Industrial Waste

Biodegradable vs Non-Biodegradable Industrial Waste

Industrial solid wastes fall into two broad categories:

• Biodegradable wastes — generated by cotton mills, food-processing units, paper mills and textile factories.
• Non-biodegradable wastes — include fly ash from thermal power plants; blast-furnace slag and steel-melting slag from integrated iron and steel plants; mud and tailings from aluminium, zinc and copper manufacturing; and gypsum from fertilizer industries. Industries handling metals, chemicals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, dyes, pesticides and rubber goods also generate hazardous wastes — inflammable, explosive or highly reactive materials.

Disposal and Recycling

If non-degradable industrial waste is not disposed of by a proper method, it poses a serious threat to the environment. Fortunately, new uses for waste materials are constantly emerging:

• Fly ash and steel-industry slag are now used by the cement industry.
• Large volumes of toxic waste are destroyed through controlled incineration; smaller quantities are sometimes burnt with factory garbage in open bins.
• Recycling innovations:
  • Fuel derived from plastic waste has a high octane rating, contains no lead, and is marketed as "green fuel."
  • New textile-industry processes are turning recycled plastic waste into clothing fibre. …