How to use Solar Energy sustainably for agriculture

Solar Energy

Solar energy is a renewable resource. It can be used in a sustainable manner to help improve the agroiculture by using following techniques

Solar Dryers

Solar dryers use the thermal energy of the sun to dry crops. These solar dryers allow controlled drying by managing the drying parameters such as moisture content, air temperature, humidity and airflow rate. Solar dryers can be used to protect grain and fruit, reduce losses but the only problem is that sometimes the cost of the solar collector can be high and drying rates are not as controllable as they are with natural gas or propane powered dryers.

Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) is introducing and transferring solar dryer technology to local farmers of Sukkur Region to produce export quality solar dried dates and by products of dried banana and it is also being used in Northern areas

Contribution to sustainable development

Solar crop drying technologies can replace moderate amounts of fuel wood or fossil fuels currently used in developing countries for the process of crop drying.

3.2 Photovoltaic (PV) Water Pumping:

Photovoltaic (PV) water pumping system is the most effective water pumping option at locations without power line. The solar water pumping system is a stand-alone system operating on power generated by using solar PV (Photovoltaic) system. When properly sized and installed, PV water pumps are very reliable and require little maintenance. Although today’s prices for PV panels make most crop irrigation systems too expensive, PV systems are very cost effective for remote livestock water supply, pond aeration, and small irrigation systems. Now in Pakistan under project “Khushal Kisaan Khushaal Pakistan” government has installed solar water pumps in remote agricultural areas.

Contribution to sustainability:

·         Zero air pollution: operation without exhaust & greenhouse gases

·         Simple calculation of the carbon dioxide emissions from different fossil fuels for a water pumping system proves that PV water pumping system does not have any adverse effect on the environment.

·         Reliable power supply from the sun against climatic risk because PV pumping systems are designed for 24h/7 days a week operation in all climatic conditions

3.3 Solar Greenhouses:

Solar Greenhouse is a completely new, sustainable, affordable and energy-efficient combination of technologies. Solar greenhouses are designed to collect solar energy during sunny days and also to store heat for use at night or during periods when it is cloudy. They can either stand alone or be attached to houses or barns. A solar greenhouse may be an underground pit, a shed-type structure, or a quonset hut. Large-scale producers use free-standing solar greenhouses, while attached structures are primarily used by home-scale growers. In Skardu, under Satpara Development project 175 solar greenhouses were built

Types:

·         Passive

A passive solar greenhouse does not involve use of mechanical devices. Passive solar greenhouses are often good choices for small growers, because they are a cost-efficient way for farmers to extend the growing season

·         Active

Active solar greenhouses use supplemental energy to move solar heated air or water from storage or collection areas to other regions of the greenhouse

Contribution to sustainability:

·         A solar greenhouse reduces the need for fossil fuels for heating.

·         According to a study the objective of the solar greenhouse was high value crop production without the use of fossil fuels. The realizable energy saving is almost 40 %. The next reduction in fossil fuel requirement was accomplished by capturing solar energy from the greenhouses. Then the total realizable energy saving is more than 60%.

Refereces:

·         Agricultural Applications of Solar Energy. (2002). Retrieved from http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/24/23989.htm

·         Satpara Development project. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://akrsp.org.pk/index.php/economic-pillar/satpara-development-project/

Developments in waste management

Developments in waste management

A technological approach to solid-waste management began to develop in the latter part of the 19th century. Watertight garbage cans were first introduced in the United States, and sturdier vehicles were used to collect and transport wastes. A significant development in solid-waste treatment and disposal practices was marked by the construction of the first refuse incinerator in England in 1874. By the beginning of the 20th century, 15 percent of major American cities were incinerating solid waste. Even then, however, most of the largest cities were still using primitive disposal methods such as open dumping on land or in water.

Technological advances continued during the first half of the 20th century, including the development of garbage grinders, compaction trucks, and pneumatic collection systems. By mid-century, however, it had become evident that open dumping and improper incineration of solid waste were causing problems of pollution and jeopardizing public health. As a result, sanitary landfills were developed to replace the practice of open dumping and to reduce the reliance on waste incineration.

In many countries waste was divided into two categories, hazardous and nonhazardous, and separate regulations were developed for their disposal.

Landfills were designed and operated in a manner that minimized risks to public health and the environment.

New refuse incinerators were designed to recover heat energy from the waste and were provided with extensive air pollution control devices to satisfy stringent standards of air quality.

Modern solid-waste management plants in most developed countries now emphasize the practice of recycling and waste reduction at the source rather than incineration and land disposal.

Three R's of Conservation

Three R's of Conservation

Published By: Jamila Ibrahim

If we want to conserve we have to follow these Three R's.. these are really easy steps to start conservation from our homes. These three R's are as follows

Reduce

Reuse
Recycle

Reduce

Reducing the amount of waste you produce is the best way to help the environment. There are lots of ways to do this. For example:

·         Buy products that don't have a lot of packaging. Some products are wrapped in many layers of plastic and paperboard even though they don't need to be. You can also look for things that are packed in materials that don't require a lot of energy or resources to produce. Some products will put that information right on their labels.

·         Cars use up energy and cause pollution. Some ways to reduce the environmental damage caused by cars include carpooling with friends, walking, taking the bus, or riding your bike instead of driving.

·         You can reduce waste by using a computer! Many newspapers and magazines are online now. Instead of buying the paper versions, you can find them on the Internet. Also remember that you should print out only what you need. Everything you print that you don't really need is a waste of paper.

Reuse

Instead of throwing things away, try to find ways to use them again! For example:

·         Bring cloth sacks to the store with you instead of taking home new paper or plastic bags. You can use these sacks again and again. You'll be saving some trees!

·         Plastic containers and reusable lunch bags are great ways to take your lunch to school without creating waste.

·         Coffee cans, shoe boxes, margarine containers, and other types of containers people throw away can be used to store things or can become fun arts and crafts projects.

·         Use paper grocery bags to make book covers rather than buying new ones.

·         Use silverware and dishes instead of disposable plastic utensils and plates.

·         Store food in reusable plastic containers.

Recycle

Recycling enables the materials you throw away to be used again by making them into new product.

In some towns you can leave your recyclables in bins outside your home, and a truck will come and collect them regularly. Other towns have recycling centers where you can drop off the materials you've collected. Things like paper and plastic grocery bags, and plastic and aluminum cans and bottles can often be brought to the grocery store for recycling. 

Waste Recycling

Recycling 

By: Inshal Waheed

So in my previous blog i have talked about waste minimization and segregation. Today i'm gonna talk about recycling because it also helps a lot in waste reduction. I will also share videos to recycle plastic bottles

Introduction:

Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into reusable objects to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, energy usage, air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by decreasing the need for "conventional" waste disposal and lowering greenhouse gas emissions compared to plastic production. Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction.

There are some ISO standards related to recycling such as ISO 15270:2008 for plastics waste and ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management control of recycling practice.

Benefits of Recycling

• Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators.
• Conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals.
• Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials.
• Saves energy.
• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change
• Helps sustain the environment for future generations
• Helps create new well-paying jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the United States.

Recyclates:

Recyclate is a raw material that is sent to, and processed in a waste recycling plant or materials recovery facility which will be used to form new products. The material is collected in various methods and delivered to a facility where it undergoes re-manufacturing so that it can used in the production of new materials or products. For example, plastic bottles that are collected can be re-used and made into plastic pellets, a new product.

Quality of recyclate

The quality of recyclates is recognized as one of the principal challenges that needs to be addressed for the success of a long-term vision of a green economy and achieving zero waste. Recyclate quality is generally referring to how much of the raw material is made up of target material compared to the amount of non-target material and other non-recyclable material

What Can I Recycle?

Aluminum can

On average, Americans drink one beverage from an aluminum can every day.But we recycle just over 49% of the cans we use. Since the cans are 100% recyclable, we could drastically reduce the energy needed to produce brand new cans simply by recycling our empties. An aluminum can is able to be returned to the shelf, as a new can, as quickly as 60 days after it's put into your recycling container. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.
A Day in the Life of a Recycled Can

• Customer takes can to a recycling center or puts it into a recycling bin.
• The can is transported to a processing facility.
• A giant magnet lifts out cans that are made of metals such steel. Since aluminum cans aren't magnetic, they drop down to a conveyor belt and are gathered.
• The aluminum is shredded, washed and turned into aluminum chips.
• The chips are melted in a large furnace.
• The melted aluminum is poured into molds called "ingots."
• The ingots are taken to a factory where they're melted into rolls of thin, flat sheets.
• From the sheets, manufacturers make new products, including new beverage cans, pie pans, license plate frames, and aluminum foil.
• Beverage companies fill the cans and deliver them to grocery stores for customers to purchase.
• Customers take used cans to a recycling center and the process starts all over again.

Aluminium Foil and Bakeware:

During World War II, Americans saved aluminum foil and even peeled off the silver wrapping from chewing gum wrappers to contribute to the war effort. Today, we recycle the foil to conserve energy and protect the environment - two other patriotic causes. There are thousands of products made from aluminum. From food wrap to disposable cookware, to the disposable burner bibs you use to keep your stovetop clean, the list goes on and on.
Aluminum can be recycled almost infinitely. The process involves simply re-melting the metal, a process far less costly and energy-intensive than mining the minerals necessary to create new aluminum. For example, Americans discarded 460,000 tons of foil in 2010. However, Americans are far more likely to recycle aluminum soda cans than aluminum foil.

Household HintsUnlike aluminum cans, foil may have food particles attached, making it harder for recycling facilities to accept. But foil is easy to wipe clean. So reuse it as much as you can, and clean it off before putting it in the recycling bin. Consider buying 100% recycled aluminum foil. You'll be supporting a process that uses five percent less energy than the traditional aluminum foil manufacturing process.

STEEL CANS AND TIN CANS

Steel cans make up about 90% of the U.S. food can market. Americans use about 100 million steel cans every day. That's 36.5 billion cans a year.About 71% of steel cans are recycled, making them one of the most recycled packaging products in America. In addition, steel cans typically contain at least 25% recycled steel, but many are made almost entirely of recycled steel. Recycling steel saves at least 75% of the energy it would take to create steel from raw materials. That's enough energy to power 18 million homes.

• During the recycling process, steel cans (in bales or loose) are fed into the furnaces of a steel mill or foundry. 
• They may be mixed with new steel.
• Some of the new "mini" steel mills manufacture their products from 100% recycled steel.

Environmental effects of recycling

Material	Energy savings	Air pollution savings
Aluminium	95%	95%
Cardboard	24%	—
Glass	5–30%	20%
Paper	40%	73%
Plastics	70%	—
Steel	60%	—

Economic Impact

Critics dispute the net economic and environmental benefits of recycling over its costs, and suggest that proponents of recycling often make matters worse and suffer from confirmation bias. Specifically, critics argue that the costs and energy used in collection and transportation detract from (and outweigh) the costs and energy saved in the production process; also that the jobs produced by the recycling industry can be a poor trade for the jobs lost in logging, mining, and other industries associated with production; and that materials such as paper pulp can only be recycled a few times before material degradation prevents further recycling.

The National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA), reported in May 2015, that recycling and waste made a $6.7 billion economic impact in Ohio, U.S., and employed 14,000 people.

Criticism:

Much of the difficulty inherent in recycling comes from the fact that most products are not designed with recycling in mind. The concept of sustainable design aims to solve this problem, and was laid out in the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart. They suggest that every product (and all packaging they require) should have a complete "closed-loop" cycle mapped out for each component—a way in which every component will either return to the natural ecosystem through biodegradation or be recycled indefinitely.
Complete recycling is impossible from a practical standpoint. In summary, substitution and recycling strategies only delay the depletion of non-renewable stocks and therefore may buy time in the transition to true or strong sustainability, which ultimately is only guaranteed in an economy based on renewable resources.
— M. H. Huesemann, 2003

Recycling in Pakistan

Clean Pakistan: Encouraging recycling, a household at a time

“Clean Pakistan aims to target 500 urban union councils, it will create more than 15,000 jobs [social motivators and sanitary workers] whose salaries will add Rs 2 billion to the economy. In addition, an estimated Rs3 billion will be generated from recycling and waste collection activities,” Waste Busters CEO Asif Farooki told The Express Tribune. Clean Pakistan campaign workers will collect domestic waste from houses, sort them and recycle waste to be used to manufacture fertilizer and other products.

Implementation plan

Under the project, each city will be divided into zones [union councils]. Each zone will have 10 social motivators to mobilise the community and 20 sanitation workers, preferably from the city district government and town municipal authority. They will work from 10am to 4pm daily.

The sanitation workers will segregate recyclable materials like bottles, plastic, cans, lined paper packs and papers. They will be weighed every Friday and Waste Busters will purchase them on market rates [not less than Rs 5,000/metric tonne] and send it for recycling at a recycling plant on Ferozepur Road.

Organic waste and non-recyclable waste will be taken to a dump site.

Inorganic waste will be sorted and sold. Used plastic shopping bags will be recycled into plastic wood and used to manufacture chairs, huts, dustbins for parks. Approximately 60MT of recyclable waste will be collected from each union council and sold to vendors or recycling factories. This will generate an estimated Rs 3 billion for the economy and provide income to a sizeable section of the lower income strata, he said.

Islamabad opens Pakistan's first integrated recycling centre

In Islamabad, municipal waste is being harnessed as a resource to ease pressure on landfills. According to UN-Habitat, the city last week inaugurated Pakistan’s first “Integrated Resource Recovery Center.” It can handle recycling, composting and biogas production of refuse from homes and businesses, including vegetable markets.

The center is a pilot project. If successful, more of them would be added throughout Islamabad and in Rawalpindi, the article says. The plant, which debuted September 17, is expected to process three tons of garbage per day.

The project is a collaboration between Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) and UN-Habitat, the article says. The UN helped launch similar centers in cities in Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

Waste Minimization and Segregation

By: Inshal Waheed

So I think y'all know what is waste..but for those who don't know, i'll tell them..

Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or it is worthless, defective and of no use.

So if its of o use then its really important to do something about it because otherwise it'll pose problems for us. The dumped waste doesn't just go away we have to do something about it and the things we can do about it are:

1. Minimization
2. Segregation

Waste minimisation:   

Waste minimization is a process of elimination that involves reducing the amount of waste produced in society and helps to eliminate the generation of harmful and persistent wastes, supporting the efforts to promote a more sustainable society. 

Waste minimization involves redesigning products and/or changing societal patterns, to prevent the creation of waste. 

Waste minimization at Households:

• Home composting; the practice of turning kitchen and garden waste into compost can be considered waste minimization.
• The resources that households use can be reduced considerably by using electricity thoughtfully (e.g. turning off lights and equipment when it is not needed) and by reducing the number of car journeys made. 

Waste minimisation at Individual Level:

Individuals can reduce the amount of waste they create by buying fewer products and by buying products which last longer. Mending broken or worn items of clothing or equipment also contributes to miniming household waste. Individuals can minimize their water usage, and walk or cycle to their destination rather than using their car to save fuel and cut down emissions.

 Waste Segregation

Waste segregation means dividing waste into dry and wet. 

• Dry waste includes wood and related products, metals and glass.
• Wet waste, typically refers to organic waste usually generated by eating establishments and are heavy in weight due to dampness. 

Waste can also be segregated on basis of biodegradable or non-biodegradable waste.

Methods:

The following categories are common:

• Paper 
• Cardboard (including packaging for return to suppliers) 
• Glass (clear, tinted – no light bulbs or window panes, which belong with residual waste) 
• Plastics 
• Textiles 
• Wood, leather, rubber 
• Scrap metal 
• Compost 
• Special/hazardous waste 
• Residual waste 
• Organic waste can also be segregated for disposal: 
• Leftover food which has had any contact with meat can be collected separately to prevent the spread of bacteria. 
• Peel and scrapings from fruit and vegetables can be composted along with other degradable matter. Other waste can be included for composting, too, such as cut flowers, corks, coffee grindings, rotting fruit, tea bags, egg- and nutshells, paper towels etc

Waste segregation in different countries:

• In Germany, regulations exist that provide mandatory quotas for the waste sorting of packaging waste and recyclable materials such as glass bottles.

• In Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, a pilot project using an automated collecting machine of plastic bottles or aluminium cans with voucher reward has been implemented in a market.

• In India, On 2nd October 2014, PM Shri Narendra Modi launched the “Swacch Bharat” Campaign in his quest for a Cleaner India. The initiative is a success in some aspect but has still a lot to achieve if India want to be on the track to a Clean India by 2019 but still they haven't made any major progress. Though the Government is trying its hand in taking control of the situation by imposing ban on Plastic bag and the BBMP collaborating with different agencies (both print & electronic media) in making people aware of Waste Segregation and its benefits.But the pace of things is pathetically slow. In the eyes of the experts, the malady lies not in deficient approach but in management.
• In Pakistan, this concept hasn't developed much but a case study was conducted on Nov 30th,2015 in hospitals. A total of 12 different hospitals were selected for the survey, which involved quantification of waste generation rates and investigation of waste management practices. The results were analysed using linear regression. The weighted average total, general and infectious hospital waste generation rates were found to be 0.667, 0.497 and 0.17 kg bed-day respectively. Of the total, 73.85% consisted of general, 25.8% consisted of hazardous infectious and 0.87% consisted of sharps waste. The general waste consisted of 15.76% paper, 13.41% plastic, 21.77% textiles, 6.47% glass, 1.99% rubber, 0.44% metal and 40.17% others.

In the end I think waste segregation can be helpful if we adopt it individually and start segregating our waste from our homes.