Page 14 - Energy from Toxic Organic Waste for Heat and Power Generation

Introduction to Energy From Toxic Organic Waste 3

of all kinds, rags, rubber, house sweeping (dust etc.), ashes, foils, wrappings,
pouches, sachets and tetra packs (rinsed), discarded electronic items from
offices, colonies viz. cassettes, computer diskettes, printer cartridges and
electronic parts, discarded clothing, furniture, and other unused equipments.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) in-
corporates hazardous waste into three categories. The first category is
source-specific wastes, the second category is nonspecific wastes, and third,
commercial chemical products. Generally, hazardous waste is waste that is
dangerous or potentially harmful to health and the environment. Hazardous
wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludge. They can be discarded com-
mercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of
manufacturing processes. Similarly, the nonhazardous waste is defined by
the Department of Defense (DOD) and the EPA as the extravagant, care-
less, or needless expenditure of DOD funds or the consumption of DOD
property that results from deficient practices, systems, controls, or decisions.
In addition, abuse is the manner in which resources or programs are man-
aged that creates or perpetuates waste and it includes improper practices not
involving prosecutable fraud. The EPA defines solid nonhazardous waste
as any garbage or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water
supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded
material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material
resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations,
and from community activities. The definition of nonhazardous waste can
also include financial waste. In 2009, the US Presidential Executive Order,
Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal Programs
was initiated to eliminate payment error, waste, fraud, and abuse in major
Federal government programs due to public zero tolerance of fraud, waste,
and abuse. This Executive Order is based upon a transparent, participatory,
and collaborative, comprehensive framework between the government and
public.
There are common practices to dispose waste from ordinary people.
But, disposal of waste is becoming a serious and vexing problem for any
human habitation all over the world. Disposing solid waste out of sight does
not solve the problem, but indirectly increases the same manifold and at a
certain point it goes beyond the control of everybody. The consequences
of this practice such as health hazards, pollution of soil, water, air, and food,
unpleasant surroundings, loss of precious resources that could be obtained
from the solid waste, etc. are well-known. That is why it is essential to focus
on proper management of waste all over the world. Waste management has