Simple Tips for Waste management in Home

Today, we have come up with a subject to address the pressing question of waste management – the “Tips for Waste management in home”!

The world today demands to listen to the ‘3 R’ principle more than anything. Reduce- Reuse- Recycle. One of the prime reasons why we thought today we would discuss the validity of segregation of waste at home along with wet and bio-waste management.

Now, what exactly constitutes the “waste”? Household wastes mainly contain – food, paper, broken artifacts, bottles and cans, polythene covers, and the like which fits into categories of bio and non-biodegradable wastes equally!

The Government of India has brought up ideologies like the ban of single-use plastics worldwide, the campaign which is hoping to reduce plastics by 2022.

So, to contribute to solid residential waste management at our respective houses/apartments/villas, what is the little something towards which we can direct our efforts? Come, let’s have a look!

Listed below are some salient points for waste management in home!

1. Waste Segregation

• The most important and initial process is to separate physically the wastes, which are bio-degradable and otherwise. It can include the classification of wet and dry waste in separate.

• You can keep distinct buckets at home, say one of green, which can house all the decomposable and the other red, making room for all other types of waste that are non-decomposable say like cans and plastics. This is one of the best ways for waste management in home.

• Also, you can further classify the non-degradable by isolating plastics into another bucket altogether.

• This step helps in the easy processing of wastes in further steps.

• Waste segregation minimizes the amount of waste that is sent to landfills, thus promoting a shift toward environmentally conscious practices. It is a simple way for individuals to make a significant contribution to the environment by using proper waste disposal bins at home.

• This waste management in home technique holds beneficial, be it for independent houses/apartments or villas

2. Waste Processing

The wet wastes, which include food leftovers, vegetable peels, and other organic green wastes, can be used for composting. In contrast, the non-biodegradable wastes can make into municipal solid dumps with the help of a corporation/municipal solid waste collection team.

Composting

The ‘biowaste management at home’ can be practiced by the method of composting. This can be put into action using different methods like:

Pit Composting

If there is little space available within your house compound, you can hands-on put trust in this technique. That is the main reason why pit composting is gaining significance in the context of independent houses.

On how to proceed:

• Find a suitable spot, preferably 1.5 to 2 meters in width and 1 m in depth. In alternate layers of fertilizer (organically like cow dung), vegetable wastes, and soil, you can make the setup.

• Water the contents and leave it in your backyard, and the compost pit will do the work on its own! You can use a shovel and mix the layers weekly once or twice to ensure sufficient aeration.

• Now how do you know that the compost is ready to be used as manure? That’s when the contents turn brown within a span of about 60 days!

Now, what method of composting can you follow within a bare minimum of space? This one is for cases like apartments where there is little or no ground availability for pit composting!

3. Container Composting

• In an Urban environment, this comes handy, where you can perform the steps of composting within simple containers. These are available in the market in the name of ‘compost bins’ in varied designs.

• The management composting environment helps in reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. The closed design of the container helps in reducing the unpleasant smell coming from the container.

• These bins usually come with attached handles for easy mixing of contents, which is wet vegetable wastes in particular. Also, there are other types of bins where there is a requirement of manual mixing and water addition.

• These types of composts can only be carried out batch-wise and generally takes about 1 month to get ready.

Why composting?

Other than being an organic fertilizer in itself, a compost helps improve the soil properties like it’s water holding capacity. These days with more land pollution and ultimate deterioration of soil, why not choose to provide more humus-rich strata when you can by following the simple steps mentioned above!?

Municipal Solid waste management

• The non-biodegradable wastes are recycled based on the innate properties of the solid wastes and the non-recyclables dumped in landfills by the corporation/municipal solid waste management authorities.

• There are in general collection points/centers and also separate waste bucket provisions to collect such type of wastes and process the same to aid the waste management in apartments, overlooked by the relevant authorities.

• It helps in reducing waste generation which in turn minimizes pollution.

• The ‘3 R’ concept – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle can again work magic to minimize the hurdles associated with non-biodegradable wastes if you practice it well!

Waste Utilization

• The compost that is made is generally rich in nutrients and can make the soil rich. This compost, in most cases, is used as manure for organic farming practices.

• It provides the required nutrients that plants in your garden can easily absorb and these nutrients enhance the soil's ability to retain moisture.

• Municipal solid waste management, on the other hand, caters to the objective of filthy littering of lanes and roads, preventing the clogging and choking of drains, which is, in fact, a major trouble causer in cities.

Donate or Reuse Items

Before discarding functional items, consider donating them to charitable organizations or repurposing them creatively in your home. Whether it's clothing, furniture, or household items, extending their lives through donation or reuse reduces waste and benefits others while encouraging a more sustainable approach to waste management at home.

Limit Food Waste

Take a proactive approach to meal planning, strategizing to minimize food waste. To avoid overbuying, think about portion sizes and ingredients, store leftovers in airtight containers right away, and use perishable items before they spoil. Implementing these practices will significantly reduce the amount of food that ends up in the trash, resulting in more efficient waste management in your home.

Go Meatless More Often

Livestock production creates a lot of waste. Reduce your meat consumption and try vegetarian or vegan meals to significantly reduce your environmental impact. It's a win-win for the environment and, potentially, your wallet, because plant-based meals are often less expensive. Furthermore, leftover lentils or tofu stir-fry can be easily repurposed for lunch the following day, reducing food waste and saving you time in the kitchen.

Compost Organic Waste

Implement a comprehensive composting system in your home to efficiently manage food scraps, yard waste, and other organic materials. By diverting these materials from landfills and converting them into nutrient-rich compost, you not only reduce waste but also create a valuable resource for enriching garden soil or feeding indoor plants. This sustainable practice encourages environmentally friendly waste management while promoting healthier, more vibrant green spaces.

Downsize Packaging

Choose products with minimal packaging, or opt for concentrated formulas. Consider using laundry detergent packets instead of bulky jugs, or bar soap instead of several plastic bottles. Less packaging equals less waste to discard later. By making these wise decisions up front, you not only simplify trash disposal but also reduce your environmental impact.

Apart from all that is being said, there are some other things related to waste management in home that need our address.

Some of the best choices you can make include:

1. Prefer cloth bags to plastic bags whenever you go out of your house to purchase necessities. One simple step that we are being reminded every now and then and yet fail to follow!

2. Recycle the goods in your house in whatever possible way. This need not be a project of mammoth size. You can begin small, but well! For example, recycling bottles to pen holders!

Start using sustainable products to reduce the environmental impact of household waste.

Since every new transaction has turned electronically and things have shifted to the digital medium favorably, these days, we are witnessing a reduction in paper wastes. However, one cannot take things for granted and should work with the goal of reducing the same to whatever extent possible! Talking about the digitalization of things, the whole dynamics of e-waste processing has, in turn, brought forth serious hindrances.

Quoting Stephen Nachmanovitch, “With too little judgment, we get the trash. With too much judgment, we get a blockage.” So, with the right ounce of judgment, let us all begin today to act wisely and manage the wastes that we have generated generously!

So, that was about a few “tips for waste management in home”! Hope you found the article fruitful!

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