UNIT 20 WASTE MANAGEMENT

Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
• conceptualise Waste
• realise the scope and need for a systems' approach to waste management
• identify the multi-disciplinary character of waste management
• establish the relationship between wastivity, productivity and resource
management
• realise the need for adopting a preventive policy of waste generationS
• devise and apply suitable means for waste reduction
• realise the importance of devising good systems for waste collection, recycling and
disposal
• appreciate the necessity of introducing concept of waste in the traditional
input-output model
• devise a method of cost accounting for wastes.

Structure
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Complementarity of Waste Management and Resource Management
20.3 Taxonomy of Wastes
20.4 Definition of Wastivity: Gross and Net Wastivity
20.5 The Functional Classification of Waste Management
20.6 Outline of I-O-W (Input-Output-Waste) Model
20.7 Treatment of Wastage in Cost Accounts
20.8 Concluding Remarks
20.9 Summary
20.10 Key Words
20.11 Self-assessment Exercises
20.12 Further Readings

20.1 INTRODUCTION

The diverse and seemingly boundless developments taking place in industry bring with
them a whole new series of complexities associated with waste. From a systems'
viewpoint, waste is any unnecessary input to or any undesirable output from any
system encompassing all types of resources. Waste Management (WM) is a
multi-disciplinary activity involving engineering principles, economic, urban and
regional planning, management techniques and social sciences, to minimise the
overall wastivity of the system under consideration. A systematic approach to waste
management encompassing the waste of all kinds of resources at all stages should he
adopted. However, as the material constitutes a major fraction of the total product
cost, material wasted are of critical importance.

20.2 COMPLEMENTARITY OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

A system basically takes some input, processes it and gives the desired output, as
shown in Figure I, i.e., some input is essential, in whatever form for the functioning of
a system. An ideal system is conceptualised to transform the total input into useful or
73
ideal system is not possible, i.e., 100 per cent utilisation of resources is not practically
possible for any system. To paraphrase, some waste is inevitable in the functioning of
any system.

Figure I: Input—Processing—Output System

RECYCLE DISPOSAL
,••••■•••
WASTE

INPUT PROCESSING

The main objective of WM is to minimise the waste thus aiming at the ideal system,
while the resource management aims to maximise the utilisation of the resources. The
goal of waste and resource management is same, i.e., optimal utilisation of the
available resources for higher efficiency and growth of the system; but the approaches
are different. The relationship of waste and resource management is shown in
Figure H.
Figure II: Complementary Reiationshipd of Waste Management and Resource Management

RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

TO MAXIMIZE
UTILIZATION TO MINIMIZE
WASTE

It can be said that waste and resource management are complementary to each other.
If one is primal formulation of a problem, the other is a dual. Both approaches have
their advantages and limitations. Depending upon the situations, the constraints and
primary and secondary objectives, resource management techniques prove to be
promising in some cases, while in others WM offers an added advantage.

20.3 TAXONOMY OF WASTE

Lack of coordinated work in the field of WM has given rise to multiplicity of terms and
definitions of various types of wastes. The need for standardisation of the
nomenclature has been felt for systematic research and effective implementation of
WM programmes. Wastes can be classified in a variety of ways depending upon the
purpose for which classification is done. There could be four basic classifications as
 Figure III: Resource Based Classification of Wastes.
Waste Management

P
WASTE OF CAPACITY
HYSICAL

L H_UM A N M ACHINE HOUR

INVENTORY
SOLAR

SOLID
TRANSPORTAT I ON
T ERIAL
LIQUID COMMON I C AT I ON

GAS 1 * HEALTH SERVICES

TC.
M AN/
LIFE

z
LU
w 2
EFFOPTS& SK

u.
0
Li
O 0
uj
z
O

a) On the basis of the resource wasted: Various types of resources are wasted at
various stages in the system, Taking the resource as a basis the classification of waste
• is shown in Figure
b) On the basis of source of origin: The source of origin may serve as an efficient and
practical way of classifying waste, e.g.,
i) Agriculture
ii) Industrial
iii) Municipal
iv) Residential or domestic
v) Commercial
vi) Office
vii) Construction and demolition etc.
c) On the basis of property: This classification is meant for material wastes only;
depending upon the property that effects the environment, waste may be of two types:
i) Hazardous
ii) Non-hazardous
d) On the basis of recoverability: As per the characteristic of resource the waste may
be:
i) Recoverable: The waste that can be converted into some useful resource, e.g.
material waste, energy waste reused in other processes, etc.
ii) Non-recoverable: This includes the resources that are lost with time and cannot be
regained afterwards, e.g. manpower, energy, capacity, services, etc.

20.4 DEFINITION OF WASTIVITY: GROSS AND NET

WASTIVITY

Most of the productivity measures at present compare the total output to individual
inputs, viz., material, energy, manpower, capital, etc., while they usually fail to
directly compare the fraction of a particular input that goes into output. Further, it is
difficult to measure the output of various individual inputs invested in various finished
products, whereas it is comparatively easier to assess the waste of various inputs.
can serve as an
Hence a new concept of "Wastivity" has been propounded, that 75
Matertah Mituigeritent "Wastivity of any system is defined as the ratio of the waste to the input".

Waste (W)
Wastivity —
Input (I)

Depending upon the level of waste under consideration the wastivity may be
categorised as gross wastivity, and net wastivity.
"The gross wastivity is defined as the ratio of total waste generated by a particular
system to the total input to that system".

Net waste generated

Gross wastivity
Total input

However, a fraction of total waste generated is intermediate to the system and gets
recycled. Thus the net waste to be disposed off or reused in other systems is less than
the gross waste generated.

Net waste = Total waste generated—Waste recycled within the system

"The ratio of the net waste to be disposed of to the total input to the system is termed
as net wastivity". The net wastivity will be dependent on the extent of recycling.

Net waste generated

Net wastivity —
Total input

Wastivity as a Performance Measure

An ideal or perfect system will be one that consumes just the right amount of
resources, leaving no idle, unutilised (nonrecoverable) or lost resource, or any
undesirable output. The - presently known laws of nature obviate the existence of any
such idea system, indicating that the occurrence of waste is inevitable. The concept of
"Wastivity" which is yet in the rudimentary stages may prove to be a good measure of
performance, both at macro and micro levels, and will be helpful in the sound
planning and monitoring of various systems at different levels of hierarchy.

Wastivity and Productivity

Waste can indirectly serve as a good measure of productivity. "Productivity of any
system has been defined as the ratio of the desired output to input". Most of the
productivity measures at present compare the total output to individual inputs, viz.
labour, material, energy, capital etc., while they usually fail to directly compare the
fraction of a particular input that goes into output.

Hence a new concept of `Wastivity' had been propounded, which can serve as an
adequate measure of performance of any system and is rather easy to measure.
Let I,_ be the wastivity index of rth resource and W,_ be the relative weightage (depends
upon a number of tangible and intangible factors) of rth resource, then

n.
Composite Wastivity Index = E Wr Ir
r=1

For n types of resources

n
Where, r = 1 W,_ =1

It will be very convenient to measure the waste as well as input for each type of
We have, WYK Ittillage lnent
1=0+W
Dividing both sides by I, we have

I 0 W
= +
I I I
or 1 = Productivity + Wastivity
or Productivity = 1—Wastivity

The Wastivity for each type of input thus indirectly assesses the productivity for each
type of input. Both productivity and wastivity are complementary to each other,
which bears in it the inherent cause effect phenomenon. If the cause, i.e. wastivity is
checked, the effect, i.e. productivity, will automatically be improved.

20.5 THE FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION

OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

The problems associated with the management of wastes in today's society are
complex and diverse in nature. For an effective and orderly management of wastes the
fundamental aspects and relationships must be identified and clearly understood. The
efficient WM comprises of the quick identification of the waste generated/caused,
economic reduction, efficient collection and handling, optimal reuse and recycling,
and effective disposal of waste leaving no environmental problems. WM can thus be
functionally classified into five basic elements, viz., generation, reduction, collection,
recycling and disposal. However, WM should be viewed in totality considering the
inter-relationship of basic functional elements/system as shown in Figure IV. One of
the objectives of WM is to optimise these basic functional systems to provide the most
efficient and economic solution, commensurate with the constraints imposed. By
considering each element separately it is possible to:
i) identify the fundamental aspects and relationships involved in each element,
ii) develop, wherever possible, quantifiable relationships for the purpose of making
engineering comparisons, analysis and evaluation.

WASTE
GENERATION/ REDUCTION
CAUSATION

_--
_ _ _ - - _,:-
--- ----- 7"//
---- // ,
--
----
/,/ /
7
z /
, /
SEGREGATION STORAGE ,„ /

z
1
COLLECTION /

V
RECYCLING/
REUSE PROCESSING

DISPOSAL

Generation of Waste
There may be numerous causes responsible for the generation of waste in different
systems. However, some general causes of waste generation at different stages ha ke
been perceived. The check list of causes of waste generation is shown in Table 1 out of 77
Materiels Management which some causes may be critical. If it is possible to account for the amount of waste
generated against respective causes, then the most critical cause will be one that
contributes to the highest aggregate cost of waste.

Table 1
Checklist of Causes of Generation

1 Ineffective policies
2 Lack of Planning
3 Political pressures
4 Defective organisational structure
5 More emphasis on sub-system objectives rather than organisational goals
6 Poor management
7 Faulty systems and procedures
8 Personal interests
9 Carelessness and neglect
10 Lack of individual responsibility
11 Non-acquaintance with latest technological development
12 Resistance to adopt automation and computerisation
13 Wrongly laid-down design standards
14 Lack of standardisation and codification
15 Wrong choice of raw material
16 Ignorance of inventory control
17 Inappropriate storage facilities
18 Poor handling of materials
19 Poor layout of facilities
20 Information delay
21 Improper work methods
22 Less emphasis on PPC function
23 Inadequate supervision and control
24 Improper recruitment and lack of training
25 Lack of motivation and incentives
26 Unhygienic work environment
27 Insufficient skill and use of unsafe practices
28 Poor labour relations
29 Frequent power failures
30 Poor maintenance
31 Less emphasis on quality control
32 Poor distribution network
33 Less emphasis on collection and segregation of waste
34 Technological obsolescence
35 Miscellaneous causes.

Accurate information on waste generation rates and composition provides a basis for
the design and operation of various waste control programmes, recycling and
processing plants, waste disposal projects, and the choice of most effective disposal
alternative. The problems in obtaining the information on this aspect are complex and
involve following factors:
• Various establishments may differ widely in their waste generating practices.
• Most firms are reluctant to reveal production and related statistics for fear of the
data being used to the competitive advantage of others.
• Generally, the firms are reluctant to provide information on quantity and
composition of waste for fear of it indicating non-compliance with pollution-control
regulations.
• The quantum of waste generated reflects the inefficiency of the organisation.
• Some industrial activities are subject to seasonal variations.
• The extent of salvaging, recycling or other reclamation of wastes differ greatly
among manufacturers.
• Many firms themselves have little understanding of, and few records on this aspect.

A Systematic Approach to Waste Reduction

78 A systematic approach to minimise the total system waste minimising the waste at
individual stages in conjunction with other stages has been proposed in Figure V. Waste Management

Figure V: Stage Wise 11:iste Reduction: A Systematic Approach.

RECOGNISE
THE WASTE

I DENTIFY THE STAGES AT

WHICH WASTE IS CAUSED

STAGE I STAGE 2 STAGE n

--
T7 -
RECOGNISE THE WASTE

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
I PLAN CORRECTIVE' ACTION

1 ELIMINATE THE CAUSE

DOES TH
IDENTIFY THE
REDUCTION ES STAGES AND
EFFORTS AT Ith STAGE
AFFECT THE INCREASE WASTE CAUSED
I N WASTE AT SOME
OTHER
STAGES.

NO
OBTAIN A BREAK—
EVE N BETWEEN
VARIOUS STAGES
TO GET TOTAL
MINIMUM WASTE
ESTABL ISM CONTROLS
TO
PREVENT RECURRENCE
....... •■•••■■■••■•■.....■■■■■■•■■■•

It provides a scientific and systematic method for waste reduction at individual stages
and finally for the whole system. The procedure for approaching from whole to part,
and, then, from part to whole is proposed. The basic steps of the approach are as
follows:
i) Recognise the waste for whole system.
ii) Identify the stages at which waste is caused/generated.
iii) Visualise the whole waste into fractions caused at various stages as identified in
step (ii).
iv) Apply the systematic waste reduction procedure at each stage separately, i.e.,
• recognise the waste,
• identify the cause,
• plan corrective action,
• eliminate the cause.
v) Find the correlation of various stages to assess the effect on waste generation at
one stage due to waste reduction at other stages.
• If there is no such correlation, then establish controls separately at each stage
to prevent recurrence of the cause of waste generation.
• If such correlations exist and waste is caused, then find the stages affected.
vi) Try to obtain a break-even of wastes at the related stages so as to minimise the
total aggregate waste at all the stages.
vii) Establish controls to prevent recurrence of the cause of waste generation.
Towards Zero Waste
The Waste Management systems for individual organisations, sectors as well as the
whole economy should be designed to fulfil the goal of zero waste. Zero waste should
not be misinterpreted as if no waste is generated. Such an interpretation wi!! he
neither feasible nor justified. As some waste is inevitable with the function of an-y 79
Materials Motipagetattpt system, a 100% efficient system is only hypothetical. Further, such a system will be
closed and will have a zero growth rate which is not desirable. The main theme of the
philosophy of zero waste is to first of all try to minimise the waste generated as far as it
be technologically and economically feasible; and whatsoever little waste is generated
should be put to some effective use.
The goal of zero waste should be visualised from systems point of view, i.e. to have
zero waste of all types of resources simultaneously. Otherwise, it may be futile to aim
towards zero waste for one type of resource if it cause the waste of another type of
resource.

Waste Collection Systems

Waste collection has got a significant effect on subsequent functional elements, public
health, aesthetics, housekeeping and public attitudes concerning the operation of the
system. As collection and transportation constitute a major cost in waste treatment
(up to 80 per cent), streamlining of collection techniques can greatly improve the
efficiency, and effect a significant saving in the overall cost of WM. This will be
beneficial in two ways, viz., reduced disposal efforts and advantages of resource
recovery by effective recycling of waste.
The proposed strategies for waste collection are:
i) Design of economic basis to facilitate separation at source.
ii) To provide every organisation with a set of four standard bins to separately collect
the metallic, plastic, paper and other miscellaneous waste, the bins should be
designed after careful investigation of the types and quantum of waste generated.
iii) Design of appropriate collection system governed by public or private agencies to
regularly collect the segregated waste at time intervals depending upon the
generation rate.
iv), Incentives to encourage segregation of the waste at source.
v) Timely collection of scrapped organisations' appliances alongwith segregated
waste, and its flow through salvage industry for ultimate reuse.
vi) Development of appropriate collection systems for the collection of miscellaneous
organic and inorganic waste.
Recycling of Wastes
In the absency of conservation or recycling, certain of the World's finite resources will
diminish to a level incapable of maintaining an acceptable environment and adequate
life support. Fortunately, in India, there is a growing awareness to recycle/reuse the •
waste. The National Committee on Science and Technology (NCST) has identified a,
number of recycling projects.
The terms recycling, reuse, reclamation and recovery have different interpretations,
though these terms are generally used as synonyms. In this study the term recycling is
adopted to mean all these terms.

Recycling generally refers to the use of undesirable outputs or wastes as input to the
same process or system, e.g., recycling of foundry scrap. Reuse may be termed as the
use of waste generated from one process/system as input to some other process/system
as a raw material, or for the generation of power or by-products.
The conversion of damaged, rejected and undesirable outputs into the desirable
outputs by repair or processing is termed as reclamation. The term recovery is utilised
to denote the gain of resources from the wastes.

Waste Disposal Systems

This element links the waste management system with environment and other
systems, and has got a significant impact on the same. The adoption of poor disposal
practices have resulted in severe environmental pollution in different parts of the
world, particularly in the big industrial centres and have posed serious threat to
human life. Some of the developed countries have taken the problem on war-footing
and have started developing and adopting latest technology in this regard. In India du
80 awareness has grown recently and the design of effective waste disposal systems has
become a challenging problem area. From disposal viewpoint wastes may be Waste Management
categorised into:
i) Salvable waste, and
ii) Non-salvable waste.
The wastes that have got some salvage value are termed as salvable waste. The scrap,
rejected goods, surplus/obsolete items and equipments etc. fall under this category.
The well designed disposal system for salvable wastes may provide best return to the
organisation, contribute to cost reduction and higher profit and aid to material
conservation.
Wastes which do not have any salvage value, but need further processing and
treatment for disposal are termed as non-salvable waste. The non-salvable wastes are
primarily responsible environmental hazards. Proper management of salvable wastes
may amount to resource recovery and reduced environment and other social costs.

a) Guidelines For Disposal of Salvable Wastes: The salvable waste, e.g. scrap,
surplus/obsolete stores and equipment, unserviceable appliances and machinery,
abandoned vehicle etc. is generated in almost all sorts of manufacturing and service
establishments. No particular attention has been paid in most of the organisations for
the disposal of salvable wastes. The most common practice is to dispose the
scrap/surplus through auctioning. No systematic procedures have been developed in
this regard. Another mode of disposal adopted is to salvage the scrap through
specialised agencies. The traditional "Kabaris" or Junkmen are performing this work.
Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS & D) is playing a vital role in
public disposals. It disposes the stores worth 50 crores of Rupees approximately,
every year for various Government Departments. A special Surplus Disposal
Committee was set up for analysing the large quantities of accumulated surplus. The
Committee in consultation with Metal Scrap Trade Corporation and. MMTC has
suggested some procedures for the manner of disposal and the market analysis of the
huge ferrous and non-ferrous scrap in the country.
The procedures for the disposal of different types of salvable waste vary from situation
to situation. Some broad guidelines have been suggested to aid the design of systems
and procedures for disposal in individual cases:
i) First of all the feasibility of recycling should be analysed to dispose the scrap.
ii) Try to use the scrap for producing by-products.
iii) Try to transfer the surplus from one department to another or to other plants in
case of multi-plant organisation.
iv) Analyse the feasibility to sell the scrap as raw material to other plants.
v) To sell the scrap/surplus to external export agencies dealing with it.
vi) Selling of scrap through advertisement and auctioning. The frequency of
auctioning should be decided after analysing the generation rates and by
obtaining a break-even between the scrap/surplus carrying cost and auctioning
cost
vii) Selling the surplus in open market, or to the employees itself, particularly in case
of consumer goods. If the product is not meeting the quality requirement, then
classify it as seconds and give a discount. This may act as an incentive to
employees.
viii) To consult the vendor and return the surplus to vendor.
ix) To sell surplus/obsolete equipment through advertisement and invite the offers
from other parties.
x) In case of damaged equipments try to sell after the parts after classifying into
good serviceable, repairable or reclaimable, and scrap.
xi) To donate the rejected material to charitable organisations to gain
socio-economic respect.

b) Processing and Disposal Techniques for Non-salvable Waste: Processing techniques

are used in solid waste management system to improve the efficiency of operations,
i.e., to reduce storage requirements, facilitate disposal to recover resources,
conversion products and energy, and to minimise environmental effects. Disposal is
the 'no alternative' option and the ultimate fate of all wastes that are of no further
value. Various alternative processing/disposal techniques have been briefly discussed
81
Materials Managemetit Mechanical Processing: The mechanical processing of the waste is done to reduce its
volume and size for easy handling and disposal and to recover valuable materials by
separation.
i) Compaction: This technique reduces the volume of the waste by mechanical
compaction.
ii) Baling: This is also a mechanical volume reduction method which uses
specialised compaction equipment to produce solid wastes in block or bales of
various sizes. This offers the advantage of less landfill requirements, land
reclamation, less leachate production, neat and clean operation of land filling,
easy transportation saving in cost of covering material etc.
iii) Shredding: This refers to the mechanical size reduction of wastes by pulverising.
The volume is reduced up to 50% and a homogeneous mass is obtained which is
relatively odourless, unattractive to flies and vermins, and is relatively
non-combustable leading to easier disposal. Milled refuse can be disposed of at
locations close to residential areas.
iv) Component Separation: Component separation is a necessary operation in the
recovery of resources from solid wastes both manual and mechanical method can
be used. The separation may be done at the source or centralised separation may
be adopted.
Thermal Processing: Thermal processing of wastes result in volume reduction,
generation of energy and by-products. The overall heat contents of solid wastes
including moisture and ash etc. is approximately 10.5 million BTU/Ton, which is most
nearly comparable to that of low rank lignites.
i) Incineration: High temperature oxidation of the organic and toxic compounds
present in gaseous wastes is employed to destroy the offensive effluents and
odours by converting them into harmless gases, i.e. 0 2 and waste vapour.
ii) Pyrolysis: The pyrolysis of solid wastes strictly refers to the destructive
distillation or the thermal decomposition of the wastes in an inert atmosphere.
Bio-Processing: For agriculture based economy like India bio-processing is becoming
an important research field to produce fertilisers, alternative fuels and feeds etc. Some
bio-processing methods are composting, fermentation, hydrolysis etc.
Composting: Composting of solid wastes may be defined as the bio-chemical
stabilisation of these organic materials to a humans like substance through
scientifically producing and controlling an optimum environment for the process.
There is vast potential for composting as a disposal process in India. It has been used
from link time in rural area, but thei . e is a need to make the people aware of its
benefits and rigorous organised efforts should be made.
Ultimate Disposal: Ultimately something must be done to solid wastes that are of no
use and are left after recycling, processing etc. The major options available are the
disposal on or in the earth's mantle (e.g. land filling) and disposal at the bottom of the
ocean.
Sanitary land-filling: Sanitary landfills have Veen proclaimed as the low cost, safe way
of disposing of municipal refuse. Rain water and surface run off water percolates
through the landfills and the resulting leachate has a high concentration of organic
wastes and harmful salts. Also, the evolution of methane gas from the refuse can
create fire and explosion hazards.
c) Design of Effective Waste Disposal System: The design of effective waste disposal
system is an important aspect of waste management. The system should be designed
to promote the maximum possible recycling/reuse of wastes, and for minimum
environmental hazards. The flow diagram of waste disposal system has been shown in
Figure VI.

First of all the technical economic and social feasibilities of recycling/reuse should be
analysed and attempts should be made to recycle the waste as it is without any
processing. If the residue left after optimal recycling reuse is disposed as it is, then the
mode of disposal should be selected; otherwise various processing techniques should
be evaluated by considering various social and economic factors. Both the source as
well as centralised processing methods should be selected properly. Finally, plans
82 should be prepared for the ultimate disposal.
 Waste
Rec cle

C.onversion
products
iProcessi

Energy

It is Yes
solvable Salvo • e

,...■■•■11■11M

Auction WSW Sale. to.

special :zed
f ifmj

it Yes
cause honor
Ito
Process to reduce
the hazards

No Iona
le• islation

Effectively dispose to vorious

natural systems by choosing
Proper method economically and
ecologically justified to get
desired quality of environment

@— Resource conservation

Figure VI: Flow Diagram of Waste Disposal System

Various factors that should be considered in the design of waste disposal system are:
i) The public attitudes .
ii) The regional and national policies
iii) The economic considerations
iv) Land availability
v) Equipment requirements
vi) Ground water protection
vii) Environment control
viii) Fire prevention
ix) Litter control
x) • Operation plans
xi) Employer facilities
xii) Equipment maintenance
xiii) Operational records
Materials Management
20.6 OUTLINE OF I-O-W (INPUT-OUTPUT-WASTE),
MODEL
It has been visualised that it is possible to take waste as an explicit parameter and the
existing input-output model can be modified to incorporate WM constraints. To
provide a closer representation of real life system it is proposed to remodel them in
the framework of an I-O-W (Input-Output-Waste) model. The proposed model will
be able to define the resource balance more realistically by incorporating the
reduction; recycling, abatement, disposal and related functions of WM. The I-O-W
physical system defines the resource constrained for every viable system as the
balancing of inputs to the sum of outputs and wastes for each type of resource:
Input = Output + Waste
Basic Framework: The basic fra'mework of I-O-W model defines I-O-W flow matrix,
I-O-W coefficient matrix and consistency equations. The I-O-W flow matrix consist
of a set of conventional intermediate demand or resource flow matrix extended to
include WM sectors final demand matrix plus added waste flow matrix. An aggregated
I-O-W matrix is shown in Table 2.

Table 2
I-O-W Flow Matrix

Intermediate demand or Resource flow Final demand matrix Total output

matrix

Input of resources Total final demand

Waste flow matrix Total waste

Total input=Resource inputs Recycled Wastes

The I-O-W coefficient matrix consists of technological coefficient matrix, final

demand coefficient matrix and WM coefficient matrix partitioned for intermediate
and primary inputs, and intermediate and final wastes as shown in Table 3.

Table 3
I—O—W Coefficient Matrix

Consuming Sectors

Technological coefficient Final demand

matrix coefficient matrix
(intermediate input
coefficient)

Primary input Primary input to

coefficient Final demand

WM Coefficient Matrix Final Waste Coefficient

Intermediate Waste
Coefficient

The model may be generalised for 'n' production sectors and 'rn' WM sectors. The
source of primary inputs are aggregated as trade, habitat and nature, whereas the final
demand is clubbed into domestic consumption trade and change of stocks. The
inter-sectoral waste flow is treated as intermediate waste, while final wastes include
waste recycled in habitat by changing life styles, waste disposed of by trade and the
 Waste Management
20.7 TREATMENT OF WASTAGE IN COST ACCOUNTS

It is realistic to expect that all materials put into process will not end up as good
saleable product. Some loss, scrap and wastage in inevitable.in process industries.
These losses must be computed in advance before the processing operation begins.
Process loss can be divided into two categories; (i) Normal loss, (ii) Abnormal loss.
Normal loss is the loss which is unavoidable, uncontrollable and expected in normal
conditions. It may be inherent in the manufacturing process. If the loss is inevitable.
i.e. unavoidable and within the limit, it is called normal process loss. Abnormal
process loss is controllable and generally caused by abnormal or unexpected
conditions, such as bad designing, poor materials, accident and negligence, etc.
The treatment of normal and abnormal losses differ in inprocess accounts. Normal
losses are absorbed by good production. Assume, for example, that 25,000 units of a
mixtures were put into process and that during processing 5,000 units were lost
through evaporation. This is an unavoidable loss. If the total cost recorded was
Rs. 25,000 the remaining 20,000 units would be assigned a unit cost of Rs. 1.25

Cost of production Rs.25,000

= 1.25
No. of units completed Rs.20,000

Abnormal losses are valued as good units. The unit cost which is used to value good
units is also applied for the valuation of abnormal loss units. The cost of abnormal loss
units computed in this manner is transferred to a separate abnormal loss account and
credited to the relevant process account. Subsequently, this loss is transferred to the
costing profit and loss account and the abnormal loss account is thus closed.
The following procedure will help in the preparation of process cost accounts that do
not present any difficulty:
1 Normal loss should be computed on the basis of information given in the question.
2 The cost per unit of production, after making into account normal loss units, should
be determined assuming that abnormal loss does not exist. The cost per unit is
calculated on the basis of the following information:
a) Normal production, i.e., inputs (units) minus normal loss units.
b) Normal cost of production, i.e., all costs incurred (appearing on the debit side of
a process account) minus proceeds (if any) realised from the sale of normal loss
units.

Normal cost of production divided by normal production will give the cost per unit of
output.
3 The cost per unit determined as above is used to value abnormal loss units and that
would be the cost of abnormal loss.
4 The abnormal loss account is debited and the relevant process credited with the
amount and quantity of abnormal loss as calculated in (3) above.
5 The cost per unit as obtained in (3) will also be applied to determine the cost of
good production units produced by the process.
6 The proceeds realised from the sale of normal loss representing scrap (if any) is
transferred to the relevant process account.
7 The proceeds realised from the sale of abnormal loss representing scrap is
transferred to a separate abnormal loss account and not to the relevant process
account.
8 The abnormal loss account is closed by transferring the total cost of abnormal loss
units to the costing profit and loss account if there is no scrap. In case abnormal loss
represents scrap, only the net amount (total cost of abnormal loss units minus scrap)
will be transferred to the costing profit and loss account. 85
Materials Management
20.8 CONCLUDING REMARKS

The problem of Waste Management should be visualised in a broader perspective and

an organised systems' approach to Waste Management should be adopted. It is
unfortunate that despite the cruciality of Waste Management in socio-economic
resource structure in its ecological and environmental compatibility, it has been
ignored most of the time. There is a peed to standardise the taxonomy of the wastes
and to critically analyse the functional elements of waste management. Waste
management is a dynamically emerging field with vast scope. Though awareness in
this field is growing slowly, if proper attention is paid, it may rapidly gain momentum.

20.9 SUMMARY

In this unit we have proposed a new enlarged concept of waste and wastivity. The best
way of waste management is not to generate waste at all, viz. a preventive policy of
waste generation is advocated. We have established the close relationship between
wastivity, productivity and resource management. A seven step systematic approach
has been given for waste reduction. Guidelines for waste collection, recycling and
disposal have been discussed. Some processing and disposal systems have also been
overviewed. A brief outline of an input-output waste model has been given. It is
difficult to accurately account for all wastages. Yet another procedure has been
suggested that will help in the preparation of appropriate cost accounts.

20.10 KEY WORDS

Gross Wastivity: Ratio to total waste generated to total input.
Incineration: High temperature oxidation of the organic and toxic compounds present
in gaseous wastes that is employed to destroy the offensive effluents and odours by
conversion into harmless gases.
Productivity: Ratio of output to input.
Pyrolysis: Destructive distillation or the thermal decomposition of solid wastes in an
inert atmosphere.
Waste: Any unnecessary input to or any undesirable output from any system
encompassing all types of resources.
Waste Management: A multi-disciplinary activity involving engineering principles,
economic, urban and regional planning, management techniques and social sciences.
Wastivity: Ratio of waste to input.

20.11 SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISES

1 Explain how the system concept can be used in explaining the terms waste and
waste management.
2 'Waste Management' is complementary to 'Resource Management'. Critically
comment.
3 Differentiate between wastivity and productivity and explain whether reducing
wastivity and increasing productivity imply one and the same thing.
4 Why are the basic waste generation stages in a production system? Explain with the
help of an example.
5 Explain how would you proceed in designing a waste disposal system for a
manufacturing enterprise.
6 Write short notes on:
86 a) Systematic waste reduction procedure
 b) Wastivity Indices Waste Management

7 Write short notes on:

a) Identification of waste
b) Taxonomy of wastes
8 Briefly explain what you understand by the term I-O-W (Input-Output-Waste).
model.
9 Devise a method of cost accounting for wastes.

20.12 FURTHER READINGS

Agrawal, S.K. (Sushil), 1984. Systems Modelling of Waste Management in National

Planning, Ph.D. Thesis, I.I.T. Delhi.
Anderson, L.L. and Tillman D.A., 1977. Fuels from Waste, Energy Science and
Technology Management—An International Series.
Bond, R.G. and Strane, C.P. (Eds.), 1973. Handbook of Environment Control, Vol.
2-Solid Waste, CRC Press.
Gopalakrishnan P. and Sundaresan M., 1979. Materials Management: An Integrated
Approach, Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.: New Delhi.
Kirov, N.Y., 1975. Waste Management? Reuse, ANN Arbour Science.
Lee Jr. L. and Dobler, D.W. 1977. Purchasing and Materials Management: Text and
Cases, Tata Mc-Graw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd.: New Delhi.
Lochr, R.C., 1974. Agricultural Waste Management: Problems, Processes and
Approaches, Academic Press, Inc.: New York.
Neal, A.W., 1971. Industrial Waste, Business Books Ltd.: London.
Pawnoi, J.L., 1975. Handbook of Solid Waste Disposal,. VNB.
Pratt, A. (ed.) ; 1978. Directory of Waste Disposal and Recovery, George Godwin
Ltd.: London.
Tehbanoglous G. Theisen, H. and Eliassen, R., 1977. Solid Wastes: Engineering
Principles and Management Issues, McGraw Kogakusha Ltd.: Tokyo.
Thome-Kozmiensky, K.J., 1979. Recycling Berlin '79 Vol. I and II, International
Recycling Congress: Berlin.
Wilson, D.G., 1977. Handbook of Solid Waste Management Van Nostrand Reinhold:
New York.
Vrat P., 1979. Waste Management in India: The Need for Organised Systems
Approach: Proceedings of APO Symposium on Waste Management, Asian
Productivity Organisation: Tokyo.
Treatment and Disposal of Wastes (1967). WHO Technical Report Series, 367.

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