WASTE MANAGEMENT

KONGU POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE
PERUNDURAI, ERODE


WASTE MANAGEMENT
Due to Globalization, waste management is a tusk challenge against our human society. The environment loss its own qualities due to wastes day by day at speedy rate. These wastes are joined together with us when disposing after using them. When we approach them with a concept of “Waste to Wealth”, we can resolve the problems due to wastes and also can get new products at lower or no cost.
Based on this, our college involved in waste management by three ways as
1. Solid Waste Management
2. Liquid Waste Management
3. Gaseous Waste Management
1. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
The solid wastes from our college hostel – Mess wastes, Vegetable wastes and human excreta from hostel toilets – are scavenged in a safe way by “Bio-Gas Plant”(based on Human excreta and Kitchen wastes). With this plant we scavenge at a rate of 300 Kg/day.
And also we are producing 25 m3 of Methane gas ( Equivalent to 17 Kg of LPG) utilized for our kitchen purpose. The Total cost incurred for this project was Rs. 4,50,000/- with Tamilnadu Government subsidy of Rs. 1,50,000/-


2. LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Our Kongu Polytechnic College also put our dedicated interest on water management through the following ways

I. Rain water harvesting tanks

II. Rain water Dam

III. Recycling of waste water

IV. Drip irrigation

V. Sprinkler irrigation

I. Rain Water Harvesting Tanks
We had built rain water harvesting tanks to save the rain water, which are collected from our college and hostel buildings. Really, our ground water level is improving significantly.
As it is crucial and meaningful work, we extend our works to our college surrounding villages also. We built rain water conservation tanks at our own cost in the following village.
a. Kuttapalayam at cost of Rs. 50,000 /-
b. Uthukuli at cost of Rs. 10,0000 /-
II. Rain Water Conservation Check Dam
In order to conserve rain water in the land markings, we built Cannels and collect the water and save it in a check dam. Doing so, the open well which is in our college premises, water level maintained in favorable level constantly throughout the year even in summer days also. The total cost spent for this project was Rs.1,00,0000 /-

III. Waste Water Treatment and Recycling
According to waste management, there are 4Rs which means
1. Reduce
2. Recycle
3. Reuse
4. Refuse
When the used waste water gets into the environment, problem arises in the form of mosquito tortures, odor, land pollution etc. Hence avoiding polluted water into ground is a basic thing to keep the environment in a safe way.
Hence, we Recycle, the waste water from our hostel mess and bathrooms with a water treatment plant at cost of Rs.8,00,000 /- in our Kongu Polytechnic College. The treated water is Reused for Green band of our college to various trees and plants through water minimizing ( Reduce) plans like Drip Irrigation, Sprinkler irrigation etc. for 10 acres of land. We approximately purify 2.5 Laks of waste water per day.


IV. Drip Irrigation
We are using the treated waste water to the plants and trees in our college premises using drip irrigation method to maintain the green band and pleasure atmosphere.

V. Sprinkler Irrigation
The green band of our college grounds with grass is maintained with sprinkler irrigation of the treated waste water.


3. GASEOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT
The main factors causes the atmosphere to pollute are
1. Smoke from Industries
2. Smoke from vehicles
3. Wastes due to human and animals


We can protect the above pollutants, by avoiding the production and using the wastes for a newer processes.
On this basis our college is doing the following activities in a remarkable way.

i. Bio gas plant based on Human excreta

ii. Smoke testing equipments

iii. Tree plantation

iv. Bio Mass Gasifier unit

v. Carbon Trading

i. Bio Gas Plant
This 25m3 capacity plant is working with Human excreta and mess wastes as raw materials. We are getting 25m3 of Methane gas which is utilized for cooking purpose. This green house gas is protected in mixing with environment and utilized for our regular purpose. Hence, atmosphere is safe from pollution.
ii. Smoke Testing Equipments
We are having vehicle smoke tester in our Automobile Laboratory, through which vehicles are checked for emission of gases like CO, CO2 etc., If the levels goes beyond the prescribed levels, recommendations are given for improving it.
iii. Tree Plantation
In order to promote the trend against afforestation, we planting trees in the following levels

��Mango Trees in a 2 ½ acres

��Tree plantation by our college NSS volunteers

��1000 neem trees at SIPCOT area

��100 Neem trees at Semmandampalayam

��150 trees at Govt. Higher Secondary School, Uthukuli


iv. Bio – Mass Gasifier Unit
In India, 50% of electricity produced using coal. But this process emits lot of pollutants to atmosphere. Bio-Mass gasifier unit is used to produce electricity without affecting the environment.
On this basis, a 100 KWe capacity Bio-Mass Gasifier unit is installed in our college produces electricity by using bio wastes as raw material. The bio wastes are getting from our waste land development project.
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v. Carbon Trading
As per the resolutions of Environmental meet in 1999 at Koyotto, Japan, each country in the world should decrease the emitting level of CO2 to 10 % from present level.
If it is unable to reduce the emission of CO2, that countries can tie up with the countries those are effectively launching the environmental friendly projects. They can borrow the Carbon Credit by equal amount of cost.
On this basis, Ms. Malgorzata Sieuice from Europe visited our Polytechnic College. The Carbon Trading is in process.
Conclusion
In sum, we have realized that it is not only the Ozone layer but the entire atmosphere that needs protection. What we have done and what we are going to do are only a few measures in this direction but in the long run, it will entail collective cooperation in this noble task. Thanks to the effort taken for the preservation of the environment, the earth will continue to remain, in our opinion, a safer place to live in the future. Let us all be up and going about doing our part to reserve our mother – our green planet.

Waste management. Traditionally, most garbage is buried in landfills, yet
landfills are filling up and closing down all over the country. Incineration is a poor
alternative. Kolnitz and Kaplan (2009) stated that even with pollution controls,
incinerators are the largest new source of air pollution, acid gases, toxic ash, carbon
monoxide, and dioxins. Thus, when deciding how to handle solid waste, the alternatives

should be in this order: source reduction, recycling, reusing, incineration and then land filling.
Recycling programs. Colleges and universities have a unique opportunity to
manage waste by using resources efficiently and effectively, collecting materials for
recycling and reusing, and composting food wastes (Wie and Shanklin, 2001). Those
actions can help them to enhance their reputation while reducing costs and contributing to a better community.
Kansas State University (KSU) is committed to becoming a more environmentally
aware community by expanding recycling efforts across the campus. Their goal is to
enhance the campus environment, minimize the waste stream, decrease waste
management costs and help the planet. Housing and Dining Services has a pilot program
for recycling at the residence halls. Moreover, housing and dining services uses "green" cleaning chemicals for housekeeping activities and all carpet is 100% recyclable as are many other products (KSU, 2010).
Grab-n-go packaging. To reduce packaging waste, university dining services
preferred food products can be purchased in bulk or in concentrate form, and many come in containers that are reusable, refillable, and recyclable or made with recycled content (Saphire & Goldstein, 1998). Services at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Vermont, the University of Oregon, Dickenson College, and Colorado State University started to reduce waste by encouraging students to use fewer napkins and take
only what they could eat. The students have the option of using disposable containers or checking out a reusable container with their university ID.
More recently, Dickenson College started selling homemade reusable to-go bags for the students to use at the Grab33 n-Go to avoid wasting plastic disposable bags. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology started selling snack foods in bulk to offset the waste generated by individually pre-packaged snacks, using fountains for their sodas, juices and milk as opposed to individually pre-packaged drinks. The reusable bags, disposable containers, and packaging reduction are incentives for students to reduce waste and are good ways to educate incoming freshmen on sustainable practices (Brown & Eaton, 2007).
Food waste composting. University of Vermont (2008) listed items can be
composted as follows: fruit and vegetable peels, any food leftovers, coffee grinds /tea bags, meat scraps & bones, dairy & cheese products, noodles & pasta, and paper napkins.

Items cannot be composted as follows:

paper cups, plates or bowls, dishes or silverware, coffee creamers or stirrers, Styrofoam cups, plastic bags or saran wrap, and food wrappers or paper. Food composting at dining centers. Composting is a process that takes
organic waste including food scraps and yard waste, and turns it into a nutrient-rich soil.

The University of Vermont Dining Services has begun to collect food waste from several locations and take them to the Interval Compost Facility for composting (University of Vermont, 2008).
How is food waste collected? The following steps are involved in the process of collecting food waste:
(1) A contracted hauler uses a special dump truck to collect food waste,
(2) the truck is equipped with a hydraulic operated bucket that can dump two or more carts at once,
(3) the carts are lined with a special biodegradable liner made of cornstarch which helps keep the insides of the carts moderately clean, and
(4) the carts are kept inside or outside the dining services loading dock, depending on the availability of space.
The challenges involved include: maintaining cleanliness of the carts and keeping them from freezing solid in the winter (University of Vermont, 2008).