10.3. WATER CONSERVATION

It is estimated that 75% of electronic items are stored due to uncertainty of how to manage it. These electronic junks lie unattended in houses, offices, warehouses etc. and normally mixed with household wastes, which are finally disposed off at landfills. This necessitates implementable management measures.

Many people are unsure how to dispose of old electronics, which leads to a significant amount of e-waste being stored instead. About 75% of electronic items are left unused and mixed with everyday rubbish, creating problems both in homes and at landfills. Effective management of e-waste is urgently needed to address this issue and prevent environmental damage caused by improper disposal.

Consider a friend who has an old computer sitting in their garage. Instead of throwing it away, they are not sure if it can be recycled or reused. This hesitation is common and can lead to e-waste piling up unnecessarily, similar to how you might keep clothes you no longer wear, unsure of what to do with them.

In industries management of e-waste should begin at the point of generation. This can be done by waste minimization techniques and by sustainable product design. Waste minimization in industries involves adopting: • inventory management, • production-process modification, • volume reduction, • Recovery and reuse.

Industries need to take responsibility for managing e-waste right from where it starts, which is during the production of electronic goods. This means using strategies to reduce waste, such as better inventory management to avoid excess materials, modifying production processes to be more efficient, reducing the overall volume of waste created, and finding ways to recover and reuse materials. By incorporating these strategies, industries can minimize their waste footprint and contribute to environmental sustainability.

Imagine a bakery that keeps track of its ingredients closely to avoid throwing away spoiled unused flour. By ordering only what it needs each week, the bakery reduces waste and saves money, just like industries can manage e-waste by minimizing excess materials from the start.

Proper control over the materials used in the manufacturing process is an important way to reduce waste generation. By reducing both the quantity of hazardous materials used in the process and the amount of excess raw materials in stock, the quantity of waste generated can be reduced. This can be done in two ways i.e. establishing material-purchase review and control procedures and inventory tracking system.

Effective inventory management involves keeping track of all materials used in production. By ensuring that only necessary materials are ordered and reducing hazardous materials, businesses can significantly cut down on waste. Establishing procedures to review material purchases and implementing tracking systems are essential steps to achieve this goal.

Think of a librarian who keeps precise records of books borrowed to avoid buying duplicates. This careful tracking prevents waste of library funds and space, similar to how businesses ensure efficient use of their materials to minimize waste.

Changes can be made in the production process, which will reduce waste generation. This reduction can be accomplished by changing the materials used to make the product or by the more efficient use of input materials in the production process or both. Potential waste minimization techniques can be broken down into three categories: i) Improved operating and maintenance procedures, ii) Material change and iii) Process-equipment modification.

Modifying the production process can lead to less waste. This can include using materials that generate less waste or optimizing how materials are used. Improvements can be classified into better operational practices, changes to the materials themselves, and modifications to the machinery used for production.

This is like a chef adjusting a recipe by using less oil and more vegetables. By doing so, they decrease the amount of unhealthy waste and make a healthier dish, similar to how manufacturers can create products with less overall waste.

Volume reduction includes those techniques that remove the hazardous portion of a waste from a non-hazardous portion. These techniques are usually to reduce the volume, and thus the cost of disposing of a waste material. The techniques that can be used to reduce waste-stream volume can be divided into 2 general categories: source segregation and waste concentration.

Volume reduction focuses on reducing the physical size of waste, thus making it cheaper and easier to dispose of. This can be achieved through two methods: separating hazardous materials from non-hazardous ones (source segregation) and increasing the concentration of waste materials to make recycling easier.

It’s like packing a suitcase for a vacation. By organizing items neatly and separating clothes from shoes, you can maximize the packing space and make it easier to carry, just as industries can handle their waste more effectively.

This technique could eliminate waste disposal costs, reduce raw material costs and provide income from a salable waste. Waste can be recovered on-site, or at an off-site recovery facility, or through inter-industry exchange. A number of physical and chemical techniques are available to reclaim a waste material such as reverse osmosis, electrolysis, condensation, electrolytic recovery, filtration, centrifugation etc.

Recovery and reuse refer to finding ways to take waste materials and turn them back into usable resources. This can help save companies money and reduce the overall need for new raw materials. Various techniques, such as those involving chemical processes or physical separation methods, can be used for this recovery.

Consider a recycling facility that collects old bottles and turns them into new glass products. This process not only prevents waste but also saves resources needed to make the new bottles from scratch, effectively demonstrating recovery and reuse.

Minimization of hazardous wastes should be at product design stage itself keeping in mind the following factors: • Rethink the product design: Efforts should be made to design a product with fewer amounts of hazardous materials. • Use of renewable materials and energy: Bio-based plastics are plastics made with plant-based chemicals rather than from petrochemicals. • Use of non-renewable materials that are safer: Designers could ensure the product is built for re-use, repair and/or upgradeability.

Sustainable product design is about creating products in a way that minimizes harmful waste from the very beginning. This involves designing products that use fewer harmful materials, opting for renewable inputs, and ensuring that items can be reused or repaired instead of tossed out. By considering sustainability during the design phase, companies can greatly reduce future waste.

Imagine a toy company that creates toys from safe, biodegradable materials that can also be easily assembled and disassembled for repair. This thoughtful design means the toys can last longer and be less harmful to the environment, portraying the principle of sustainable design.

--