A Review on Pollution Emissions and Impact from Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities

Solid and liquid waste management is one of the main challenges that face sustainable environment and communities. Effluents from waste treatment and disposal facilities have direct and indirect impacts on the environment and welfare of humans. The direct impacts entail the destruction of materials, loss of aesthetic value, and damage to people’s health. On the other hand, the indirect effects are principally on long term, which encompass climate change, and ecosystem imbalance. The challenge of managing waste has become greater because of high population growth rate, urbanization, economic expansion, and industrial growth. This review presents the effect of various waste management methods, wastewater treatment plants, refining and desalination plants in polluting the atmosphere. The results of this study indicate that these plants contribute to the presence of high levels of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx). In addition, it was found that the airborne microbial count exceeded the limit in the air near the area where the waste treatment and disposal facilities are present, resulting in bad odors dominating in the air. Moreover, the cost of health care due to the effects of air pollution in these sites is on the rise. Annually, many people die due to air pollution and this number is expected to rise significantly in the future, which would further put a burden on the governments and healthcare facilities. Therefore, this issue requires robust plans and policies to address the escalating impacts if not properly managed. In response to this problem, improvement of an effective municipal waste management approaches that confer adequate economic and environmental efficacies is paramount at the national levels.