Waste Management and Waste Disposal What is waste

Waste Management and Waste Disposal

What is waste management? • Waste management, often also referred to as waste disposal, can be defined as actions necessary to manage waste initial production to its final disposal. • This process includes the collection, treatment, transport, monitoring and also the regulation regarding waste. • Effective waste management processes are crucial in order to keep areas clean and to avoid adverse effects on the environmental system. • The quality of waste management differs across countries significantly. • Especially in poor developing countries, improper waste management still is a big problem. • This article answers all kinds of questions regarding the topic of waste management in order to improve the public knowledge on this topic.

Waste management principles • Resource efficiency • Polluter pays • Waste hierarchy • Life-cycle

Resource efficiency • Due to a growing world population in conjunction with an increase in our individual consumption behavior, humanity currently consumes more than our planet can replenish. • This means that resources will become quite scarce over time or even entirely depleted. • Therefore, the concept of resource efficiency tries to mitigate this issue by stating that resources should be used in the most efficient way in order to save resources and sustain them for as long as possible. • Moreover, the extraction and manufacturing of products should be accomplished in a way that the adverse environmental impact can be kept as low as possible.

Polluter pays • The polluter pays principle is straightforward since it states that pollutions of all kinds of sorts and the related environmental costs should be borne by the polluting company or individual. • This makes quite a lot of sense since profit maximizing companies usually only pay attention to the destruction of the environment if they have to pay the costs for their adverse impact. • However, in reality, the polluter pays principle is only anchored in a limited way. • This is especially true when it comes to negative externalities. • For example, the air pollution through manufacturing processes contributes to global warming and the related adverse effects on many countries. • However, since companies are usually profit maximizing, if there are no costs for pollution, these companies will continue to pollute the air since they do not have to deal with the adverse consequences. • Thus, in order to be able to mitigate this problem, we need a global emission framework in which every ton of emission of all sorts have to be priced in a way that companies have an incentive to lower their pollution levels significantly.

Waste hierarchy • Waste hierarchy is a concept which implies that products should be used, reused and recycled in a way that people can get the maximum benefit out of them. • This also implies that the waste production should be minimized.

Life-cycle • There are many different stages in the production processes of goods. • This usually includes design, manufacturing, distribution and use. • Moreover, after the use of a product, the concept of reuse and recycling comes into place. • In all of these stages, regulatory as well as private measures could be taken to make the production process more efficient in order to minimize waste production.

Types of waste • Liquid • Solid • Hazardous • Organic • Recyclable

Sources of waste • Industrial waste • Household waste • Food waste

Industrial waste • Industrial waste can be defined as garbage produced by industrial activities. • This includes gravel and dirt, masonry and concrete, oil, scrap metals, chemicals, solvents, scrap lumber and additional waste items produced by mills, factories and industries. • It may appear in gaseous, solid or liquid form. • Waste from industrial processes can be radioactive, corrosive, ignitable, toxic or reactive. • It can lead to the pollution of air, soil and water.

Household waste • Household waste can be defined as post-consumer waste which includes home care products, consumer products, personal care products, household chemicals, automotive care products and many more. • Due to the increase of the world population, the total amount of household waste has increased dramatically over the last decades. • Additionally, consumption behavior changed over time which resulted in the production of even more waste. • Moreover, people return their products quite frequently which causes even more waste since in many cases, not only the packaging has to be renewed, even the product itself will be disposed due to regulatory or economic reasons. • A fraction of our household waste displays dangerous characteristics similar to regulated hazardous waste due to their potential for ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, persistency or toxicity. Examples include fuel, medical waste, motor oil, cleaning chemicals or batteries.

Food waste • Large amounts of food are produced on a daily basis. • However, a significant fraction is disposed into the garbage even before it reaches our food stores. • This is often due to minor issues which are often solely related to the appearance rather than to the quality of the food product. • For example, if a cucumber has too much of a curvature, it is classified as not suitable for our grocery stores and thus disposed into the trash can. • Since this is not only true for cucumbers but also for many other grocery items, this behavior leads to a significant waste of resources since the food would be suitable for consumption. • Moreover, even if food items reach our grocery stores, a big fraction of our food ends up in the trash can since we do not consume it in time. • Additionally, many people are afraid to consume groceries if the best before date has been exceeded even if the food is in good shape and thus would be suitable for consumption.

Effects • Air pollution • Soil pollution • Land pollution • Smell • Visual pollution • Water pollution • Nuclear accidents • Global warming • Effects on animals • Effects on plants • Effects on aquatic life

Air pollution • The production and the processing of waste can lead to significant amounts of air pollution. • Due to our increasing world population, the amount of waste which is produced each year also increases. • In order to get rid of this waste, it has to be dumped into landfills or burned. • In the combustion process, many harmful gases are emitted into the air, including CO 2 which in turn leads to global warming.

Soil pollution • Large amounts of waste are dumped into landfills. • If these landfills are not set up properly, the soil can be contaminated with many harmful or even toxic substances. • This problem is especially severe in developing countries with low regulatory standards for landfills. In those countries, many hazardous materials are dumped into landfills. • When they decompose, toxic elements are washed into the soil when rain sets in.

Land pollution • The production and disposal of waste also often leads to land pollution. • Among others, waste can come in the form of littering. • For example, people often throw their used cigarettes on the ground instead of using a trash bin, which in turn leads to land pollution.

Smell • Waste, especially organic waste, can lead to significant smell which can pollute the areas surrounding landfills. • If you live in a house near a landfill or a waste combustion plant, chances are that you are adversely affected by smell to a certain extent.

Visual pollution • Trash can also lead to visual pollution. • People usually prefer to spend their time in nice clean areas instead of areas that are covered with plastic or used cigarettes. • Therefore, if you live in areas with a high level of littering, you may suffer from visual pollution since your living comfort is lower compared to living in a clean neighborhood.

Water pollution • Incorrect waste management can also lead to significant water pollution. • Since in many developing countries, trash is disposed illegally in rivers or lakes, the water gets contaminated with all kinds of harmful substances. • Moreover, if landfills are not set up properly, toxic substances may contaminate the soil and may eventually also be washed into the groundwater through rainfalls.

Nuclear accidents • If nuclear waste is not handled carefully, it can lead to all kinds of nuclear accidents. • For example, if a nuclear waste transporter is involved in an accident, this may lead to a leakage and thus may lead to the contamination of the surrounding environment with nuclear substances.

Global warming • The production of waste also contributes to global warming. • In order to get rid of the trash, large amount of it have to be burnt. • In the combustion process, harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are released into the air which in turn lead to global warming.

Effects on animals • Animals can also be affected by the production and the disposal of waste. • If waste is illegally disposed into rivers, lakes or in forests, the habitats of animals are contaminated with harmful substances. • Some animals will try to consume the trash, which may lead to diseases or other harmful effects. • Moreover, also animals suffer from the indirect effect of trash production on global warming since they are usually quite sensitive to changes in their natural living conditions. • When temperature increases, this could lead to a decrease in population or even to an extinction of certain animals if they are not able to adapt properly.

Effects on plants • Plants may also be affected by waste. • Through the combustion of waste, many harmful gases are released into the air. • Some of them are able to cause acid rain, which in turn changes the acidity level of the soil and therefore hurts a variety of plants.

Effects on aquatic life • Many water organisms are hurt by the production of trash and the implied adverse effects. • For example, through the combustion and the implied contribution to global warming, air temperature and also water temperature will increase. • An increase in water temperature also implies a decrease in oxygen levels. • This decrease in oxygen is a serious threat to many fishes since they rely on stable oxygen levels in order to survive. • Therefore, if oxygen levels decrease, many fishes are likely to decrease in population or even become extinct. • Moreover, if waste is dumped illegally into rivers or lakes, the water gets contaminated and water organisms will also be contaminated by toxic substances.

Problems regarding waste disposal • Weak regulations • Toxicity • Lack of knowledge • Private vs. public interest • Short-term vs. long-term solutions • High waste disposal costs • Low fines for illegal dumping • Excessive amount of waste

Weak regulations • In many countries, especially in developing countries, there are often quite weak regulations in place that lead to improper and inefficient waste disposal processes. • Substances that should be regarded as hazardous are often dumped into landfills where they contaminate the surrounding soil.

Toxicity • A fraction of the overall waste is quite toxic and requires great caution when it comes to the disposal of those waste items. • Moreover, in some cases, some regions may lack appropriate waste disposal techniques regarding highly toxic waste which can lead to serious pollution of many sorts.

Lack of knowledge • There is a big gap in knowledge when it comes to waste disposal and proper waste management. • In many countries, especially in poor countries, the knowledge regarding waste disposal is often quite basic and limited. • Thus, progresses in research will take quite long to impact the actual waste disposal behavior.

Private vs. public interest • In many cases, there is a conflict of interest between private and public interests regarding the topic of waste management. • Industries usually maximize their profits and produce the profit maximizing amount of waste. • However, since they impose negative externalities on other people and even on other countries, the amount of waste produced by industries is usually far too high when regarded from a social perspective. • This is due to the fact that industries are insufficiently punished when it comes to topics like air pollution. • Air pollution has many adverse effects on the world population. • However, since industries in many countries do not have to pay for polluting the air, they are willing to emit large amounts of harmful gases and also produce excessive amounts of waste since they are not charged sufficiently for those negative externalities.

Short-term vs. long-term solutions • When it comes to managing waste, there is also the decision of short-term vs. longterm thinking. • For instance, dumping radioactive waste into mines may be good short-term solution. • However, this behavior may have serious long-term effects. • It is crucial that industries and also governments have an incentive to prefer effective long-term solutions over short-term fixes.

High waste disposal costs • In some countries, waste disposal is quite costly compared to the income level. • Especially in those countries, inhabitants and also industries have a strong incentive for illegal dumping since they can save quite a lot of money by doing so compared to the official appropriate way.

Low fines for illegal dumping • There are often also quite low fines when it comes to illegal dumping. • In areas which have low fines and also little to no controlling instances, illegal dumping becomes a quite attractive option compared to official waste disposal methods.

Excessive amount of waste • In many countries, there is an enormous waste problem related to the fact that there is simply too much waste to process. • This problem is especially severe in developing countries which often lack efficient waste management processes. • Making things worse, many developed countries simply ship their trash to other countries to get rid of it. • This behavior enlarges the problem significantly and may lead to a “waste collapse” of some waste processing hotspots.

Solutions • Incineration • Landfills • Biological reprocessing • Pyrolysis • Energy recovery • Resource recovery • Aerobic composting • Anaerobic composting • Reduction in waste • Recycle and reuse • Waste management at home

Incineration • With the help of the incineration process, the waste is burned and converted into gases and residue products. • By doing so, heat, electricity and steam can be generated which can be used for further processes. • Incineration is also quite popular since it requires less space than landfills.

Landfills • Landfills are another common way to get rid of large amounts of waste. • The waste is usually buried on landfills. • However, some landfills are also partly used as storage in order to recycle useful material at later stages.

Biological reprocessing • Waste that is made of organic compounds like paper products or plant material can be recovered through decomposing the organic matter and therefore can be used in an efficient manner.

Pyrolysis • Pyrolysis is done with high levels of heat without the use of oxygen. • This technique is used for many sorts of residues in order to convert them into fuel.

Energy recovery • Energy recovery is an efficient way to get rid of non-recyclable waste since it converts these kinds of waste into useful products like heat, fuel or electricity which can be used for many different processes in later stages.

Resource recovery • In the process of resource recovery, recyclable waste is treated in a way recover and extract resources or to convert this kind of waste into energy which can be used in later stages.

Aerobic composting • With the help of oxygen and bacteria, waste is decomposed in a natural manner. • Aerobic composting can be used for organic waste and for waste that has a high concentration of nitrogen. • Aerobic composting is a quick way to get rid of organic waste, however, it requires certain levels of moisture, air circulation and temperature in order to work effectively.

Anaerobic composting • Anaerobic composting is done without the use of oxygen and usually takes much longer to process the waste compared to aerobic composting. • The advantage of anaerobic composting is that it does not take lots of monitoring. • However, it leads to large amounts of methane which in turn contributes to global warming.

Reduction in waste • One measure against waste production and the implied adverse consequences is to reduce our consumption behavior. • Since the industrial revolution, our consumption levels skyrocketed since goods became quite cheap due to large quantities with a low unit price. • However, an increase in consumption also implies an increase in waste production. • Through the reduction in our consumption behavior, we can make a big impact in order to mitigate the waste issue. • For example, this could mean that you keep your stuff that is still working longer instead of replacing it by the newest version.

Recycle and reuse • You should also reuse stuff that you do no longer need. • This could mean giving it to family or friends. • If nobody wants to have your old stuff, at least make sure that you dispose it properly in order to ensure recyclability.

Waste management at home • You should also make sure that you separate your waste properly on a daily basis. • Only then will it be possible to recycle some of your trash instead of burning or dumping it into landfills.

Conclusion • The production of excessive waste is a big problem in our nowadays society. • Our consumption levels are higher than ever, which also implies high levels of waste production. • Therefore, effective waste management techniques are crucial in order to get rid of the waste in an environmentally-friendly way. • By paying attention to the issue of waste production and waste disposal, everyone of us can make their contribution to mitigate the waste issue.

Sources • https: //en. m. wikipedia. org/wiki/Waste_management_law • https: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Waste_management • https: //www. sciencedirect. com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/wastedisposal