4.Chapter 6.S.St.Waste Management

Chapter 6

Waste Management 

Every time you see a garbage heap you must be wandering where the garbage comes from?  Where does it go?  Most of the garbage that you see around is created by human beings.  Everyday thousands of tonnes of waste is thrown out from our customers.  offices, factories, playgrounds, schools, etc.  The waste material mainly consists of papers, broken glass, metal or plastic goods, vegetable and fruit peels and leftover food.  Animals, like buffaloes, horses, camels and dogs, produce waste around us.  cows, In recent time there has been a steady increase in the amount of garbage due to increase in population, industries, widespread use of polythene bags and packaging.  The garbage has become a hazard for human beings, animals, birds and the environment.  It pollutes the air, the water bodies and the land.  It becomes a breeding ground for germs, mosquitoes, flies and rats that cause diseases like dysentery, typhoid, cholera, plague, etc.  It also causes foul smell.  It is important not to throw waste materials in open areas like outside our house, on the streets, roads, parks, etc.  The two main types of waste materials are A. Biodegradable wastes are dry leaves, vegetable and fruit peels, egg shells, papers and leftover food items.  They can be converted into harmless substances by dumping them in a pit.  The pit is covered with soil and converted into compost.  It can be used as manure.  This will reduce the amount of garbage.  44

Animal and plant waste can be burnt in a furnace to produce biogas that is used as a domestic fuel.  Human and animal waste can be covered with soil in rural areas.  In cities, the toilet waste must be washed down the drains and then to the sewage system, where the solid waste is separated and the water is purified.  Biogas plant B. Non - biodegradable wastes are nails, polythene bags, aluminum foil, pins, glass, rubber, plastic pieces, chemicals and construction waste from buildings, bridges, roads, etc.  Non - biodegradable waste cannot be converted into harmless substances.  But most of it is recyclable.  Recycling means separating usable materials from the waste and converting them into new products.  Paper can be recycled to make newsprint, toilet paper, etc.  Iron, copper, aluminum, plastic and glass can also be recycled and made into useful items.  Recycling protects the environment in the following ways: (a) It reduces the amount of waste.  (b) It conserves our natural resources like timber, water, iron, etc.  (c) It reduces pollution.  (d) It saves energy.  45

Methods of Reducing Waste Some of the methods to reduce waste are 1. Carry a cloth bag in place of plastic bag.  2. Compost bio - degradable material.  3. Use energy - efficient light bulbs.  4.  5.  Adopt the following slogan in everyday life.  Reduce Reuse Recycle Re - think Do You Know?  Raboad se Jugaad is an organization that makes and trains people in creating useful and beautiful items from waste materials.  In 46

Today most cities, towns, villages and countries face the challenge of having a proper system of collecting, separating reusable items and disposing off the waste.  Disposing Waste Materials In earlier times, the population was limited and therefore, the waste was very limited.  It was thrown away in vacant spaces, away from homes, offices and factories.  But now there are hardly any vacant places available due to increase in population and widespread construction.  Hence, the amount of waste is increasing.  It is proving to be a threat to the health of human beings, animals, plants, water bodies and air.  There are different ways disposing of waste.  They are landfills, burning the trash (popular in Japan), recycling and making compost.  But each method has some disadvantages.  The landfills require place.  Once filled, new sites are required.  The waste can be burnt but it pollutes the air and harms the surroundings.  All methods of waste disposal are costly and the governments landfill compost have to spend huge amounts of money on waste disposal.  Hence, we must reduce waste and recycle items from the waste.  All biodegradable items must be converted into compost.  We must remove waste heaps.  Each and every person must take care not to litter, spit or urinate in open areas.  People must be encouraged to construct toilets in rural areas.  In urban areas more toilets must be made.  The government must make strict laws to maintain cleanliness in public places.  Singapore Laws Littering and spitting in public places is severely punished in Singapore.  People who dirty public places are fined, made to clean public roads or public places as a punishment.  47

India produces about 0.2 to 0.6 kg of garbage per head, per day.  In some areas a van or a sweeper collects the garbage from homes, offices, etc.  The dustbins at roadsides are also emptied into garbage trucks and taken to landfills.  It is our responsibility to protect our environment.  Let us reduce the waste, live in harmony, cooperate with others and follow our duties to maintain clean and beautiful surroundings.  Sa Biodegradable Waste Non - Biodegradable Waste Tib Dr.  Mehta lives in Keshavpuram.  He spends his mornings and evenings in the park.  He has built a team of children volunteers who o help him in cleaning the park, planting trees, enabling the swings, etc.  His efforts have converted a dirty and barren park into a lush green meeting place for the young and the old.  The flowers add to the beauty of the park.  Every morning the garbage van collects the trash from the dustbins in the park.  Dr.  Mehta believes - Do what you can to save the earth from waste.  The greatest mistake is to do nothing.  Every little effort counts!  48

Chapter 4

An Ideal Home 

ERE Ayesha lives in a small house on the outskirts of a small township of Begampur in Uttar Pradesh, The roads are katcha (unsurfaced) and the drains are uncovered.  But Ayesha's family keeps their home and surroundings very clean.  The entire neighborhood ensures that the garbage is not thrown in the drains or on the streets.  They have dug a deep pit at a small distance where the garbage is thrown and covered with soil to convert it into compost.  Neerad lives in a mansion in village Bhogpur.  It is surrounded by a lot of greenery.  It is a village of rich farmers but the people throw the waste near their main gates.  A huge pile of stinking garbage gets accumulated.  The villagers have to cover their nose when they pass the streets.  Moreover, flies and mosquitoes breed on the garbage.  27

Activity: (a) How are the surroundings of Ayesha's house better than Neerad's house?  Give two reasons: (b) Mention one good point and one bad point of your neighborhood.  Good point of my neighborhood is bad point of my neighborhood is we are all responsible for keeping our neighborhood clean.  An ideal neighborhood requires each and every member to look after his / her house as well as the surroundings.  Features of an Ideal Home The size, location or the cost of building a house is not as important as carrying the house and the neighborhood.  A simple house can be converted into an ideal home, if we take care of the following 1 Sunlight: It brightens our home and keeps the rooms dry.  The sunlight Do You Know?  keeps the germs away.  There should Sunlight is a rich source of be sufficient windows or verandas to Vitamin D, which strengthens get plenty of sunlight, our bones.  2 .  Ventilation: Windows and doors should face each other to allow free flow of fresh air.  They also ensure the outlet of dirty air from the home, which is necessary for our health.  Do you know?  An ideal home should have a chimney or an exhaust fan to let the smoke out.  This helps in keeping the house free from odor and pollution 28

3. Sanitation: An ideal home must have proper drainage system to do you know?  remove the dirty water.  The drains from the drains from bathroom should be covered and cleaned and kitchen should slope regularly to prevent the breeding of for an efficient system of flies, germs, mosquitoes cleaning and cockroaches.  A proper drainage system protects us from diseases like malaria, dengue, cholera, etc.  The dustbin should have a lid and it must be cleaned everyday.  4. Doors and Windows: A good house should have two doors.  A wooden door and a wire - net (fly mesh) door.  The windows should have fly mesh to keep flies and mosquitoes away and allow fresh air.  5. Water Supply: An ideal home must have sufficient water supply for bathing, washing clothes, cleaning utensils, wiping floors, etc.  The scarcity of water can lead to unhygienic surroundings.  Drinking water must be stored in clean and covered vessels.  Storage tanks must be cleaned at regular intervals.  keep 6. Safety: The doors and windows should have bolts and locks.  The main door must have a 'spy eye' to ensure that the door is not Do You Know?  opened to the strangers.  There The doors and windows should should be a wall or fence all have curtains.  Curtains help the around the house to house look nice and maintain animals and strangers out.  There privacy.  They also help to keep the should be a proper system of flies, mosquitoes and dust out.  escape in case of a fire or other natural calamity.  7. Cleanliness: A house should be kept neat and clean.  The furniture and other things should be dusted everyday.  Floors should be wiped with disinfectant.  Things should be kept in proper places.  It keeps the house neat, tidy and saves a lot of time.  29

8. Garbage Disposal: A clean home and a neighborhood require an efficient system of garbage disposal so that heaps of ALS garbage do not harm the people or the environment.  The people must separate those items that can be reused or recycled to reduce the amount of garbage.  The garbage should be disposed off from the surroundings on daily basis.  We are all responsible for protecting the natural environment.  We should keep fresh plants around our house.  We must plant trees in our colony.  We should live in harmony inside our home and with our neighbors.  The cooperation, sharing and caring creates a friendly environment wil ons VIWE 2015 som beg celowo Do You Know?  Foto A house may be big or small, it may be in a village or in a city, but it must be clean, BSV bato safe and comfortable to live in.  dese Bum 30 Residents cleaning the neighborhood 30