Green waste, also known as biological waste, is any organic waste that can be

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...

ed. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not include things such as dried leaves, pine straw, or hay. Such materials are rich in

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

and considered "

brown waste Brown waste is any biodegradable waste that is predominantly carbon based. The term includes such items as grass cuttings, dry leaves, twigs, hay, paper, sawdust, corn cobs, used livestock bedding, manure, animal waste, cardboard, pine needles o ...

s," while green wastes contain high concentrations of

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

. Green waste can be used to increase the efficiency of many composting operations and can be added to soil to sustain local nutrient cycling.

Collection of green waste

Green waste can be collected via

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

curbside collection Kerbside collection or curbside collection is a service provided to households, typically in urban and suburban areas, of collecting and disposing of household waste and recyclables. It is usually accomplished by personnel using specially bui ...

schemes or through private

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

businesses. Many communities, especially in the United Kingdom, have initiated green waste recycling and collection programs in order to decrease the amount of biodegradable materials in landfills. Communities are provided with, or can provide their own, compost receptacles that they fill with plant and food remains, which are then emptied on a regular basis. Programs such as this allow communities to be an active part of composting their green waste which allows them to play an active role in decreasing the amount of food being dumped into local and regional landfills. A variety of apps are now available to guide individuals and businesses in recycling efforts. These apps can help locate recycling centers, inform about recyclable materials in local areas, and facilitate the donation or exchange of unwanted items.

Pello System

A technology that monitors the fill level of trash cans, provides real-time information on the dumpsters' contents and location, identifies contamination, and sends pickup alerts. This system aims to streamline waste management and reduce unnecessary garbage truck dispatches, thereby lowering greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion.

Pneumatic Waste Pipes

Installed below public waste containers, these pipes transport waste directly to processing centers, reducing the need for traditional trash pickup. This system decreases the number of garbage trucks on roads, minimizing emissions and potential environmental health hazards from overflowing dumpsters.

Uses

Green waste can be used to improve the quality and sustainability of industrially manufactured topsoils and the sanitariness and efficiency of sewage disposal. Green wastes like agricultural wastes can also be converted to human edible foods by making leaf protein concentrate.

Manufactured topsoils

Green waste is an integral part of many manufactured topsoils, as it provides both nutrients for growing plants and increases the volume of manufactured topsoils. Its woody components do not decompose quickly, so they provide the bulk that is necessary for supplementary topsoils. Mixing industrial wastes such as

fly ash Coal combustion products (CCPs), also called coal combustion wastes (CCWs) or coal combustion residuals (CCRs), are byproducts of burning coal. They are categorized in four groups, each based on physical and chemical forms derived from coal combust ...

coal dust Coal dust is a fine-powdered form of coal which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizer, pulverization of coal rock. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust can be created by mining, transporting, or mechanically handling it. ...

with green waste to create artificial topsoil not only facilitates the

repurposing Repurposing is the process by which an object with one use value is transformed or redeployed as an object with an alternative use value. Description Repurposing is as old as human civilization, with many contemporary scholars investigating ho ...

of industrial debris and keeps it out of landfills, but it also allows the nutrients in green waste materials to be cycled back into the environment. By utilizing fly ash in conjunction with green waste, manufactured soils are able to increase their water holding capacity while simultaneously recycling refuse materials that might otherwise take up space in a landfill. This allows fly ash and green waste to increase local soil nutrient levels and promotes natural nutrient cycling processes.

Sewage disposal

Green waste can also be mixed with sewage wastes and composted, providing a safe, environmentally sustainable option for sewage disposal. Co-composting green and sewage wastes eliminates the risk that

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

s and

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effect, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

s contained in sewage wastes might pose to the environment. Utilization of green waste to dispose of sewage wastes not only decreases the amount of sewage

incinerated Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

and dumped each year, it also facilitates the cycling of organic wastes back into the environment. The co-composted remains of these organic wastes can be safely employed for use in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. This process decreases the amount of trash being dumped into landfills and other trash repositories and allows for the complete cycling of organic nutrients through the environment.

Renewable energy

Biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

captured from biodegradable green waste can be used as

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

. Green waste can be composed of

non-food crop A nonfood crop, also known as industrial crop, is a crop grown to produce goods for manufacturing, for example fibre for clothing, rather than food for consumption. Purpose Industrial crops is a designation given to an enterprise that attempts ...

s, which decompose to produce

cellulosic ethanol Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a ...

. It can also help reduce the necessity of petroleum gases, which produce large amounts of

greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

es, such as

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

, when burned.

Soil health

Green waste composting has also been linked to suppression of soil borne diseases such as

damping off Damping off (or damping-off) is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by several different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate. It is most prevalent in wet and cool conditions. Symptoms There ar ...

and

root rot Root rot is a condition in which anoxic conditions in the soil or potting media around the roots of a plant cause them to rot. This occurs due to excessive standing water around the roots.-Hydroponics Root Rot: What is It, How To Treat It, How ...

s that affect large agricultural and horticultural ventures like

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s and large-scale farms. This disease suppressive quality has positive implications for lesser-developed nations that do not have the technology or resources to purchase expensive

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

s. Addition of composts that contain residues and particles of

heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals is a controversial and ambiguous term for metallic elements with relatively h ...

to soil can raise the soil's heavy metal content and increase the probability of these metals to transfer into crop plants. When biological, or green waste is added to these soil samples, plant uptake of heavy metal has been shown to decrease crop uptake of metals compared to other types of compost composed of things such as sewage sludge. This can protect consumers and the environment from

biomagnification Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is the increase in concentration of a substance, e.g a pesticide, in the tissue (biology), tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain. This inc ...

caused by long-term accumulation of heavy metal particles within the soil and plant life of an area.

References

{{Waste Biodegradable waste management Waste