AdvancedTopic 84 of 112Civil & Structural
Solid waste management
Collection, recycling, composting and landfilling.
In depth
Hierarchy: reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, dispose. Collection, transfer, sorting, composting, incineration with energy recovery, and engineered landfills with liners, leachate and gas collection. Hazardous and e-waste require special handling. Circular economy targets.
Key points
- Waste generation 0.5–1.5 kg/person/day
- Landfill gas to energy
- Source segregation
ExampleA modern landfill captures methane for power generation.
What is Solid waste management?
Collection, recycling, composting and landfilling.
Why is it important to understand solid waste management?
Solid waste management reduces landfill and environmental harm, so collection, recycling and disposal must be planned together.
What is leachate?
Liquid that passes through waste and carries contaminants, which must be collected and treated to protect groundwater.
Why is waste hierarchy important?
It ranks prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery above disposal, which reduces the environmental impact of waste.
How is Solid waste management used in practice?
Typical applications include planning a recycling scheme for households in a district, designing a landfill liner and leachate collection system and choosing a composting site for green waste from parks.
What should I learn before Solid waste management?
Study "Sewer design" first (topic 83 of 112 in Civil & Structural). It covers the groundwork this topic builds on.
What are the key points of Solid waste management?
Waste generation 0.5–1.5 kg/person/day. Landfill gas to energy. Source segregation.
Can you give an example of Solid waste management?
A modern landfill captures methane for power generation.
What comes after Solid waste management?
The next topic is "Air and noise pollution control", which builds directly on this one.
How difficult is Solid waste management?
It is classed as Advanced in Civil & Structural (topic 84 of 112). It is an advanced topic. It assumes you are comfortable with the intermediate topics in Civil & Structural.