Solid household waste - these are items or goods that have lost consumer properties. Household rubbish

Solid household waste is goods and consumer goods (including fragments thereof) that have lost their original properties and were discarded by their owner. Along with solid industrial waste, they pose a great threat to the environment and are subject to processing.

Household garbage not only worsens the environmental situation, but also is a source of additional costs associated with its collection and disposal. As cities grow, these costs increase. To solve problems with solid waste in the world, various technologies for their processing have been developed. The most environmentally sound and technologically advanced solution is the separation of solid domestic waste and their subsequent use as secondary raw materials.

The problem of solid household waste

The accumulation of solid household waste is a dangerous problem. Pollution of territories by various kinds of garbage is widespread almost everywhere. A huge amount of it is scattered on the earth's surface in the form of fragments or clusters (dumps). Waste enters the waters of the World Ocean.

A significant share of solid waste is the products of oil and gas chemistry. They are stable polymeric compounds with a long half-life. The most environmentally harmful of them is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is associated with a high content of chlorine in its composition. Construction waste, in comparison with polymers, poses a significantly lower threat to the environment.

Environmental risks associated with MSW

The impact of solid domestic waste on the biosphere is diverse, large-scale and practically in all cases, negatively. The environmental impact of SHW is as follows:

• Clogging of the earth's surface with domestic garbage. Cellophane bags and other types of domestic garbage are an obstacle to the growth of plants, contributing to a decrease in biological productivity, the rate of soil formation. Domestic garbage in water bodies, oceans and seas can affect the processes of evaporation from the water surface.
• Pollution of the environment by the products of solid waste destruction. This is the most serious of environmental problems associated with household waste. During the decay of polymers, toxic compounds are released that poison the soil and groundwater. No less harmful and the products of their combustion. Many landfills constantly smoke, polluting the air, especially in densely populated areas. The most dangerous and specific for SDW combustion product is dioxin, which is released when burning products made of PVC. It is considered the most toxic of the known chemical compounds. Fortunately, dioxin emissions during combustion are not so great as to cause poisoning, however, its contribution to the overall pollution is quite significant.

In addition to products of decomposition and incineration of polymers, various household chemicals, heavy metals, asbestos from slate, hydrocarbons and many other substances also contribute to the overall pollution. The consequences can be terrible:

• The death of animals and fish. Studies have shown that birds and fish can swallow small plastic objects, which sometimes leads to their death as a result of the accumulation of this debris in the digestive system. The risk group includes animals that feed on landfills, because the likelihood of poisoning is high.
• Deteriorating hygienic situation. Garbage dumps often become a breeding ground for pathogens that can be carried to other areas by rodents that live there.
• Loss of aesthetic appeal of the area. Finding among domestic garbage not everyone will like. Unseemly appearance, smells, risk of catching an infection, pollution of water in springs - all this can significantly spoil the rest on the nature.
• Impact on the climate. Plastic films and glass hold the heat radiation from the ground, causing a local greenhouse effect and an increase in the temperature of the earth's surface. Large clusters of garbage are a fairly powerful source of methane, which, entering the atmosphere, enhances the greenhouse effect.
• Seizure of land. Landfills are the reason for the reduction of vacant areas that could be used for construction, creation of parks or parks. This problem is quite urgent, especially near large and medium-sized cities.

Classification of solid household waste

There is no single system for dividing into classes of solid household waste. Initially, solid waste is a single common mass. However, solid household waste is a very different component in terms of chemical composition and physical properties. The most widespread among MSW are: metal, plastic, glass, wood, paper and cardboard. In many countries , waste classification is the basis for separate recycling and recycling. In Russia, they are still thrown out by one mass and then stored on landfills.

Utilization of household waste

Utilization of solid waste involves the use of various methods. The most common methods currently available for disposing of solid household waste are:

• Processing by mechanical means.
• Burial of solid household waste at landfills (dumps).
• Incineration of waste.
• Complex processing.
• Use of biotechnologies.

Removal of solid household waste to landfills is a traditional and most environmentally harmful way of "getting rid" of solid waste. In our country, he still holds a leading position.

In order to reduce the volume of waste in landfills, they are often ignited, which leads to the spread of hazardous substances to significant areas and deterioration of air quality. The products released during the burning of dumps have a pronounced unpleasant odor and are harmful to health. The size of landfills in our country is constantly increasing.

Recycling

At the moment there are several methods of recycling. The main ways that help to process solid household waste are:

• Mechanical processing - a set of technological operations for grinding, pressing, briquetting. All this leads to compaction and reduction of the volume of garbage up to 10 times, which makes it more convenient to transport and store it. However, such methods only simplify the problem of recycling, but do not solve it completely.

• Complex waste processing involves the creation of waste sorting and garbage processing enterprises. In the first stage, waste is distributed depending on the type of material (glass, plastic, metal, etc.), and then sent for processing to the appropriate shops. This method of disposal allows you to get rid of most of the solid waste and get secondary raw materials.
• Biological methods of processing make it possible to remove from the waste the most organic part of the decomposition of microorganisms, which is converted into a so-called biohumus. For this, a cultural strain of the red Californian worm is used.

Briquetting

Briquetting is expedient to carry out already after extraction of more valuable components. The remaining garbage is mechanically compacted and packaged. The formed briquettes are more convenient in storage, transportation and disposal.

Composting

Composting is a biological method of processing, in which the disposal of solid waste is carried out by creating so-called compost heaps. Depending on the level of technology development, the composting period is from 2-10 weeks to 1-3 years.

Use of waste as a secondary raw material

The most preserved objects are extracted, brought to a good condition and reused. This practice also exists in some Russian cities. Glass, iron, aluminum and other metals are remelted and can be re-used. A significant portion of paper waste can also be used recycled.

Recycling of plastics from domestic garbage in Russia is not conducted, since it is considered uneconomical. Moreover, in our country there are large deposits of oil and gas, which give better raw materials.

Incineration of solid household waste

Combustion of solid waste allows to get rid of large volumes of garbage, but it also has serious drawbacks. When burning plastic in the air get harmful substances, the most toxic of which is dioxin.

For this reason, developed countries are now gradually abandoning this method of waste disposal. An additional source of pollution in the centralized incineration of solid waste is emissions of soot, ash, and the formation of burned fragments by the cavity, which may amount to a third of the original volume of domestic waste. All of them have a higher hazard class than the original MSW, and therefore require more stringent storage and disposal conditions.

To burn as much use as possible, Western countries are trying to use it as a source for generating electricity and heat. This reduces the need for fossil species. An example of such successful cooperation is the incineration plant in Vienna. They use modern technologies, which make the combustion process safer.

Collection of domestic garbage in the Russian Federation

In Russia, the removal of solid waste from urban areas is regulated by Article 13 of the law on "production and consumption wastes". To collect household garbage, standard metal containers (garbage can) are used. This practice has been in effect since Soviet times.

Usually a garbage can is located in the space between residential buildings. Currently, attempts are being made to organize separate waste collection, which is provided in accordance with Article 13 of the above law. The division is made in the following categories: plastic packaging, textiles, paper, glass, metal, organic vegetable waste. However, at the moment of mass introduction into domestic practice such separation of garbage has not received.

Export of solid household waste

For transportation of solid waste are used special machines - garbage trucks. They differ in the following features:

• For use: machines used in residential areas and transport, designed to work with large waste (large-sized garbage);
• By body volume;
• By the way of loading;
• By the type of mechanical debris sealing;
• By the nature of unloading of solid waste.

The purpose of transportation is the export of solid domestic waste to landfills. In large cities, the removal of garbage is complicated by the large distance that the machine must regularly cross.

Collection and temporary storage of waste

In our country, the collection of solid domestic waste is the most costly stage of their disposal. The long distances that a garbage truck must pass through in a large city, and the huge amount of garbage generated, forces us to take measures to rationally plan the collection system. For the same reason, it is necessary to raise the tariff for garbage disposal for legal entities. A large amount of additional waste is associated with the operation of commercial outlets, and the means for exporting such garbage is often not enough.

One of the possible solutions is the creation of intermediate storage of solid domestic waste, where large-sized garbage can be transported to the place of utilization using various transport, including railway trains.

Waste sorting methods

When sorting waste from the total mass, certain fractions are isolated which can be sent for recycling. To do this, apply the following methods:

• Magnetic separation. It is based on the use of powerful magnets, which attract alloys based on ferrous metals. The recovery factor is about 90% of the total weight of the metal in the waste.
• Electrodynamic separation. It is used to remove aluminum, bronze, brass. The recovery factor exceeds 80%.
• Aerodynamic separation is used to remove polymers and paper from the total mass of waste. This method is to create a powerful airflow, resulting in more light fractions separated from heavy.
• Ballistic separation is based on a sharp change in the speed and direction of movement of the site with waste, which allows separating the elastic components from more viscous ones. This method can be used to extract glass and some other types of debris.

Despite the continuous improvement of disposal methods, the amount of waste every year increases by 3%.