Waste can be any substance that is discarded after primary use or is worthless, defective, and of no use. Municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such as sewage) surface runoff, radioactive waste, and so on are some examples of waste.
Improper disposal and management of waste cause all types of pollution: air, soil, and water. The disposal of wastes without any proper waste management contaminates surface and groundwater supplies.
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In Sri Lanka much of the waste is buried in landfill sites – holes in the ground, sometimes old quarries, sometimes specially dug. Some waste may generate methane gas in the process of rotting, which is a greenhouse gas and can be explosive too. As the waste decomposes, Leachate is produced and can cause pollution. Also, the managed landfill sites may attract vermin or cause litter. Also, the wastefilling of lagoons and lowlands can cause floods in the area. Disposing of solid waste causes a bad smell in an area like Blue Mandle in Sri Lanka where the area has become unfavourable for human habitat and become favourable for animals like rodents. It can pollute the water resources by deep percolation and infiltration of dissolved solid or liquid wastes.
In the Colombo area, toilet waste is directly disposed to the sea. It has badly affected the biodiversity of the sea. People are throwing away polythene then cattle and goats eat the polythene and due to the indigestibility of materials, they might die.
Oil pollutants released by marine activities pollute the sea and then it can affect the bio-diversity of the sea habitats.
Incinerating waste also causes problems to the environment as it releases toxic gases by burning out materials like plastic and polythene. It may lead to acid rain and low air quality in the cities.
Throwing away waste materials pollute water resources. It also wastes the raw materials as well, not only that but also the energy and time that have been spent to make it. Reducing waste disposal reduces the impact on the environment; environmental pollution and time and money as well.
Focus is on the environmental impacts of mineral and organic fertilizer use and land-use changes on losses of nutrients to the aquatic environment (eutrophication), greenhouse gas emissions (global warming) as well as resource consumption (e.g. fossil fuels, depletion of rock phosphate reserves) and the estimation of environmental impacts of different agricultural production systems.
Waste can play a major role in the impact on the environment. It can harm biodiversity. Pollution of water resources leads to eutrophication. Then species like fish and other aquatic species began to die. Waste disposal in forest areas may cause deforestation due to the toxicity produced by the waste. Unless waste is properly disposed of including bio-medical wastes, humans may get diseases like diarrhoea and cancer. If industrial premises release heavy metals into the water flows or agricultural waste is disposed of, CKDu diseases can be prevalent in the area. There is a huge number of CKDu patients in the dry zone of Sri Lanka due to agrochemical waste contamination with drinking water resources.
Improper waste management and disposal in urban areas cause favourable conditions for rodents like mice. Then it will be a nuisance to the people. Also, polythene disposal may cause water accumulation and make a habitat for mosquito-like insects. There can be waste slides like in the Meethotumulla area.
The burning of polythene and industrial gas emissions may include toxic gases and can cause smog in the area. That may cause respiratory problems.
land clearing may remove the natural habitats, and then the native species may not be able to compete with non-native species such as weeds, vermin, flies, and rats.
Unlike native species, these pests can often live on a vast variety of food sources and are better adapted to live on these landfill sites. As a result, foreign species such as rats, ibis, feral cats, and dogs thrive in landfill areas on rotting food sources.
Uncollected waste can obstruct stormwater runoff resulting in floods, Chemical poisoning through chemical inhalation Low birth weight, Cancer, Congenital malformations, and Neurological disease can be serious problems due to improper disposal of waste.
E-waste including heavy metals like Cadmium, Arsenic can cause serious damage to animals as well as humans in the long term. Importation of low-quality electronic material is a huge problem we face as a nation today due to its short lifetime.
Solutions for waste in Sri Lanka
The land is a valuable commodity we can reuse the polythene and recycle the waste, by the way, we can prevent lands from becoming waste landfills. By recycling and removing all food and garden waste from our red-lidded general waste bin, landfill sites can be maintained for longer, helping to reduce biodiversity loss, save valuable space and reduce the number of pests in our ecosystems.
We can recycle, reuse, and reduce the materials we use, use renewable energy, and impose rules and regulations for disposing and importing electronic materials.
The law banning polythene use in Sri Lanka is a good example of the resolution of environmental problems due to waste. We can make people aware of the effects of waste materials and teach them to recycle and categorize waste. We can encourage people to use traditional methods and use organic fertilizers instead of using a huge amount of chemical fertilizers.
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