PinLinkedIn

Industrial manufacturing firms dispose of the waste produced by their operations through a process called industrial waste management. When your business produces a significant amount of waste, it is crucial to implement an effective industrial waste management system to ensure it is responsible and environmentally friendly. Industrial waste may be worse for the environment than regular municipal waste.

What Is Industrial Waste? 

Industrial waste is any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste generated by industrial activities. It can be hazardous or non-hazardous, and it can come from a variety of sources, including manufacturing plants, power plants, refineries, and chemical plants.

Industrial waste can be difficult to manage because it often contains hazardous materials that can be harmful to human health and the environment. It is important to properly dispose of industrial waste to prevent pollution and protect public health.

There are a variety of methods for disposing of industrial waste, including recycling, incineration, and landfill disposal. Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks. Recycling is often the preferred option because it reduces the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of in landfills or incinerated. However, not all types of industrial waste can be recycled.

What Are the Different Types of Industrial Waste?

Industrial Solid Waste

Industrial solid waste is any solid waste that is produced by industrial activities. This can include anything from manufacturing products to packaging them for sale. Industrial solid waste can be either hazardous or non-hazardous. Hazardous industrial solid waste is any waste that has the potential to harm human health or the environment. Non-hazardous industrial solid waste is any waste that does not pose a risk to human health or the environment.

Manufacturing industries generate most industrial solid waste. This includes everything from food production to electronics manufacturing. When products are made, they often create byproducts that are classified as industrial solid waste. For example, when wheat is milled into flour, the husks and other parts of the wheat grain that are not used are considered industrial solid waste. Similarly, when a computer is assembled, the packaging materials and unused components are considered industrial solid waste.

Chemical Waste

Chemical waste is any liquid, solid, or gaseous waste that contains chemicals. These wastes can come from factories, power plants, hospitals, and even households.

Chemical waste can be very harmful to both the environment and human health. When these wastes are improperly disposed of, they can leak into the ground and contaminate our water supply. They can also cause air pollution when they are released into the atmosphere. Inhaling or coming into contact with chemical wastes can cause a variety of health problems, including skin irritations, respiratory problems, and cancer.

That’s why it’s so important to dispose of chemical wastes properly.

Liquid Waste

Liquid waste can be divided into two main categories: municipal waste produced by citizens and business operations, or waste from manufacturing or industrial processes.

Any waste material that leaves the manufacturing facility in a liquid state is referred to as liquid waste, as the name implies.

Given that it frequently contains toxic or harmful substances, industrial wastewater raises serious environmental issues. These substances may harm plants, animals, and people if they leach into the soil.

Toxic and Hazardous Waste

To determine whether a waste product is hazardous or not, the EPA looks at four different factors. These standards are:

  • Ignitability: The likelihood that a substance will catch fire
  • Corrosivity: How likely can a material cause other materials to corrode or rust?
  • Reactivity: The possibility that a substance will erupt
  • Toxicity: The possibility that a substance will harm living organisms

The EPA believes that the first three criteria present an immediate and personal risk, whereas toxic chemicals present a more long-term danger.

Industrial hazardous wastes must be disposed of using specific procedures because they are dangerous. The way toxic waste is managed depends a lot on the kind of waste being managed; for example, handling hydrofluoric acid is very different from handling biological waste from laboratories or healthcare facilities.

Which Industries Produce the Most Waste? 

The industries which produce the most waste include:

Chemical Manufacturers:

Waste is produced in the form of organic compounds containing wastewater, reactive waste, and acids and bases.

Printing Industry:

Waste is produced in the form of sludges containing heavy metals, waste inks, and solvents.

Petroleum Industry:

Waste produced from this industry plays a crucial role in climate change. The wastewater produced contains hydrocarbons like benzene and toluene, both of which are highly toxic to the environment. 

Paper Industry: 

Waste is produced in the form of ash, pulp mill sludge, dregs, lime mud, and organic waste including scrap wood.

Leather Products Manufacturing Industry:

Waste is produced in multiple forms, including: 

  • Wastewater effluent containing the cancer-causing heavy metal chromium
  • Tanning waste and untanned hide are examples of solid waste.
  • Volatile organic compounds, sulphides, and ammonia all contribute to air pollution.

Why is Industrial Waste a Problem?

  • Environmental and health risks are associated with industrial waste. If it is not properly disposed of, it may contaminate the soil, the air, and the water. This may also harm people’s health, including the well-being of the staff at your facility.
  • The raw material that ends up as waste is in no way cheap if available locally or imported. Even more, disposing off the waste adds to the rising costs of industrial houses and companies having mass production.
  • Huge piles of waste objects can create havoc in your workplace if not treated properly. Apart from consuming a vast portion of the work floor, they can make the environment unsuitable and unhealthy.
  • Americans waste or cause to be wasted nearly 1 million pounds of materials per person every year – 3.5 billion pounds of carpet landfilled, 3.3 trillion pounds of CO2 gas emitted into the atmosphere, 19 billion pounds of polystyrene peanuts, 28 billion pounds of food discarded, 360 billion pounds of organic and inorganic chemicals used for manufacturing, 710 billion pounds of hazardous waste and 3.7 trillion pounds of construction debris.
  • If wastewater is factored in, the total annual flow of waste in the American Industrial system is 250 trillion pounds.

Related article: Complete Guide For Industrial Waste Management by EPA

How to Manage Industrial Waste?

There are three main ways to manage industrial waste: recycling, incineration, and landfills. 

  • Recycling is the process of turning waste into a new product. This can be done by breaking down the waste and using it to create new products. 
  • Incineration is the process of burning waste. This method is used to reduce the volume of waste and can also generate energy. 
  • Landfills are sites where waste is buried. Landfills must meet certain environmental standards set by the EPA in order to prevent pollution.

What Are the Types of Equipment Used in Recycling?

Trash Compactors:

  • A business owner having avant-garde trash compactors can treat unmanageable volumes of waste produced in manufacturing, hospitality, hospitals, industries, restaurants, schools/universities, or retail chains.
  • Compact size, trash compactors make it possible to stack more waste material in the same space and reduce the number of hauling rounds.

Trash balers:

Marathon Conveyors:

  • Wish to cut needless additional staff for feeding trash compactors or balers? Mechanical conveyor apparatuses are capable of mechanically transporting waste material from the point of entry to the machine.

Shredders:

  • Whether it is for reducing the size/volume of solid waste or destroying sensitive business documents and other files, shredders come with a long list of benefits.

Containers:

Crushers:

  • Glass, can, and drum crushers help get rid of items like glasses, cans, plastics, tins, and other such materials naturally. It increases recyclable outgo, reduces hauling expenses, and multiplies revenue in the long run.

Bottom Line 

Hazardous or non-hazardous industrial waste must be handled properly to avoid serious consequences for your business and the surrounding area. The first step in ensuring all local, state, and federal regulations are followed is understanding how your particular stream of industrial waste should be managed. A licensed waste disposal business can guide you through this procedure and assist you in identifying your industrial waste streams, managing them, and ultimately disposing of them properly.