How many types of waste are there today? And the direction of processing?
According to statistics, each year Vietnam generates 24.5 million tons of domestic solid waste and 8.1 million tons of industrial solid waste [1]. Once this waste is not treated thoroughly, it will cause countless harms and dangers to humans. In addition to unsanitary and urban aesthetics, toxic substances cause serious environmental pollution, the increased greenhouse effect causes climate change, threatening human existence. So how many types of waste are there today? And how can it be treated to reduce its impact and protect the environment? Join RX Tradex refer to the article below.
1. What is waste?
The process of living, production and business activities of people creates a lot of waste including: Solid, liquid and gaseous wastes. Plastic bags, plastic containers, paper, food residues, animal waste or factory emissions, fine dust, electronic waste, construction, industry,… are all waste.
2. The current situation of waste problem in Vietnam and around the world.
According to the latest statistics, each year Vietnam generates 1.8 million tons of plastic waste, which is in the top 20 countries and higher than the average [2]. Our country mainly uses landfill methods (70%), only 13% of incineration of waste to recover energy. [3]
Domestic waste treatment in big cities is not only a hot issue in Vietnam but globally. According to World Bank data, in many developing countries, solid waste management can cost up to 20-50% of budgets, an alarming figure. The amount of solid waste worldwide is growing rapidly, from more than 3.5 million tons per day in 2010, to more than 6 million tons by 2025. The cost of dealing with that trash has also increased, from $205 billion in 2010 to $375 billion in 2025 [3].
3. What are the benefits of waste segregation?
Waste classification is very important in waste management, which can be considered as a first step to apply green technology to recycle waste to improve the environment, Above all, waste classification brings great benefits to the community and reduces the burden of the state budget. According to the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection, organizations and individuals generating domestic solid waste must be responsible for classification at source. This will have many positive effects:
3.1. Environmental benefits.
Waste after being sorted at source is transferred to the stage of treatment and recycling. This helps reduce the amount of waste buried causing the accumulation of toxic gases, leaking garbage water to water sources, affecting public health.
3.2. Economic benefits.
Many economic benefits for parties thanks to waste classification such as:
· Reduce costs for transportation, bury a large amount of garbage.
· Save time and money to treat toxic emissions, wastewater leaking into groundwater.
· The treatment of organic waste also contributes to creating a source of clean fertilizer for farming.
· Reusing or recycling waste helps businesses save the cost of importing new materials, which are much more expensive than waste sorting and treatment costs.
· A hygienic and green environment creates a positive impact on the country’s tourism industry.
3.3. Social benefits.
Help form a sense of hygiene, reduce wasteful consumption, save resources and join hands to protect the living environment. Green and clean environmental movements, waste classification propaganda sessions also help the community increase awareness, reduce a lot of burden for waste treatment.
4. How many types of waste are there today?
There are many different types of waste and many classifications based on waste structure, origin, recyclability, or hazardous level. To make it easier to visualize and understand each type, the article combines 6 types as follows:
4.1. Solid waste can be reused and recycled.
Are solid wastes from all origins such as: Living, trading, manufacturing, construction, office, healthcare,… can be reused or recycled. For example: Plastic, paper, milk cartons, electronic components, glass, earth, stone, wood ,…
4.2. Food waste, organic.
It is easily decomposing waste, used to make fertilizer or plant substrate. It can be leftovers, discarded parts from vegetables and fruits after preliminary processing. Or agricultural by-products such as rice straw, rice husk ash, coconut shell, tea grounds, coffee,…
4.3. Other domestic solid waste.
It is an inorganic waste, rarely reused, cannot be recycled or is difficult to treat, often used for landfill. Such as: Used plastic bags, food packaging, other plastic waste such as baby toys, plastic straws, diapers, sanitary napkins ,… It takes hundreds of years to decompose all this garbage, while creating microplastics and toxins that directly affect human life and the next generation.
Garbage containing substances or compounds that are easily harmful to humans such as: Fire, explosion, corrosion, poisoning, radioactivity,… Hazardous wastes can be mentioned as: electronic components, cadmium in resistors, lead, mercury or batteries, batteries, expired chemicals, waste products from hospitals, items of patients,…
4.5. Wastewater.
Wastewater from living activities, production, industrial parks discharged into rivers or seeping into the ground through groundwater vessels is also a source of harmful substances for humans.
4.6. Dust and other emissions.
The air, especially in big cities, is dense with fine dust, exhaust smoke from factories accompanied by heavy metals mixed in. These are gaseous types of waste.
5. Current direction of waste treatment.
Each type of waste, if not handled well, causes certain harms, even dangerous to human life and life. Currently, there are many methods to dispose of waste. There are methods that are commonly used but gradually outdated and ineffective. Common recycling technologies for each type of waste have been classified such as: plastic waste recycling, battery recycling, recycling old tires, paper recycling technology,… From there, it helps to treat more thoroughly and reduce pre-lip pollution. Within the framework of this article, RX Tradex would like to share the following 9 ways:
5.1. Classification of waste at source and public places.
Equip containers for different types of waste at home and in public places. Specify the symbol and color of each bin to help people easily distinguish and dispose of garbage properly.
As a general rule, white bins are for recyclable waste. Blue is ordinary waste. Black is used for hazardous but non-contagious. Yellow barrel for the type that is both hazardous and infectious.
5.2. Waste recycling by 3R method.
According to a report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank, it is estimated that Vietnam wastes nearly 3 billion USD per year because it does not recycle all plastic waste from domestic use. While organic waste wastes more than $30 billion each year with nearly 70% of garbage not being recycled. [4]
Recycling is a way to both save money and turn garbage into money. The 3R method includes:
· Reduce: Economical use, limiting unnecessary wasteful use, especially disposable types.
· Reuse: Check items for reusability to limit disposal into the environment.
· Recycle: Improve and recycle waste to create raw materials for production and business.
5.3. Waste landfill at centralized landfill.
The rest of the garbage, after being divided to the next treatment steps, is buried under deep pits. In countries that do well in sorting garbage and have advanced recycling technology, this landfill is very few. But in Vietnam, this rate is very high to more than 70%. [2] This modality needs to be limited because of its adverse effects on the environment and human health.
5.4. Use the thermal method.
Waste burned in specialized furnaces will turn into little or no harmful form. It is then poisoned to be used for other purposes or buried. Some developed countries also import garbage to burn for energy to put into heating systems, such as in Sweden.
5.5. Organic waste treatment by biochemical composting technology.
Used to treat domestic, organic waste or non-toxic medical waste. The way to do it is dehydration, composting waste until porous, moist. This method will be effective when matter is placed in an anaerobic, aerobic environment that causes oxidation to take place, helping to decompose waste.
5.6. Solid waste treatment by plasma gasification.
It is one of the most advanced and optimal incineration technologies today. This method uses gasification at temperatures of more than 2000 degrees Celsius of plasma streams, helping to thoroughly decompose inorganic and organic wastes. There are many advantages in this technology: No need to classify too much detail; does not leak water due to the fact that the raw materials are dried, chopped; The closed line does not create odors,… In particular, it does not produce harmful substances such as dioxins or furans and also limits the production of SOx, NOx or CO2 compared to other heat burning methods.
5.7. E-waste disposal.
The 3R method is useful for e-waste.
- Reduce the purchase of new equipment continuously.
- Reuse old or other machinery.
- Sell or donate to collectors to decompose the machine for recycling. Or send it to the right place where the components inside can be properly disposed of.
Limiting the bluff disposal of these types of technological waste to the common household landfill, making it difficult to sort and recycle.
5.8. Recycle plastic waste with high-end technology.
According to statistics, 135 tons of recycled garbage saves 3.5 million liters of water, 1.9 million trees, 500,000 KWh, reduces 3 tons of air pollutants and 1,300m3 of land for landfill. In addition, using recycled paper reduces 74% of air pollution, 35% of water pollution, using 30% of recycled waste each year, saving nearly 45 billion liters of oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to reducing 25 million cars on the road. [5]
Advanced technologies recycle used plastic waste into original high-end, comparable or similar quality recycled products. This helps reduce the amount of plastic pushed into the environment. Recycling plastic waste will help save a huge amount of raw materials to produce other finished products, while also reducing costs for the disposal of by-products.
5.9. Promote education and propaganda in each family and community.
This is the most efficient and cost-effective way. It will take time to increase awareness, but the results will be worth it. In developed countries and famous for being green, education in the community is done very early. Therefore, right from young children, there is a sense of saving and protecting the environment.
Therefore, there is a need for more movements and programs to share knowledge and understanding for the community about the current situation of pollution and join hands to overcome it.
6. Summing up.
RX Tradex has just shared information about current types of waste as well as treatment directions from basically everyone can do to modern technologies, large-scale treatment for agencies and unions. The treatment of waste is no longer the business of any department because it directly affects the daily life of people and the next generation. At the first Waste and Recycling Vietnam 2023 Technology Exhibition in November, the latest status and trends in waste management will be updated. In addition, in 2023, RX Tradex will also organize more international industry exhibitions Vietnam Manufacturing Expo, METALEX Vietnam Vietnam, and NEPCON Vietnam to help businesses gain many advantages for strong business development.
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[1] Current status of waste in Vietnam
[2] Vietnam top 20 countries with the largest amount of waste
[3] Current situation of waste in Vietnam and the world
[4] Vietnam wastes US$3 billion if it does not recycle plastic
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