Waste segregation at source can reduce up to 250 tonnes of dump from entering into landfills.

Waste Segregation Categories

In order to segregate waste appropriately, it is important to correctly identify the type of waste that is generated. For the purposes of waste segregation at source, waste is identified and classified into the following categories depending on their biological, physical, and chemical properties:

• Dry Waste – Refers to all items that are not considered wet/soiled items. This includes both recyclable and non-recyclable materials. Dry waste includes items such as bottles, cans, clothing, plastic, wood, glass, metals, and paper.
• Wet Waste – Refers to all items that are organic like food items, soiled food wrappers, hygiene products, yard waste, tissues, and paper towels, as well as any other soiled item that would contaminate the recyclables.
• Sanitary Waste – Refers to all liquid or solid waste originating solely from humans and human activities. (Can also include items from medical waste)
• Hazardous Household Waste – Refers to all household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients, other than used oil.
• E-Waste – Refers to all kinds of electronic waste.
• Hazardous Waste – Refers to all items, products, and by-products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients.
• Inert Waste – Refers to waste items that are neither chemically nor biologically reactive nor decompose easily.

Waste segregation is critical because of the fact that certain types of wastes can be hazardous and can contaminate the environment if not managed correctly. (Some of these types of waste may also have the potential to cause disease or get into water supplies or contaminate the land with different types of leachates.)

When waste is unsegregated, it may get contaminated with different types of waste being stored together. Such waste cannot be treated or managed and most of the time end up being dumped into local dump yards or landfills. With waste segregation, management of different types of waste becomes easier and more efficient, reducing the environmental impact and promoting recycling and reuse.

For ease of waste segregation, the disposal bins are color coded.

Type of Waste	Color of Bin
Wet Waste	Green
Dry Waste	Blue
Sanitary Waste	Red
E-Waste	Black or Grey
Hazardous Waste	Black

The best way to segregate waste is to segregate it at source. To enable this, it is always recommended to place the right type of bin in the respective area.