Introduction

India is the second most inhabited country and the second fastest growing
economy in the world. From the age of 2001-2026 the population of India is to
boost from 1030 million to 1400 million, if we consider the increase rate to be
1.2 % annually then there will be an increase of 36% in 2026.accordingly
about 285 million live in urban areas and about 742 million live in rural areas.
(Census of India, 2001). In India urbanisation is fitting more because people
are moving from villages to cities and there is a speedy increase in population
in the urban cities. Mumbai is the largest inhabited city followed by New Delhi
and Kolkata. "Normally, the greater the financial prosperity and the higher the
proportion of urban population, the greater is the amount of solid waste
produced" (Hoornweg and Laura, 1999). In Hoornweg and Laura, 1999 1996
about 114,576 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste was generated by the
urban population of India, by the end of 2026 it is anticipated to increase to
440,460tonnes/day This great increase in the amount of MSW generated is
due to changing lifestyle and living standards urban population (Hoornweg
and Laura, 1999).
Waste, or rubbish, trash, junk depending on the type of material or the
regional terminology, is an unwanted or undesired material or substance. It
may consist of the unwanted materials left over from a manufacturing process
(industrial, commercial, mining or farming operations,) or from society and
domestic activities. The material may be leftover or accumulated, stored, or
treated (physically, chemically, or biologically), prior to being discarded or
recycled. It is also used to describe something we use inefficiently or
incorrectly. Waste is regarded as a human concept as there appears to be no
such thing as waste in nature of our surroundings. The waste products
created by a natural process or organism rapidly turn out to be the raw
products used by other processes and organisms. Recycling is most
important, therefore production and decaying are well unbiased and nutrient
cycles incessantly support the next cycles of production. This is the so-called
circle of life and is a strategy clearly related to ensuring stability and
sustainability in natural systems. On the other hand there are artificial systems
which highlight the economic value of materials and energy, and where
production and consumption are the leading economic activities. "There was
no ways of dealing with it that havent been known for thousands of years.
These ways are essentially four: dumping it, burning it, converting it into
something that can be used again, and minimizing the volume of material
goods future garbage that is produced in the first place," wrote William
Rathje, a noted solid waste expert, about solid waste, above four methods are
the way by which a waste could be direct, out of all these four discarding is
most commonly use method even from prehistoric times to present age. In
ancient city of Troy garbage were used to be discarded inside the house and
are covered with the layers of dirt or of clay which result in upward increase in
height of top, these way ultimately new cities were made above older ones.
Examples of waste include municipal solid waste (household
garbage/refuse), unsafe waste, wastewater (such as sewage, which contains
bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive waste, and
others.

Types of wastes
There are many types of wastes, the major types of waste include domestic,
commercial, pathological, large, industrial and agricultural. But In general, the
wastes may be classified into the following categories:
Solid wastes These are the unnecessary substances spared by the human
society. These include urban, industrial, agricultural, biomedical and
radioactive wastes.
Liquid wastes Wastes produced from ablution, rinsing or mass-production
processes of industries are called liquid wastes.
Gaseous wastes These are the wastes that are released gaseous states
from automobile factories, or burning of fossil fuels, like petroleum, and get
mixed in the atmosphere.

Sources of waste
Production of waste is a part and parcel of day-to-day individual life. Wastes
can be generated from various sources.
Municipal sources of wastes
This includes trash from houses, schools, offices, markets, hotels and other
general places. Day-to-day items like food waste, used plastic covers, cans
and water bottles, old furniture, wrecked home appliances, clothing, etc.
comprise wastes produced from such sources.
Medical or Clinical sources of wastes
Wastes produced from health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, surgical
theatres and labs are referred to as biomedical waste. This includes surgical
items, pharmaceuticals, blood, body parts, dressing materials, needles,
gauges and syringes.

Agricultural sources of wastes

Waste generated by agricultural activities, including horticulture, livestock
breeding and market gardens are called agricultural wastes. Wastes
generated from this source includes empty pesticide containers, silage wrap,
old medicines and wormers, used tyres, extra milk, cocoa pods and corn
husks.

Industrial Sources of Wastes

These are wastes that are released from production and processing, such as
chemical plants, cement plants, power plants, textile industries, food
industries, oil industries. These industries produce different types of waste.
Wastes from Construction or Demolition
Concrete waste, wood, large wood and plastic building materials include
waste construction, which occur due to road construction and construction.
Demolishing old buildings and structures generates waste, called demolition
waste.
Commercial Sources
As a result of the progress of modern cities, industries and cars, waste is
generated by large daily commercial businesses. These may include food,
medical devices, tissues and more.
Mining Sources
Mining activities also play a crucial role in generating waste which has the
potential to disturb the physical, chemical and biological features of the
atmosphere. The wastes include the overburden material, the waste left after
extracting the ore from the rock, harmful gases released by blasting etc.
Radioactive Sources
Radioactive source of waste includes nuclear reactors, mining of radioactive
substances and atomic explosions.
Electronic sources of waste
The music players, DVD, TV, Telephones, computers, vacuum cleaners and
all the other electrical stuff at your home, which are of no more use, are
electronic wastes. These are also called e-waste or e-scrap Some e-waste
contain lead, mercury and cadmium, which are harmful to humans and the
environment.

The presence of waste is an sign of overconsumption and that materials are

not being used resourcefully. This is hastily sinking the Earths capacity to
supply new raw materials in the future. The capacity of the natural
environment to soak up and process these materials is also under pressure.
Valuable resources in the form of matter and energy are lost during waste
disposal, requiring that a greater credence be placed on ecosystems to
provide these. The main problem is the utter volume of waste being shaped
and how we deal with it. In earlier generations during our great great
grandparents times, people used to dump their waste by digging a hole
beneath the surface. At that point of time, this was considered the best as this
could easily be decomposed and act as fertilizer of some sort. But for our
generation or the coming one, this option is not at all feasible. This is so
because, the population earlier was less and hence waste creation was less,
also due to harsh chemicals and varied artificial products today; it is not at all
easy for the waste to be decomposed. Keeping in mind the healthy pollution
free air and overall environment; we should focus on managing our waste and
even monitor the activities of others so that we ensure less creation of waste.
This assignment gives a detailed overview on solid and biomedical waste.