Solid Waste: The Importance Of Waste Management

Waste management is the process of minimizing, handling, collecting, storage, recycling and final disposal of waste. All these efforts are geared towards conservation of environment. According to Arias, (1998) accumulation of solid waste is a key element that can worsen environmental crisis. Solid waste is one of the greatest challenges of urbanization and without proper management can be catastrophic (Baula, 2010). A clean and healthy environment prevent harmful diseases thereby improving people’s living standards. Indiscriminate dumping of solid waste leads to streets lined with waste, clogging of drainage systems which acts as breeding sites for insects that bring about diseases such as cholera and Malaria. Dumping sites are also a source

The government should also take initiative to encourage the public to separate waste for instance through incentives such as service fees reduction for properly separated waste. This will reduce the cost of waste segregation by the waste management companies and also increase the number of people who recycle waste.

Reusing and recycling of waste is the most common method of waste management. This method is value adding in that it saves our natural resources and helps promote a clean environment. Manufacturing companies should be encouraged to use reusable packaging such as reusable bottles in the beverage industry. This will reduce the amount of solid waste in the form of metal and plastic cans, saves energy and helps to conserve our natural resources.

Organic waste forms a significant part of municipal solid waste. The best and most natural way of managing organic waste is composting. Composting is the process of turning organic waste into a manure which is used to improve soil quality. The finished compost acts as a natural fertilizer that is environmental friendly as compared to chemical