What is Industrial Waste?

Today we are going to talk about Industrial Waste!

Industrial waste is an all-encompassing term used to describe material considered to be no longer of use after a manufacturing process has been completed. There are many sectors of industrial manufacturing that produce waste including Various types of factories, Mining, Textile mills, Food manufacturing, Consumer goods, Industrial chemicals, Printing, and publishing. Below, I will talk about different types of industrial waste, as well as what you should know about properly disposing of it. 

Industrial waste can be hazoursous or non-hazourdous. Both however can cause serious damage to our environment if industrial waste is not disposed of properly. These examples are common types of industrial waste that can be hazardous to human life and the environment: 

Solid Waste – The most common source of Industrial Waste is Solid waste. Every year, American Industries generate and dispose of about 7.6 billion tons of industrial solid waste whereas in India it’s 960 million tonnes. Solid waste can be generated by Electric Power Generation, use of agricultural chemicals iron and steel, plastic, etc.

Toxic Waste – Industrial waste can also be toxic or hazardous waste. If not managed properly, this type of industrial waste can cause severe harm to animals, humans, and the environment. This waste contaminates waterways such as rivers and lakes.

Chemical Waste – Chemical waste mostly contains harmful chemicals. This does not mean however that everything is classified as hazardous. For the waste to be considered hazardous, it must have ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity characteristic according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Secondary Waste – Secondary waste materials are considered to be non-hazardous such as scraps and residuals that result from production process. Coal combustion, Spent foundry sand, etc. are a few examples of Secondary waste.

Many facilities are there nationwide where you can drop off your industrial waste so the facilities could recycle your industrial waste!

Let’s hope all industries act responsibly and make sure that they dispose of the waste properly to make our beloved earth 🌍 a better place to live for our future generations to come!

By Sri Nihal Tammana