There is a lot of talk about waste and its effective management, especially since the international community ‘realised’ that waste is a growing problem, threatening the environmental stability of our planet. When put together the words ‘waste’ and ‘management’ describe the process of collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and monitoring of waste masses generated by households, businesses and industry.
Why is waste management so important?
Effective waste management is the process of removing, processing and possibly storing of waste materials in appropriate ways. Failing to do so means waste management is ineffective which can spell out some serious problems for urban and regional communities around the world. Waste has adverse effects on human and environmental health, improper waste management can easily lead to epidemics and contamination of natural resources. There are many different types of waste which require proper management, the main ones are:
- Gaseous waste;
- Liquid waste;
- Solid waste;
- Radioactive waste;
The methods by which waste materials are managed differs greatly from developed to developing nations, from urban to rural areas, for residential and industrial complexes etc. Generally, waste produced in residential communities, both urban and rural is managed by local governments (either themselves or through a designated private service provider). In the case of industrial waste, most of the time entities which generate that waste are responsible for its appropriate management.
Waste disposal – key aspect of waste management
Waste disposal is basically the process of dumping waste, however if waste disposal is to be legal and sustainable, it must be dumped at specifically designated sites. A designated waste disposal site should not be overfilled as it loses its ability to retain waste, which may result in toxic fires and contamination of natural resources nearby. There are different types of waste disposal according to the type and amount of waste being disposed of. The most widely used means of waste disposal are:
- Landfills – ideally, a landfill is a vacant plot of land where one or more types of waste are dumped, spread out, compacted and then sealed by means of burying the waste under layers of soil, clay, sand etc. Landfills are usually present around large urban settlements as waste generated by the town or city ‘feeds’ the landfill. For landfills to work properly and prevent contamination of surrounding environment, they must be planned and constructed properly by geologists and engineers. Some landfills are sealed on bottom and sides to prevent spill and contamination from waste. Modern, properly constructed landfills usually feature a clay ‘bed’ which is filled with waste, some of them also feature advanced liquid and gas extraction systems to remove dangerous gases and chemicals from the waste heap. When a landfill is full, it should be compacted (driven over by large bulldozers), secured (flammable and toxic substances removed or retarded) and sealed using concrete, clay, soil or another type of material.
- Incineration – also known as thermal waste management or treatment, incineration is basically controlled burning of waste in order to produce some sort of useful by-product. In most cases, the useful by products of thermal waste treatment are gas, heat and steam. There is also ash but whether or not it can be used for anything depends on its chemical contents and physical properties. There is however a serious dilemma that hangs over waste incineration and that is the emission of toxic gasses. Burning is a process which produces gasses and residue (ash). Residue might be easier to manage safely, but toxic gasses aren’t. Originally, all sorts of waste was subject to incineration which inevitably created toxic fumes and gasses. Nowadays, people are much more conscious and careful about what waste they burn. Specially engineered incinerators allow for burning of waste and extraction and purification of toxic fumes and gases, making the process less damaging to the environment. The energy (heat, steam etc.) generated by waste incineration is now harvested and used for various purposes like heating or electrifying homes and businesses for example. There are two types of waste incineration – waste to energy and energy from waste.
- Recycling – the breakdown and reprocessing of waste into useful materials is known as recycling. Recycling is a great thing on paper, but in reality there are quite a few issues with the process itself and the product it yields. First of all, recycling isn’t uniformly done everywhere but only in some countries which reduces the concept’s efficiency. Second of all, many of the materials which go into products and packaging are non-recyclable, or really expensive and energy-intensive to recycle. For recycling to yield a pure, usable recyclate it needs a ‘pure waste’ input which is not easy to come by as products and packaging are usually made of a number of materials like plastic and metal, or plastic and paper, or all of these. Efforts are being made to regulate and simplify the material contents of products and packaging to help recycling though there is still a long way to go. Recycling as an industry is also quite susceptible to changes in the world or regional economy.
Additional means of waste disposal
There are also other, less common but effective ways to deal with waste. For example, organic waste such as food scraps, green waste etc. are subjected to what’s known as biological reprocessing. This method involves controlled decomposition of organic waste in order to produce various by products, one of which is compost (a natural fertiliser). Biological reprocessing is either anaerobic (does not involve oxygen) and aerobic (oxygen facilitated decomposition).
Recovery of energy is also a proven method, but it does bring upon certain environmental concerns. Recover of energy is burning of waste material, directly as a fuel to produce heat energy and steam used by homes and businesses. Variations of energy recovery waste disposal are pyrolysis and gasification.
Perhaps the most effective waste management method is reduction. Reduction of waste is simply the process of generating less waste. Whether that be cutting down on unnecessary consumption or smarter shopping and supply philosophies on behalf of domestic and commercial consumers.
