Proper waste management is of great importance to both rural and urban areas. It is critical due to the fact that certain types of wastes can be hazardous and can contaminate the environment if not properly handled.Proper waste management is important because improperly stored garbage can cause economic  as well as, health and safety problems.

All living organisms create waste, but humans create far more waste than any other species.Waste can be generated in many forms and occurs as solid material, which include household items like food scraps, paper plates and empty bottles, napkins and utensils. It also exists in the form of organic waste as well as medical and pharmaceutical waste. Time and again, people are educated about the importance of waste treatment but then this process should not stop because now and then, people will always forget. Some of the kids grow and are taught on how to properly dispose their waste, and they can still forget about it. The only thing we can do as ordinary people to let the world know the importance of waste disposal is by teaching our own children. By doing so, we are nurturing a child to do what is right while we are also saving the future generations. People who make effort to spread the word and continue to be of service to other people need to be acknowledged as most of them work voluntarily.

As human populations grow so does the demand for and consumption of resources increase.This increase volume of trash threatens standards of hygiene at micro and macro levels. If these wastes are not properly disposed of, they will accumulate quickly and pose significant harms. Human beings have been practicing primitive techniques in waste treatment for thousands of years. What early human used to do was simply dug a hole and buried their refuse and trash.This technique was very effective for these early people because their population was relatively small, and they did not produce as much waste as modern humans do today. Burying the trash helps to prevent bugs and rodents from spreading diseases and becoming nuissance.While primitive humans produced very little waste, which were biodegrade. Modern humans produce large amounts of waste, much of which is not biodegradable therefore will not quickly decompose. Also, many types of garbage may be damaging to the ground water, soil and surrounding habitat. Burning the wrong types of waste can cause gases to be released into the atmosphere. To solve this problem, modern waste management professionals place garbage in lined holes and they use bacteria to help facilitate rapid decomposition of these hazardous waste.

Proper waste removal prevents the spread of pollution and disease and ensures that environments remain habitable for humans, plants and animals. Polluted air increases the risk of respiratory illnesses. Garbage that is properly disposed of has a lesser chance of getting into the water supply and causing illnesses. Improperly disposing waste also causes aesthetic harm, as piles of trash can be seen build up in communities. To stay away from contributing to the growing problem of waste disposal, recycling and reducing consumption of packaged items is a good place to start. This can minimize the accumulation of waste for lesser job to be done in the future.You can sell recyclable materials such as glass, plastics, wood and iron which will be remade into new useful items.

Waste can be separated into different elements in order to make their collection efficient. They are generally grouped as dry waste and wet waste. Dry wastes are generally considered non-biodegradable while solid waste can be degraded. Below is a simple guide to help you segregate garbage at home.

Dry Waste: Which refers to anything that can be kept for a long period of time without decomposing (non-biodegradable). Many of these wastes can be recycled while others like plastic often end up in landfills. Examples of dry waste, include:Glass, paper, leather,resin, metal objects, rubber, tin etc…These wastes should be stored in dry waste bags and handed over to collectors if you cannot recycle them to generate more income.

Wet Waste: These are wastes that can quickly be broken down by microorganisms in the environment. They are also referred to as kitchen waste. It is important to separate animal waste from plant waste, especially if the waste will be used for animal feed because animal waste can be dangerous to health. Examples of wet waste, include:Rotten fruit and vegetable, leftover food,flowers, fruit and vegetable peeling,coffee/ tea powder waste etc…Wet waste should not be mixed with any other waste and should be collected daily.  

Biomedical Waste which are any material that has blood or other bodily fluids and they include: Sanitary napkins, condoms, waxing strips, soiled cotton, human hair/ nails, disposable diapers etc… Biomedical waste should be wrapped in old newspaper and marked with a red cross and should be collected daily.

Waste segregation reduces the amount of garbage that needs to be sent to landfills. Waste removal is becoming increasingly important as land is becoming less available while the amount of waste only continues to increase. Proper segregation of waste is not only a matter of environmental concern, but it is also of economic importance. Proper waste management and disposal therefore removes all these hazardous waste from the environment, this makes the environment safer for both human beings and animals as well.