I’ve frequently found myself following the theme - When it's out of sight it's out of my mind too. In my last post (last year), I created an interactive activity for my readers, listing 31 common household waste items to be handled/clubbed under three categories: Wet, Dry, and Household Hazardous. The aim was to:

1. Encourage readers to reflect on the waste we generate at home.

2. Show how different items can be disposed of based on categorization systems.

3. Highlight the importance of rinsing or cleaning waste before disposal.

4. Spark thoughts and questions about the waste we handle daily.

Some questions I received included: What exactly are Wet and Dry waste? Why these categories? Are there other ways to categorize? Do I really need to clean items before disposal? What happens to waste after segregation? What if I miss sorting a few items?

While I plan to answer many such questions over time, my immediate goal is to ensure that we’re all on the same page.

Waste management encompasses all actions and processes in managing the flow of waste from the time it is created, to its final disposal. This includes collection, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste; monitoring and adhering to regulations, waste-related laws, and economic mechanisms. Common paths for waste disposal include landfills, incineration and recycling.

Waste Segregation refers to the process of sorting different types of waste so that materials can be sent down the appropriate channels for effective disposal or treatment.

Waste pickers, waste workers, rag pickers, kabadiwalas, scrap dealers and other individuals that make up the informal sector labor-force in waste are the ones who do most of the real waste segregation in India and many other countries.

Before I began to understand the work of the informal sector in Waste, I identified 8-10 categories of waste - paper, metal, hard plastic, soft plastic, e-waste, glass, rubber, food waste, sanitary/hazardous waste and others.

Through my work with scrap dealers and waste workers, I got to compile an extensive list totaling to around 100 different materials, most of which I have read and heard about but have never successfully been able to distinguish between.

Many informal waste workers are able to distinguish between different kinds of plastics, different types of metals, and more – well-aware of the monetary returns per kg, for each material, to maximize income derived from collecting and selling them. Depending on the areas they operate in, and the kinds of waste production in those areas, many such workers specialize in handling certain types of waste.

Segregation of waste where it is generated is known as Segregation at Source.
If in a house, instead of putting all the trash in one bin, the residents separate plastic, paper, food waste, cans and bottles and keeps the rest mixed, they have done a significant amount of segregation at source.

Waste materials collected from waste generators- residential, institutional, industrial, or other, are likely to change hands a few times during which time these materials undergo further sorting - by color and type - and processing - change in physical form - before making their way to their end destinations where real monetary value can be extracted.

In waste management systems that I have observed and worked with, food waste goes to farmlands, composting pits or biogas plants; recyclable materials are accumulated and sold or sent to the respective materials’ recycling units and; non-recyclable, hazardous and bio-medical waste materials are diverted to landfills, or are incinerated at Waste to Energy (WTE) plants.

Different waste materials mixed together make them harder to process. Value is lost.

Plastic containers or packets containing rotting food neither benefit workers collecting and selling plastics, nor farmers making compost. Washing out pungent or dried food from each packet and box, coming from every single bin, is far from practical. Commonly, such mixes of waste materials end up in landfills.

Cleaning and segregating waste materials at source are necessary steps in ensuring less wastage, of materials, time and resources to convert waste materials into raw materials for further use or reuse.

Wet, Dry and Household Hazardous

The 3 categories in my activity – Wet, Dry and Household Hazardous – are common terms in the world of waste. Each has its own terms and conditions, which are open to interpretation, for those generating the waste as well as for those handling it.

Let me try to simplify what I mean about the interpretation of these terms, using some examples.

Wet waste is also known as biodegradable waste. Waste that is made up of organic matter. Waste that can be composted. Waste that will decompose naturally.

·       If a waste item holds moisture or any liquid...just because it is 'wet' doesn’t automatically make it wet waste.

·       Dry food waste like egg shells and stale bread are also Wet waste.

·       Wood is biodegradable, but blocks of wood or furniture will most likely go as Dry waste. If there are pieces of wood that have splinters, it's better to dispose it as Household Hazardous waste.

Dry waste is also known as non-biodegradable waste. Waste made up of inorganic matter. Waste that cannot be composted. Waste from which certain materials can be recycled, or repurposed, if not all of it.

·       Paper is technically biodegradable, but is treated as Dry waste. The most common explanation for this, is that paper is typically chemically-treated or bleached and hence not suited for composting.

·       In chemistry, metals are organic compounds, but are not considered as organic matter and are treated as Dry waste.

·       Sharp metals or glass (which is likely to break while being collected, transported or handled) should be Dry waste but pose risk of injury in handling, and possibly infection as a result and are hence treated as Hazardous waste.

·       Coconut shells though biodegradable are separated by many waste workers as Dry waste that is recyclable rather than waste that will be composted.

·       Clothes are made up of many different fabrics – natural, artificial, synthetic or a combination of fabric. Wet or dry, cloth is still Dry waste.

Domestic or Household Hazardous waste includes sanitary waste. Different types of waste can be considered hazardous. Waste materials that contain toxic or reactive chemicals such as batteries, paint and glue cans, deodorant and cleaning sprays; waste that may contain elements or components like glass or sharp metals like tube-lights or light bulbs and razors; cosmetic products, expired medicines and their empty containers; waste items that contain human elements and hence bacteria or pathogens like soiled diapers, used sanitary napkins, used condoms etc. 

·       Fingernails and hair coming from humans are not typically considered hazardous and are commonly disposed as Wet waste.

·       Old electronics would possibly contain batteries and smaller metal and glass components but aren't treated as a hazard and are more likely to be disposed as Dry waste to be later handled as ‘e-waste’.

·       Dust when cleaning floors, furniture and fixtures is likely a mixture of organic and inorganic matter and chemical compounds but is likely to end up in Dry or Wet waste.

I now recommend that the readers make another attempt at ‘handling’ the waste in the interactive activity in the previous post, and share your responses with me, if you’re open to it.