Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) and Its Challenge
I still remember unique insight when I became delegates for Indonesian Youth Marine Debris Summit 2019. Talking about the waste it means talking about mindset. Our society strongly holds the NIMBY concept. Not in My Backyard. The important thing is the garbage no longer on our eyesight. Don’t care about the waste management process.
So what actually our government globally do to solve waste management problems? There is a lot, one of them is ISWM (Integrated Solid Waste Management). It reflects the need to approach solid waste in a comprehensive manner with careful selection and sustained application of appropriate technology, working conditions, and establishment of a social license between the community a designated waste management authorities (most commonly local government).
ISWM is based on both a high degree of professionalism on behalf of solid waste managers, and on the appreciation of the critical role that the community, employees, and local ecosystems have ineffective SWM (Solid Waste Management). ISWM should be driven by clear objectives and is based on the hierarchy of waste management: reduce, reuse, recycle-often adding a fourth R for recovery. These waste diversion options are then followed by incineration and landfill, or other disposal options.
Waste Reduction. Waste or source reduction initiatives (including prevention, minimalization, and reuse) seek to reduce the quantity of waste at generation points by redesigning products or changing patterns of production and consumption. A reduction in a waste generation has a two-fold benefit in terms of greenhouse gas emission reductions. First, the emissions associated with material and product manufacture are avoided. The second benefit is eliminating the emissions associated with the avoided waste management activities.
Recycling and Materials Recovery. The key advantages of recycling and recovery are reduced quantities of disposed waste and the return of materials to the economy. In many developing countries, informal waste pickers at collection points and disposal sites recover a significant portion of discard. In China, for example, about 20% of discards are recovered for recycling, largely attributable to informal waste picking. Related GHG emissions come from the carbon dioxide associated with electricity consumption for the operation of material recovery facilities. Informal recycling by waste pickers will have little GHG emissions, except for processing the materials for sale or reuse, which can be relatively high if improperly burned, e.g. metal recovery from e-waste (electronic waste).
Aerobic Composting and Anaerobic Digestion. Composting with windrows or enclosed vessels is intended to be anaerobic (with oxygen) operation that avoids the formation of methane associated with anaerobic conditions (without oxygen). When using an anaerobic digestion process, organic waste is treated in an enclosed vessel. Often associated with wastewater treatment facilities, anaerobic digestion will generate methane that can either be flared or used to generate heat and/or electricity. Generally speaking, composting is less complex, more forgiving, and less costly than anaerobic digestion. Methane is an intended by-product of anaerobic digestion and can be collected and combusted. Experience from many jurisdictions shows that composting source-separated organics significantly reduces contamination of the finished compost, rather than processing mixed MSW with front-end or back-end separation.
Incineration. Incineration of waste ( with energy recovery) can reduce the volume of disposed waste by up to 90%. These high volume reductions are seen only in waste streams with very high amounts of packaging materials, paper, cardboard, plastics, and horticultural waste. Recovering the energy value embedded in waste prior to final disposal is considered preferable to direct landfilling-assuming pollution control requirements and costs are adequately addressed. Typically, incineration without energy recovery is not a preferred option due to costs and pollution. Open burning of waste is particularly discouraged due to severe air pollution associated with low-temperature combustion.
Landfill. The waste or residue from other processes should be sent to a disposal site. Landfills are a common final disposal site for waste and should be engineered and operated to protect the environment and public health. LFG (Landfill gas), produced from the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, can be recovered and the methane burned with or without energy recovery to reduce GHG emissions. Proper landfilling is often lacking, especially in developing countries. Landfilling usually progresses from open-dumping, controlled dumping, controlled landfilling, to sanitary landfilling.
The challenges are how important the pillar of ISWM collaborates comprehensively. The first pillar is the stakeholders. Include individuals or groups that have an interest or role. All stakeholders should be identified as an where practical involved in creating an SWM program. The second pillar is the Elements (process). Include the technical aspects of solid waste management. All stakeholders impact one or more of the elements. The elements need to be considered simultaneously when creating an SWM program in order to have an efficient and effective system. The third pillar is Aspects (Policies and Impacts): Encompass the regulatory, environmental, and financial realities in which the waste management system operates. Specific aspects can be changeable, e.g. a community increases influence or environmental regulations are tightened. Measures and priorities are created based on these various local, national, and global aspects.
Addressing three interdependent and interconnected dimensions of ISWM simultaneously will create the sustainability of the system.
