Solid Wastes Generation at Various Zones Ofuniversities Campus: Characterisation and Itsmanagement Approaches

Abstract

Effective management strategy is required for handling the large quantities of waste produced by various societies/ organizations and waste characterization is essential to prepare this management policy. In this study, solid wastes collected from the combined campus of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University (CCSHAU) and Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Science (LUVAS), Hisar was characterized through population estimation, field investigations and applying ASTM D5231-92 standard method. In the combined campus, the average quantity of solid waste generation was found to be 1047.1±214.4 kg/day. The whole campus was divided into five structural units and waste composition was determined, mixture unit waste comprised the highest fraction of food 62.13% and polythene 10.8%. The statistical estimation obtained a strong positive correlation of mixture unit waste with residential and markets waste contents, which was 0.995 and 0.997 at p<0.01. The analysis of solid samples showed that the biodegradable part of solid waste may be a better source for composting while some content of non-biodegradable waste can be sold into the market for recycle or reuse purpose. On the basis of solid waste characterization, a set of recommendations were suggested to strengthen the waste management processes for institutions.