Solid waste is all materials that result from human activities and that can often be used both for recycling and for reuse.
The name "solid waste" is used to designate solid and semi-solid "garbage" from homes, industries, hospitals, commerce, urban cleaning services or agriculture.
Solid waste can be classified into common or household garbage, public and special. Common waste is formed by waste from homes, public buildings, commerce and schools. Its main component is organic matter. A wide variety of recyclable materials, including paper, cardboard, plastics, cans, etc., are also part of this waste.
The waste generated in public garbage is the result of urban cleaning works in streets and squares, including leaves and branches and garbage collected from streams, rivers, lakes, etc.
Special wastes are those arising from waste generated in civil construction, called debris, biological, chemical or radioactive waste, from equipment used in the health service and industrial waste formed by corrosive, flammable waste, toxic etc.
In Brazil, Law 12,305 of the National Solid Waste Policy regulates the management of solid waste, determines the guidelines related to management integrated and solid waste management, distinguishing between waste that can be recycled or reused and hazardous waste, that which is rejected. It encourages selective collection and recycling in all Brazilian municipalities.
The most suitable place for the disposal of solid waste is the sanitary landfill, where garbage is disposed of in a planned manner. Another portion of the garbage is destined for controlled landfills, with less strict criteria, but with mandatory procedures. The dumps are the biggest villains of environmental and human health.
Solid waste from civil construction
Civil construction is a great generator of environmental impacts, modifying landscapes and accumulating a large amount of solid waste from its works.
The Brazilian Association for Recycling Civil Construction and Demolition Waste is an agency designed to work with the latest advanced in the matter of civil construction waste, in line with environmental issues, it is an auxiliary grid for companies of construction.
Hospital solid waste
Solid hospital waste or hospital waste represents a great risk of contamination, in addition to polluting the environment. Medical waste is classified as infectious waste and hazardous waste that are separated in deposits and transported to a specific destination. Regular garbage is collected through the same system as the rest of the city.
Solid waste from industries
Industrial waste is waste from any and all industrial processes, including construction debris in this group. Food, chemical, metallurgical waste, etc. deserve special treatment to avoid soil and water source pollution.
See also
- landfill
