Waste recycling objectives. Features of waste disposal How to dispose of garbage

Under the natural conditions of a modern disposal site, waste decomposes within a month, newspapers, cardboard, fallen leaves - up to 4 months, cans and old shoes - up to 10 years, and batteries, tires, plastic bottles and glass - up to 100, 140, 200 and 1000 years, respectively. Considering their annually increasing volume, humanity very soon runs the risk of drowning in the waste products of its vital activity. Moreover, it is no longer possible to deal with the problem by means of banal arson, since large-scale flows of smog can cause irreparable harm to the health of the population. In this light, the issue of processing is of great importance.

The state is taking certain steps in this direction, but business is more efficiently able to cope with the task. In Europe, waste recycling generates huge profits, which has led to high competition in this area. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the industry is still underdeveloped, which gives excellent chances over time to take a leading position, becoming one of the largest suppliers of secondary raw materials to industrial enterprises.

Features of the industry

The profitability of a waste recycling plant of average capacity can reach 30% or more. However, when organizing production, an entrepreneur will face a number of difficulties.

The cost of the complex, designed for the collection and delivery, reception, processing of municipal solid waste (MSW) of most types (excluding hazardous ones, for which it is necessary to obtain separate licenses and high-tech equipment) will require more than tens of millions of dollars. Moreover, the most part will be the cost of the installations themselves. In addition, you will have to look for a production area of ​​over 500 m² and corresponding warehouses. In most cases, building from scratch is more profitable than renting, despite the high costs. One of the additional articles in this case will be the laying of communications, obtaining permits, licenses, approvals, and so on.

State support, loans, grants and other ways to obtain additional funding will help facilitate the start. During negotiations, remember that the introduction of modern and safe methods of waste recycling is beneficial to local authorities. This can be a good argument in favor of land acquisition or the provision of optimal space.

Entrepreneurs who are not yet ready for such large-scale investments can take their niche with local projects. For example, to organize the reception of already sorted garbage of a certain type. Or just processing it. In this case, you only need to purchase a complete line for working with one or another type of raw material (most often, we are talking about paper, glass or plastic).

Types of solid waste in terms of profitability

Ideally, a full-fledged plant should perform the full range of functions for sorting and recycling waste:

• reception of municipal solid waste (sorted and mixed);
• sorting and processing of suitable resources (waste paper, polymers, broken glass, textiles, scrap metal);
• production of structural products from recycled materials.

However, in practice, start-up entrepreneurs most often choose a narrow line of business. At the same time, several typical "scenarios" of the enterprise's work can be distinguished, depending on the type chosen:

• Cardboard and paper... In this case, you can organize a small enterprise that collects, pressing and sells the resulting product, or open a full-fledged processing plant.
• Polymers... Similar to the previous point. The most common companies are those that collect waste and make recycled granules from it, which are then purchased by companies that manufacture plastic products.
• Glass... Typically, entrepreneurs choose between collecting containers (cullet) and a recycling business.
• Tires... Here we are most often talking about full-cycle enterprises - from collection to processing. The work can be carried out according to one of three algorithms: collection of worn-out from motor transport enterprises, purchase from the population with the organization of collection points, or paid reception for processing.

The priority work strategy and the type of raw materials are determined based on several factors that are individual for each locality. The most important of them is the norms for the accumulation of solid waste. This indicator indicates their number, formed per unit of time in certain conditions. Knowing this, it is possible to accurately calculate how much raw material can be obtained by working in a certain area.

Speaking of profitability, the following data can be cited:

• aluminum, steel, other metal - almost 100% of the received raw material is processed;
• textiles - depending on the type of fibers, up to 50% of the material is recyclable;
• waste paper - the share of useful raw materials in unsorted waste is about 35%;
• glass - similar to waste paper.

Considering the prospects of this business, it is also necessary to take into account the liquidity of raw materials. It can be:

• Highly liquid- a class of secondary raw materials, from which, as a result of processing under existing conditions, it is possible to obtain products demanded by customers and sell them profitably. This is scrap metal of all types, clean waste from the paper and textile industries, uncontaminated cullet, etc.
• Medium liquid- MSW of average quality, suitable for obtaining products in demand, but not having a high profitability (the cost of the finished material is approximately equal to the cost on the market). These are mixed waste paper, cardboard, plastic with impurities, textiles, large wooden elements, broken glass, tires.
• Poorly liquid- requiring significant efforts for disposal and unprofitable for recycling. These are moisture-resistant cardboard and paper, polymer mixtures, bird fluff, cullet with significant contamination. In this case, you can earn income by recycling waste at the expense of the supplier.
• Illiquid- hazardous waste not subject to disposal. For example, multilayer polymer packaging, laminated paper are not suitable for receiving secondary raw materials, therefore they are recycled at the expense of the customer or special funding sources - municipalities, etc.

At the moment, about 93% of garbage is taken out to landfills and landfills in the Russian Federation. Considering the volume, many entrepreneurs have every chance to occupy a worthy niche in a developing business.

Where to get raw materials?

The easiest, but also the most labor-intensive way is to agree with the management of landfills or the municipality about the possibility to independently select the required waste. As a rule, at this stage it is beneficial to involve the “asocial element” in the work.

A "cleaner" technology is to conclude agreements with markets, institutions, enterprises for the removal of sorted waste of the category you need. In this case, “they” reduce the cost of garbage disposal, and the entrepreneur receives the necessary materials. True, this does not work with all types of garbage.

Where to dispose of recycled waste?

One ton of processed and compressed polymer waste on the market costs about 15 thousand rubles, aluminum cans - about 50 thousand rubles, rubber crumb - about 16 thousand rubles, cardboard - about 12 thousand rubles. The daily productivity of the average capacity of the waste processing line is 8-10 tons of recyclable materials. Accordingly, the monthly turnover will amount to several million rubles, depending on other initial data.

Most of the consumers of recycled waste paper, sheet metal and polymers are various industries. Such companies are present in different regions and, as practice shows, they are happy to buy raw materials from local producers. However, it must be remembered that the consumer is already accustomed to comfort and prefers to receive high-quality purified and carefully compressed raw materials, which are easy to work with and convenient to store.

What documents are needed to register a business?

Each country and even region will have its own peculiarities of registration of a waste processing enterprise. Therefore, it is necessary to visit a number of instances and consult with the specialists of each of them. When opening a business abroad, it is advisable to immediately enlist the support of a qualified lawyer.

The priority form of business registration will be or its analogue in your country. In the Russian Federation, for this, it is necessary to provide the charter of the company, the memorandum of association, the minutes of the meeting of owners and a statement (form 11001).

Large financial flows in the process of activity make the OSNO taxation system optimal for the plant. In this case, the income tax will be 20%, and VAT - 18%. At the same time, the entrepreneur is not threatened with restrictions on the number of personnel, the value of property and others. When registering, code 38 is indicated, which allows you to recycle and dispose of everything.

Since most types of solid waste are classified with 4-5 hazard class, it is necessary to obtain a license for processing, which is issued by the regional Rosprirodnadzor. Experts will conduct an environmental impact assessment and issue a permit. Further, you will need permission from the SES, water and utilities of the settlement, as well as fire authorities. In total, registration questions take from 3 to 4 months.

Staff recruitment

Since sorting and recycling of waste is a “dirty” process with low wages, there are not many people willing to take up a vacant position. However, to launch even a small plant, it is necessary to employ 25-30 employees. And even if they are found from the first moment, you need to be prepared for staff turnover - not everyone can withstand prolonged contact with trash.

In order to retain existing and attract new personnel, an entrepreneur needs to optimize wages for a particular region, take care of comfortable working conditions (uniforms, disposable protective elements, showers), and think over ways of motivation. Employee salaries are the main cost item, but at this stage of the industry development without people the enterprise simply will not function.

Waste recycling technology

In a multipurpose plant, the recycling process includes the following steps:

• Waste delivered from the landfill is discharged to a receiving site, where bulky waste is manually removed - construction, household appliances, pieces of furniture, etc.
• By means of a loader, the remaining mass is transferred to a receiving hopper, from where it is fed to an inclined conveyor and then to a horizontal conveyor.
• On a horizontal conveyor, waste is sorted by type. This operation is performed manually by employees in the amount of 8-15 people.
• The sorted waste is placed through the hatches in the overpass into carts and delivered to the presses (each for its own type of waste).
• Garbage is pressed into briquettes, tied and sent to the warehouse, and then to the customer, as a rule, for further processing.

Necessary equipment

Scroll

The complete set of a processing line for waste processing depends on the type of solid waste and the scale of the activity. A classic full-cycle plant (from waste reception to pressing and storage) includes a number of units:

• Bunker for receiving... It can be a container or a concreted covered area where bulky waste is removed from the mass of waste. The supply of solid waste to the conveyor can be carried out automatically or using loading equipment.
• Receiving hopper with apron conveyor... This unit is necessary for the uniform supply of waste for sorting.
• Separator... Small fractions of garbage are screened out here.
• Horizontal belt conveyor... In most cases, it is served by operators who select certain fractions and dump them into separate containers. Depending on the types of waste selected for processing, the number of operators (and the containers themselves) may vary.
• Main separator for collecting ferrous metal(usually located at the end of the conveyor).
• Receiving hopper for non-recyclable waste.
• Storage bins for sorted.
• Baler presses- separate for each type of waste.
• Storage device for bulky waste.

In addition to the equipment listed, recycling consumables may be required. For example, to prevent delamination and scattering of finished briquettes at the stage of pressing, special compositions are introduced into the mass. Another option to make transportation more comfortable is to buy a knitting line where briquettes are wrapped with strap tape or polyester film.

How much does the whole complex cost?

The construction of a universal plant from scratch, designed to collect and recycle as many types of waste as possible (from waste paper and plastic to rubber and glass) will cost about $ 20 million. A small workshop, designed to work with a certain type of raw material, can be organized for 50-200 thousand dollars.

A couple of years ago, people from RAO UES decided to take up the "garbage business". The total volume of investments in the Eco-system Group of Companies amounted to 16 billion rubles. The profitability of this area is estimated at 30%, which, together with the required volumes of cash injections, make it unaffordable and uninteresting for small and medium-sized businesses. Contrary to popular belief, in Europe, the construction of plants for the utilization and processing of solid waste is also carried out mainly by energy giants. For example, a small plant in Cardiff is being built by the German E. On.

In Russia, like many other things, distinguishes our country from the West. Basically, in Western countries, waste sorting is carried out according to one or another criterion. The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation does not want to rush to the transition from waste incineration to recycling.

Solution proposed by the ministry and its Federal agency to the problem

In Russia, waste incineration plants are used locally for waste disposal. According to representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources, these plants are very energy and cost-intensive and largely survive due to government subsidies. But this ministry still plans to build in accordance with the adopted concept for the management of solid waste until 2030. Rosprirodnadzor considers incineration to be the most optimal form of waste disposal.

Why incineration is not the optimal solution

In Russia, solving with the help of incineration is dangerous from an environmental point of view. With the help of incinerators, solid waste is converted into smoke, which contains all carcinogens that do not dissipate in the environment when storing waste in landfills. As a result of the construction of such factories, an increase in the incidence of a number of serious ailments, including oncological ones, may be observed. But even if the issue under consideration is removed from the area of ​​the most serious diseases, then emissions with carcinogens cause allergic reactions - the scourge of diseases in recent years. When garbage is burned, dioxins are released, which are more dangerous than strychnine and potassium cyanide.

The problem of waste recycling in Russia exists, but it needs to be addressed.

Garbage business concept

Waste recycling business should be based on the establishment of appropriate factories. Like any other business, this business requires initial capital for renting or buying premises, hiring personnel who will have to work on the appropriate equipment, but it will also need to be purchased.

In addition, you will have to collect a bunch of different documents permitting this type of activity.

It is also necessary to foresee how the garbage will be delivered and how it will be sold. The first is especially relevant, since there is no culture of garbage collection in our country - on a local scale, it is all stored in one package without sorting and thrown into a garbage container. According to Rosprirodnadzor specialists, if the state does not encourage manufacturers of recyclable materials to purchase from waste processing plants, such plants have no future.

For in Russia there are positive and negative sides.

The positive aspects of the garbage business

• Garbage volumes are limitless.
• The processed product, as the world experience shows, must be in demand.
• Such a business is likely to be supported by the local authorities, since recycling is also a headache for them.
• A processing plant can process different raw materials, or maybe a specific one, which makes it easier to make a decision to start a business development.
• Virtually zero competition - as will be shown below, there are practically no waste processing plants in Russia.
• With a reasonable organization of production, these factories can become quite payback and profitable in a couple of years.

Negative sides of the garbage business

• The main disadvantage is waste sorting, which was already mentioned above.
• Large costs - the plant may or may not pay off with an illiterate approach, but it will require initial costs, and these costs will not pay off in any case for a number of years.
• A huge pile of documents that an enterprise will have to deal with in this business.
• Finding suppliers and buyers, especially at the beginning of a business, is very difficult.

Garbage statistics

Here are the statistics on waste recycling in Russia. Only 4% of the total volume in our country is processed. In 2017, the volume of solid waste in Russia exceeded 60 billion tons with an annual replenishment of 60 million tons.

All waste in our country occupies about 4 million hectares, which is comparable to the area of ​​Switzerland or Holland. Every year this area grows by 10%, which is comparable to the total area of ​​the two capitals of Russia.

Currently, there are about 15,000 landfills in the country, which have been sanctioned by the authorities; the number of landfills, according to various sources, ranges from 200 to 1,000.

A large number of landfills are illegal. Most of them are in the Leningrad, Chelyabinsk, Moscow, Sverdlovsk and a number of other regions.

Waste processing plants in Russia

Rosprirodnadzor data indicate that there are only seven incineration plants in our country, which are located in Moscow, Sochi, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Pyatigorsk. Here waste is incinerated, the resulting ash and slag are pressed and disposed of by burial. Moreover, only 7-10% of the garbage received is burned. The cost of incinerating solid waste is higher than the cost of burying it.

According to other sources, there are more than 200 waste processing plants in Russia, as well as about 50. Let's take a closer look at some of the list of waste processing plants in Russia.

The Novokuznetsk waste processing plant has been operating in the Kemerovo region since 2008. Waste sorting is carried out here, recyclable materials are recycled, the remaining garbage is disposed of at a landfill designed for 75 years.

In the Kursk region in 2013, a sorting line for a waste processing plant was opened.

There is a waste sorting plant in Krasnoyarsk, which processes up to 730,000 tons of solid waste during the year. Recyclable materials are sent for recycling, the rest of the garbage is disposed of at our own landfill.

In 2014, a waste recycling plant was launched in Orenburg. Toxic substances such as medical waste and mercury can be processed here. The plant is equipped with a perolysis unit. Processing is possible up to 250,000 tons annually. Sorting takes place in manual mode. The remains are buried in the landfill and compacted with a roller.

There are several incineration plants in the Moscow region. These include State Unitary Enterprise "Spetszavod No. 2", "Spetszavod No. 3" (this plant operates with enviable inconstancy), since 2003 the Rudnevo waste incineration plant has been operating.

World experience in combating garbage

Garbage currently contaminates not only the Earth's surface, but also the ocean. In 1997, the American oceanographer Ch. Moore, passing through the North Pacific Spiral, saw that heaps of debris surrounded it far from land. According to him, it took him a week to overcome this pile.

In most countries of the world, garbage is collected not in one container, but in different ones, having previously passed the sorting. In Ljubljana in Slovenia, as well as in Russia, they were going to build incinerators. Their construction was included in the 2014 project, but the country's leadership changed its mind in time. A special employee walks into the apartments. The need to process garbage and use recyclable materials is actively promoted among the population.

Finally

Waste recycling in Russia is at an early stage of its development. A very small amount of waste is recycled. The garbage business is not developed in Russia. It has its own prospects, but those who are not afraid of paperwork, who have money for initial capital to risk, should try their hand. Management should listen to environmentalists and, instead of building waste incineration plants, pay attention to the world experience in waste processing.

Any activity involves the production of waste. The more living beings on the planet, the more waste is produced. The waste products of the animal and plant worlds are biological products that are easily decomposed. Man is a highly organized representative of the planet's biosphere. Not all of the garbage it produces is biodegradable. With the development of industry and an increase in the population on the planet, a rapid accumulation of various types of waste, both decaying and non-decaying, began. A growing problem is forcing scientists to urgently improve methods of waste disposal.

Consider what is being done in the field of waste recycling today.

Household waste disposal rules

Only at the end of the 20th century did they start talking about the problem of an overabundance of garbage on the planet. The first to stir up the countries of Western Europe, which do not have large territories for the placement of scrap. The issue of exporting for money what is thrown by citizens to less developed countries, where there are places for placing landfills, was considered. Some states have tested this experience and found it ineffective, since the problem is not solved on a global scale in this way. So the Europeans set out to find ways to dispose of garbage. In Russia, the problem was raised when it became clear that an irrational consumer approach to the use of the planet's resources led to a sharp deterioration in the quality of its biosphere.

Important: In 2020, the problem of waste disposal in Russia is being solved much more slowly than the growth of authorized and unauthorized landfills.

To rectify the situation in the Russian Federation, it is necessary to immediately begin to adopt the rules of waste disposal from such European neighbors as Germany and Sweden. In the latter, 99% of everything emitted by people and industrial enterprises is recycled today.

Magnitude of the problem

Every day in the world there is an increase of 5 tons of garbage. Its number increases by 3% per year. The existing landfills are unable to receive all the junk. It got to the point that the waste produced by Muscovites began to be exported to the still ecologically clean Arkhangelsk region. This suggests that the landfills of the Russian center are bursting at the seams.

To understand the scale of the problem of accumulation of household waste, consider the period of decomposition of various types of waste:

• cigarette filters - 100 years;
• cans - 90 years;
• paper 2-10 years old;
• glass - 1,000 years old;
• plastic bags - 200 years.

Many types of garbage "live" longer than people. And this is not the main problem. The worst thing is that the waste not only occupies vast territories, but also pollutes the environment. Some of its types are capable of causing irreparable harm.

How is garbage classified?

There are several signs by which the junk is classified:

• by origin;
• by state of aggregation
• by composition.

Compositional classification assumes the separation of waste into biological and non-biological.

Biological waste is bone, leather, wood and food waste. They are not considered hazardous because they quickly decompose in nature. The most problematic are food leftovers. They are attractive to pathogenic microorganisms, carriers of infections flock to them: cockroaches, rats, flies, etc. In the process of decomposition, food waste smells unpleasant, form water and carbon dioxide.

Non-biological junk is something that has been made from:

• paper;
• plastics;
• metal;
• textiles;
• glass;
• rubber

Many of the above are characterized by a long decomposition time. During the decay process, some of the listed waste releases toxins and other harmful substances into the environment.

Based on their origin of garbage, the following varieties are distinguished:

1. MSW (solid household waste) - forms the residential sector and medical institutions, educational and cultural institutions, trade enterprises.
2. Radioactive waste is the result of the activities of medical institutions, nuclear power plants and submarines.
3. Medical Debris - May include radioactive, toxic and infectious waste.
4. Construction waste is all that remains during the repair of roads and buildings, construction and installation works, demolition of structures.
5. Industrial - what is thrown away in the manufacturing sector.

Much of the above is large in size. Depending on the composition and the hazard to the environment, various methods of disposal or recycling of the waste are used.

The aggregate state of the garbage can be as follows:

• liquid;
• solid;
• emulsions;
• gels;
• suspensions;
• gaseous;
• pasta.

MSW in various states of aggregation is the most numerous and diverse group.

How is waste processed? Disposal stages

Modern methods of solid waste processing can save nature from the danger posed by garbage. The process consists of several stages:

1. Collection and sorting.
2. Transportation.
3. Accommodation in landfills or warehouses.
4. Neutralization.
5. Storage.
6. Burial.
7. Recycling.
8. Manufacturing new items from recycled materials.

Different stages are typical for different types of waste, they can go one after the other or be eliminated. So, burial is subject to that which cannot be recycled and used as recyclable materials.

Important: Disposal and reuse of waste is the preferred method. Paper, plastic, metal, glass, fabrics, etc. can be recycled and even in some situations tertiary recycled.

Sorting is the most important step in an ideal recycling scheme. The course of the processing process and the quality of the resulting secondary raw materials depend on it. In the process of sorting, not only special companies dealing with waste should take part, but also the entire population of Russia.

Solid waste disposal methods

There are numerous methods of disposal of waste, both solid waste and industrial. Each path has both pros and cons. Scientists are striving to improve waste recycling processes.

Consider how to get rid of household waste today.

Burial

This method is long-standing, inexpensive and ineffective. Its essence is that heterogeneous waste is buried in the upper layers of the soil.

In order to make the next burial, they acquire the territory on which they equip the landfill. The following requirements are imposed on the place for this type of disposal:

• the distance from forest areas is at least half a kilometer;
• the distance from the places of residence of people is not less than 200 m;
• the possibility of carrying out engineering work on the ground;
• lack of structures;
• well-ventilated open area;
• the possibility of arranging a sanitary protection zone around the landfill with a radius of 300 m;
• the presence of a transport highway nearby

It is high time to abandon this method and replace it with safer methods. Waste buried underground decomposes and release toxic substances into the soil, which enter the groundwater and return to people in the form of food and drink.

Important: Such a dignity of burials, such as low cost, covers one significant drawback - the elimination of the consequences of the burial of waste will have to spend much more money than would be required for the construction of a processing plant.

Heat treatment methods

Waste processing with high temperatures is a group of methods, including both old methods and new ones, that allow you to effectively dispose of waste without causing any harm to nature.

Simple incineration

This method is applicable to organic waste and is based on its degradability. For disposal, bacteria are involved, which need waste to carry out their vital functions. These organisms include 2 types of creatures:

1. Anaerobic - an environment with little or no oxygen is needed for existence.
2. Aerobic - free access to oxygen is required for life.

The quality of the raw materials obtained depends on how comfortable the conditions for the reproduction of bacteria will be.

Briquetting

This is the latest method of disposal, which is an important stage of waste processing, consisting of 2 stages:

1. Sorting.
2. Packing in briquettes.

In the process of packaging, pressing is carried out, which allows several times to reduce the volume of waste and prepare it for loading and transportation.

Briquetted waste is stored at landfills, where they are located until the next stage of disposal - burial or processing. The main advantages of the method are:

• reducing the risk of fire;
• ease of waste handling.

The method also has a disadvantage - not all materials can be compressed.

The problem of disposal of industrial waste

Any production, together with the manufacture of goods, produces a considerable amount of waste. Only 35% of it is recycled and recyclable. The overwhelming majority of Russian enterprises operate in the old fashioned way and deal with waste as follows:

• takes to landfills (not always sanctioned);
• discharges as waste water.

The penalties for harm to the environment are tightened every year, but this changes the situation slightly. It is more profitable to pay a fine than to introduce new principles of waste disposal in production.

Disposal of waste from medical institutions

A special direction is the disposal of medical waste. It can only be dealt with by licensed companies. Medical waste can be not only toxic or radioactive, but also infectious.

Medical waste is divided into 4 hazard classes:

• A - non-presenting threats;
• B - potentially dangerous, requiring preliminary disinfection before disposal;
• B - dangerous;
• D - toxic.

Medutil can be disposed of only after the disinfection procedure.

Waste disposal and recycling in the Russian Federation

In terms of waste processing, Russia is noticeably inferior to European countries. Sadly as it is to admit it, today we “live on debt”, that is, we bring harm to nature more than it can heal on its own.

There are several reasons why we do not use the correct disposal methods:

• unconsciousness of the population;
• corrupt government;
• weak legislative base;
• there is no infrastructure necessary for high-quality waste processing;
• at the head of all production processes is the race for profit.

Important: Being on the verge of ecological collapse, the Russians are doing too little to stop the destruction of the planet.

Recycling equipment

The recycling process requires the equipping of enterprises with specialized equipment. The selection of devices depends on what type of waste will be processed and what the end goal of the process is.

Waste incineration equipment

Several types of waste incinerators are used:

• recovery plants - for the incineration of waste from large industrial enterprises;
• electric incinerators - used in medical institutions for the destruction of syringes;
• waste heat boilers - used for the destruction of solid waste.

Traditionally, Russian incinerators use domestically produced stoves, which are cheaper and of higher quality than their Western counterparts.

Waste disposal equipment

The special equipment used for the disposal of waste is as follows:

• bulldozers - level waste and cover with earth;
• compactor rollers - compress debris.

This method, as already noted, frees up space, but does not protect the environment from the negative impact of waste. Since in Russia waste is practically not sorted, in the heaps buried under the ground there are many hazardous substances that poison the soil, air and water. Soon what was buried will return to people in the form of food.

Waste recycling problem

One gets the impression that in Russia they did not expect that garbage would one day become a problem. This day has come, but many continue to live in the past, not noticing that they are standing on the edge of the abyss.

The waste disposal process in Russia has a number of problems that require immediate solutions:

1. Systematization. Each region of the country is fighting the problem with its own methods at the local level. There is no general scheme of actions.
2. Informing the population. Many Russians are in the dark, not realizing that ecological collapse is almost here.
3. Financing. For waste disposal, only those funds are allocated that the population pays to utilities for the removal of waste. This is negligible.
4. Marketing problems. Many consumers in Russia do not want to use things made from recycled materials.
5. Structuring. There is no special service in the Russian Federation that would directly deal with waste disposal issues.
6. Lack of long-term planning for waste management.

Conclusion

The main problem with waste recycling is human disunity. Countries do not interact on the issue with each other as much as the situation requires. While on the one side of Russia, in Europe, there is an active transition to a new ecological standard of living, on the opposite side, in China, people live today. The country is so dirty that it is no longer visible from space due to harmful fumes. Lacking their own resources, the Chinese climb into the Russian taiga and set their sights on the destruction of Lake Baikal.

Scientific research shows that each person produces 445 kg of garbage every year. Much more residues are generated by industrial activities. Irreparable harm to the environment is caused. The article will consider how different types of waste affect the environment, and how you can reduce their adverse effects through proper disposal.

Garbage types

Waste classification by origin separates waste into two groups: production and consumption waste. These include all the remnants produced by humanity.

Production and consumption wastes are understood as by-products resulting from the activities of an enterprise or a person. Waste materials from factories have the greatest impact on the environment.

Industrial waste

Economic growth in the countries of the world has led to the growth of industry. The activities of factories and enterprises on a huge scale provoke an ever-growing amount of waste.

Based on the possibility of reuse, leftovers can be:

• Returnable. Includes waste materials that, after being used for their intended purpose, are used in other work processes, but not as raw materials. An example is buttermilk left over from milk processing at a factory, sawdust.
• Secondary raw materials. Such waste is not returned to production, but it can be useful in other industrial sectors. It includes recyclable waste: scrap metal, plastic, glass, rubber, paper products.
• Non-returnable: Recycling and re-use of the residue is not feasible. If necessary, they are rendered harmless and subjected to burial or disposal.

Many enterprises consider potential recyclable materials to be irrecoverable losses, considering recycling unreasonable, which greatly harms the environment.

Hazard classes

Industrial waste is also divided into groups according to the severity of the consequences for humans and nature.

• The most dangerous materials are those containing mercury and galvanic sludge. Their impact on the environment is irreversible and leads to serious results, up to and including an environmental disaster.
• The next class of hazard includes batteries, toxic varnishes, materials with a high content of lead, acids. It takes 30 years to eliminate the harm they cause.
• The middle class includes materials containing a small amount of heavy metals. Their impact is eliminated in 10 years.
• The next class is made up of practically harmless substances, after the influence of which the environment takes 3 years to fully recover. These include mainly construction waste.
• The last, 5th class includes completely safe substances and elements: paper products, natural materials. They are recycled for reuse in most countries of the world.

Often, the last two hazard classes practically do not differ from each other, therefore, in many sources one can find a division into only four classes.

A large amount of industrial waste indicates imperfect production technology and the need to take measures, but this is often ignored by enterprises.

Impact on the environment

Highly toxic substances poison all elements of the Earth's biosphere.

Once in landfills, industrial waste begins to release hazardous substances into the soil and atmosphere. Through contaminated soil, poisons enter underground waters, which are directly connected with the world's oceans. Birds, animals, fish die or mutate, adapting to the new habitat, which leads to irreversible changes within the species.

Lands contaminated with hazardous waste are destroyed and become unsuitable for agricultural work. However, it can take quite a long time before the pollution is detected, which leads to the ingress of poisons into the grown products.

Human health is threatened due to the risk of poisoning from drinking water, food grown in contaminated areas, and air near enterprises. Heavy metals, including mercury, increase the risk of cancer and weaken the immune system.

The nuclear industry poses a particular danger to human health. The radioactive waste is stable and almost impossible to destroy. These substances gradually disintegrate themselves, but the half-life (the time during which the number of atoms of an element is halved) of many of them is tens of thousands of years. The effect of radiation on wildlife and humans is catastrophic and leads to the most serious consequences.

The amount of waste continues to grow, so the problem of proper disposal is becoming global.

Waste handling

To minimize the harm caused by enterprises to the environment, it is necessary to properly use the waste generated.

Disposal of industrial waste is carried out in different ways, depending on the type and degree of danger to the environment.

Contaminated wastewater undergoes several filtration stages. Mechanical method: water is purified from debris particles. Biological: with the help of bacteria, organic harmful substances are precipitated. Thermal - in which toxic substances are destroyed to safe components.

For toxic solutions, evaporation is used, after which the dry residue of toxic elements is burned.

Solid production residues are processed in a more complex way. Waste disposal at an enterprise implies a neutralization stage, the goals and main methods of which are aimed at reducing the adverse impact on the environment, reducing the area occupied by waste material.

Processing methods:

1. A low-cost, but effective method for elements of lower hazard classes is composting. The debris mixes with organic getter materials to accelerate the decomposition process. The method is suitable for construction waste, food industry waste.
2. Thermal neutralization, or incineration. Suitable for all types of waste. Temperatures above 1200 degrees neutralize toxic substances, purify gas impurities to a safe state. The remainder after such neutralization is 5–10% of the original volume of waste.
3. Biodegradation is a method in which low-hazard substances are degraded by microorganisms.
4. To disinfect residues with a high content of toxins, an electric current is used, under the influence of which the structure of the material is destroyed to a harmless state.

The next stage of recycling is waste disposal. This refers to the storage or disposal of waste residues at landfills, equipped complexes that prevent it from entering the environment.

The difference between these processes is that the storage of garbage implies their subsequent use or disposal.

Temporary storage of waste materials at appropriate sites is called accumulation, is allowed for 11 months, after which it becomes a criminal offense. The waste disposal facility must have an appropriate state license.

The company must have a burial permit: it is forbidden to place without a complete set of documents for certain types of garbage. Violation of this law will result in fines.

Waste materials storage activities are strictly controlled by the government. Requirements for waste disposal sites are rather severe: complexes and landfills should be located in specially designated areas after a series of studies. On their territories, constant monitoring of the state of the environment is mandatory. Timely sampling of soil, air and groundwater is required.

It is not allowed to place landfills near settlements, reservoirs, mining sites and other objects prone to contamination. The landfill soil must be laid with plastic that does not allow substances to enter the soil.

During the construction of the complex, it is necessary to take into account the likelihood of earthquakes. Seismic protection of landfills is provided by a special design.

Burial of garbage in landfills is as follows. Equipped transport takes it to the landfill.

Moreover, hazardous waste is transported in highly durable sealed containers. A certain amount of waste is discharged onto the territory, which is leveled with the help of technology. The resulting layer is sprinkled with earth and the layer is shipped again.

Garbage of different hazard classes is disposed of in separate complexes.

Closing polygons

At the stage of construction of the burial complex, an elevation is calculated at a certain height. When the level of disposal reaches the design level, the waste disposal facility is mothballed or closed. At landfills with high loading and long service life, it is allowed to exceed the established level by 10%.

Before conservation, the last layer of debris must be covered with a dense layer of soil, to exclude the possibility of water entering the soil, insulated with a vinyl lining to avoid emissions into the atmosphere.

To protect the soil from weathering or washout, the territory of the mothballed landfill must be landscaped in accordance with local climatic conditions.
Planted trees, lawns also contribute to the accelerated soil reclamation - its introduction into agricultural activities.

Features of the disposal of radioactive waste

Disposal of waste from the nuclear industry is a complex and expensive process. Initially, a careful sorting is carried out, determining the uranium content to milligrams: this substance is not buried.

The sorted uranium is sent back to production for reuse. Then the garbage is hermetically packed and sent to recycling plants.

Vitrification is a progressive method for processing radioactive waste. In the process, moisture is first evaporated from the material, then placed in an induction furnace, where it is mixed with crushed glass.

Next, the molten mixture is poured into strong containers, which are sealed and sent to underground burial grounds covered with concrete mortar. Such storage facilities reliably protect the environment from the effects of radionuclides for 1000-1500 years.

Registration of used elements

The state obliges industrial facilities to provide information on waste production materials. To register waste at an enterprise, you need to draw up and approve passports for each type of waste, based on the Federal Waste Classification Catalog (FCCO), in order to obtain a license for the removal and disposal of waste.

If the required type is not in the catalog, the company is obliged to conduct a third-party analysis of the composition of the substance in an accredited laboratory, on the basis of which the waste hazard class is calculated.

It is important to make sure that the selected company has the appropriate license for all stages of disposal of waste of various hazard classes. The listed actions take a long time, therefore it is recommended to perform them in advance in order to avoid exceeding the established deadline for garbage accumulation - 11 months.

The next stage is the direct disposal of solid industrial waste as property. This process depends on the accounting policies of the individual entity.

Waste clearance, neutralization, disposal is a long and costly process that requires careful implementation of each stage, but it is important to prevent an environmental disaster.

A growing number of businesses have a negative impact on the environment and on humanity. While significant reduction of waste or complete disposal of them is not possible in the short term, proper disposal will help keep the environment healthy.

The environment has always been a source of resources for mankind, but for a long time its vital activity did not have a noticeable effect on nature. Only from the end of the last century, under the influence of economic activity, noticeable changes in the Earth's biosphere began to occur. They have now reached alarming proportions.

The scale of the problem

The rapid growth of population and the level of consumption of natural resources, modern rates of material production lead to thoughtless treatment of nature. With such an attitude, a huge part of the resources taken from nature is returned to it in the form of waste, harmful and unsuitable for further use.

Scientists have calculated that 5 tons of garbage are generated in the world every day, while its amount increases annually by 3% in volume. The accumulation of household waste on the surface harms the surrounding nature, polluting water, soil and atmosphere and threatens the possibility of the existence of all life on the planet in general. Therefore, one of the important issues around the world is the disposal of household waste.

Household waste classification

Household waste can be classified according to several criteria.

So, according to the composition, household waste is conventionally divided into biological residues and non-biological waste (garbage).

• rats;
• cockroaches.

Cockroaches can carry different types of diseases.

Non-biological waste includes:

• paper;
• plastic;
• metal;
• textile;
• glass;
• rubber.

The process of decomposition of these wastes can last about 2–3 years and, in most cases, be accompanied by the release of toxic substances that harm the environment and humans.

According to the state of aggregation, waste is divided into:

• solid;
• liquid;
• gaseous;
• pastes;
• gels;
• suspensions;
• emulsions.

By origin, waste is divided into:

• Industrial - a type of household waste obtained as a result of production.
• Construction - are formed during construction and installation work, during the repair of roads, buildings, as well as during their demolition.
• Radioactive waste.
• Solid household waste (MSW) is generated in the residential sector, trade enterprises, educational facilities, healthcare and social and cultural facilities.

These are goods that have lost their consumer properties over time and turned into garbage, as well as MSW, road and yard waste.

The most significant part of household waste is solid waste. There are special waste disposal methods for each type of waste.

Waste recycling

The process of disposal of solid waste takes place in several stages:

• collection;
• transportation;
• placement;
• neutralization;
• burial;
• storage;
• processing;
• disposal.

First of all, the process of getting rid of garbage involves careful sorting. The task of pre-sorting waste and their disposal is greatly facilitated by the separate collection of waste, which is promoted in most European countries.

Methods for the destruction of solid household waste

There are various options for its destruction. So, the main way to get rid of solid waste is burial at special sites (landfills).

Non-returnable waste is destroyed at landfills - household waste is processed, as a result of which it almost completely ceases to exist as waste. The burial method is not suitable for all types of solid waste, but only for non-combustible waste or for substances that emit toxic substances during combustion.

The advantage of this method is that it does not require significant financial costs and the availability of large plots of land. But there are also disadvantages in using this method - it is the accumulation of gas during underground rotting of waste.

Briquetting is a new method of disposal of solid waste, which is not yet widely used in practice. It includes preliminary sorting and packing of homogeneous waste into separate briquettes, and then their storage in specially designated areas (landfills).

Waste briquetting makes it possible to significantly save space

Garbage packed in this way is compressed, which greatly facilitates its transportation due to a significant reduction in volume.

Briquetted waste is intended for further processing and possible industrial use. Along with such a method as the processing of municipal solid waste, during briquetting, they can be transported for burial or disposal by heat treatment.

In fact, this method is similar to the burial method, but in practice it has a number of advantages over it. The disadvantages of the method are that the heterogeneity of the waste generated and the preliminary strong pollution in the garbage containers and the change in some components of the waste creates a great difficulty in briquetting.

And the high abrasiveness of components such as stone, sand and glass interfere with the pressing process.

Since these recycling methods have a number of disadvantages, despite their low cost, the best option would be to completely get rid of garbage when recycling it into recyclable materials and fuel, as well as its possible reuse.

A new way to dispose of waste

Waste disposal

When disposing of garbage (the Latin root utilis is useful), the waste can later be used for various purposes.

Waste to be disposed of includes:

• all types of metals;
• glass;
• polymers;
• products from yarn and fabric;
• paper;
• rubber;
• organic household and agricultural waste.

The most efficient way of disposal today is recycling.

In other words, recycling is a special case of the concept of “solid waste disposal”.

When recycling, the waste is returned to the process of technogenesis. There are two options for recycling waste:

• Reuse of waste for its intended purpose after appropriate safe handling and labeling. For example, the reuse of glass and plastic containers.
• Return of waste after processing to the production cycle. For example, tin containers are used for the production of steel, waste paper is used for the production of paper and cardboard.

Some types of waste that cannot be used for their intended purpose are recycled, after which it is more expedient to return them to the production cycle as secondary raw materials. Thus, part of the waste can be used to generate heat and electricity.

In addition to those already listed, the disposal of solid waste can be carried out by several more methods. Each of them is applicable to a certain type of waste, and has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Thermal waste processing

Thermal processing means several ways:

• burning;
• low temperature pyrolysis;
• plasma treatment (high temperature pyrolysis).

The simple waste incineration method is the most common and one of the cheapest waste management methods. It is during incineration that large volumes of garbage are disposed of, and the generated ash takes up less space, does not undergo rotting processes and does not emit harmful gases into the atmosphere. It is non-toxic and does not require specially equipped burial sites.

The main thing in this method is that when waste is incinerated, a large amount of thermal energy is released, which has recently been learned to use for the autonomous operation of enterprises engaged in waste incineration. And its surplus is redirected to city stations, which makes it possible to provide entire areas with electricity and heat.

The disadvantage of this method is that during combustion, in addition to safe components, smoke saturated with toxic substances is formed, which creates a dense curtain over the earth's surface and leads to a significant disruption of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, contributing to its thinning and the formation of ozone holes.

High temperature and low temperature pyrolysis

Is a technological process of garbage gasification that occurs at a melting temperature higher than in a conventional processing plant (over 900 ° C).

As a result, a glazed product is formed at the outlet, which is absolutely harmless and does not require further disposal costs. The scheme of this process makes it possible to obtain gas from organic components of the waste, which is then used to generate electricity and steam.

The main advantage of this method is that it allows you to successfully solve the problem of environmentally friendly disposal of garbage without unnecessary costs for preliminary preparation, sorting, and drying.

The advantages of low-temperature pyrolysis (temperatures from 450 to 900 ° C) are:

• use for processing almost all types of household waste, carefully selected in advance;
• obtaining pyrolysis oils used in the production of plastics;
• release of pyrolysis gas suitable for further use.

In addition, there is such a method of waste disposal as composting. Since most of the waste is made up of various organic residues, they are subject to rapid decay in their natural environment.

The composting method is based on this property of organic matter. In the process of composting, not only the disposal of a huge part of the garbage that pollutes the environment takes place, but also in the process of it, substances useful for agriculture are obtained - fertilizers.

The presented methods of waste disposal allow you to process waste with the least negative impact on the environment.

Video: Modern Approach to Waste Disposal