Public Health issues in

Waste Management

Dr. Harshad Thakur, MBBS, MD, DBM

Professor,

Centre for Public Health

School of Health Systems Studies

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

MUMBAI, INDIA

What is ‘Waste’?

• Till few years back,

– Waste was considered as unwanted or unusable material.

– Any substance which is discarded after primary use, or

– Worthless, defective and of no use at that point of time.

• NOW, with better understanding, as we are using and

converting resources into waste, it is being considered as a

resource at wrong place.

• Thus waste can be actually useful since our resources are

limited.

• For this, it is essential that we “re convert” waste into a resource

again for future use.

Waste types

• Biodegradable and non-biodegradable

• Solid, liquid and gaseous waste

• Municipal waste includes – Household waste,

– Commercial waste, and

– Demolition waste

• Hazardous waste includes – Industrial waste,

– Radioactive waste,

– Explosive waste, and

– Electronic waste (e-waste)

• Biomedical waste including clinical waste

Per capita Waste generation

Importance of Health in Waste Management

• Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs

of the present generation without compromising the ability of

future generations to meet their own needs.

• It is socio-economic development that is conducted without

depletion of natural resources.

• “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not

every man's greed.” by Mahatma Gandhi.

• Health is one of the most important basic need of every living

being including humans.

• Many diseases directly or indirectly related to waste.

Waste collection site

Waste disposal site

Effect of Deonar dumping yard (Mumbai)

Epidemiologic triad for disease occurrence

Host

Agent Environment

•Biological agents•Physical agents•Chemical agents•Nutrient agents•Mechanical agents•Social agents

•Physical environment•Biological environment•Social environment

•Demographic characteristics•Biological characteristics•Socio-economic characteristics•Behavioral characteristics

Communicable diseases

Modes of transmission

Direct transmission

Direct contact

Droplet infection

Contact with soil

Inoculation into skin or mucosa

Trans-placental (vertical)

Indirecttransmission

Water-borne

Vector-borne

Air-borne

Fomite-born

Unclean hands and fingers

Sewage and disease transmission

Effect of waste on Living world• Effect on health of Human Beings due to …

– Solid waste: e.g., Diseases due to flies

– Liquid waste: e.g., Fecal-oral transmission of communicable diseases, Diseases due to mosquitoes

– Gaseous waste: Air pollution leading to respiratory problems

– Others: Low birth weight, Congenital Malformations, Cancers, etc..

And we should not forget that waste also has ….

• Effect on Plants and Animal kingdom leading to

Deforestation, extinction of species, loss of biodiversity, etc..

Waste Management Hierarchy

Primordial Prevention(Reduce)

Primary Prevention(Reuse)

Secondary Prevention(Recycle, Recover)

Tertiary Prevention(Landfill)

Challenges and Issues

• Migration or dumping of waste

– From developed countries to developing countries (especially hazardous

waste)

– From cities to rural / tribal / forest areas

– From land to sea / rivers / water bodies

– From Earth to Space (maybe in future)

• Modern waste management technology need to be

– More focused on reducing waste generation, re-use and re-cycle

– Available, Accessible, Affordable, Adaptable, etc.

– E.g., it is not made available to all (especially developing countries)

• Lack of awareness among citizens, policy-makers, etc.

What can be done?

• More Research required to understand

– Social, Economic, Political impact of health related issues of waste

management

• Linking Health and Development

– Following and achieving SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals

• Creating awareness among

– Common man, waste handlers

– Policy makers and policy implementers at local / regional / national /

international levels