLY
BECAUSE NO ONE HAS YET IMAGINED OR
IMPLEMENTED A DEFINED USE FOR IT.
-Environmental Engineering. Mihelcic, James. R.-

Thank u

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