,
England]]
Waste management is the
collection,
transport,
processing,
recycling or disposal, and monitoring of
waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on
health, the
environment or
aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover
resources from it. Waste management can involve
solid,
liquid,
gaseous or
radioactive substances, with different methods and fields of expertise for each.
Waste management practices differ for developed and developing nations, for urban and rural areas, and for residential and industrial producers. Management for non-hazardous waste residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator.
Methods of disposal
Integrated waste management
Integrated waste management using LCA (life cycle analysis) attempts to offer the most benign options for waste management. For mixed MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) a number of broad studies have indicated that waste administration, then source separation and collection followed by reuse and recycling of the non-organic fraction and energy and compost/fertilizer production of the organic waste fraction via anaerobic digestion to be the favoured path. Non-metallic waste resources are not destroyed as with incineration, and can be reused/ recycled in a future resource depleted society.
Landfill
Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying the waste, and this remains a common practice in most countries. Landfills were often established in abandoned or unused
quarries,
mining voids or
borrow pits. A properly designed and well-managed landfill can be a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of disposing of waste materials. Older, poorly designed or poorly managed landfills can create a number of adverse environmental impacts such as wind-blown
litter, attraction of
vermin, and generation of liquid
leachate. Another common byproduct of landfills is gas (mostly composed of
methane and
carbon dioxide), which is produced as organic waste breaks down
anaerobically. This gas can create odour problems, kill surface vegetation, and is a
greenhouse gas.
Design characteristics of a modern landfill include methods to contain leachate such as clay or plastic lining material. Deposited waste is normally compacted to increase its density and stability, and covered to prevent attracting vermin (such as mice or rats). Many landfills also have landfill gas extraction systems installed to extract the landfill gas. Gas is pumped out of the landfill using perforated pipes and flared off or burnt in a gas engine to generate electricity.
Incineration
.]] Incineration is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to combustion so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. This method is useful for disposal of residue of both solid waste management and solid residue from waste water management.This process reduces the volumes of solid waste to 20 to 30 percent of the original volume. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are sometimes described as "
thermal treatment". Incinerators convert waste materials into
heat,
gas,
steam and
ash.
Incineration is carried out both on a small scale by individuals and on a large scale by industry. It is used to dispose of solid, liquid and gaseous waste. It is recognized as a practical method of disposing of certain hazardous waste materials (such as biological medical waste). Incineration is a controversial method of waste disposal, due to issues such as emission of gaseous pollutants.
Incineration is common in countries such as Japan where land is more scarce, as these facilities generally do not require as much area as landfills. Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) are broad terms for facilities that burn waste in a furnace or boiler to generate heat, steam and/or electricity. Combustion in an incinerator is not always perfect and there have been concerns about micro-pollutants in gaseous emissions from incinerator stacks. Particular concern has focused on some very persistent organics such as dioxins, furans, PAHs,... which may be created within the incinerator and afterwards in the incinerator plume which may have serious environmental consequences in the area immediately around the incinerator. On the other hand this method or the more benign anaerobic digestion produces heat that can be used as energy.
Recycling
The popular meaning of ‘recycling’ in most developed countries refers to the widespread collection and reuse of everyday waste materials such as empty beverage containers. These are collected and sorted into common types so that the raw materials from which the items are made can be reprocessed into new products. Material for recycling may be collected separately from general waste using dedicated bins and collection vehicles, or sorted directly from mixed waste streams.
The most common consumer products recycled include aluminum such as beverage cans, copper such as wire, steel food and aerosol cans, old steel furnishings or equipment (Heavy melting steel I and HMS II), HDPE and PET bottles, glass bottles and jars, paperboard cartons, newspapers, magazines and light paper, and corrugated fiberboard boxes.
PVC, LDPE, PP, and PS (see resin identification code) are also recyclable. These items are usually composed of a single type of material, making them relatively easy to recycle into new products. The recycling of complex products (such as computers and electronic equipment) is more difficult, due to the additional dismantling and separation required.
Sustainability
The management of waste is a key component in a business' ability to maintaining ISO14001 accreditation. Companies are encouraged to improve their environmental efficiencies each year. One way to do this is by improving a company’s waste management with a new recycling service. (such as recycling: glass, food waste, paper and cardboard, plastic bottles etc.)
Biological reprocessing
heap.]] Waste materials that are organic in nature, such as plant material, food scraps, and paper products, can be recycled using biological composting and digestion processes to
decompose the organic matter. The resulting organic material is then recycled as
mulch or
compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. In addition, waste gas from the process (such as methane) can be captured and used for generating electricity and heat (CHP/cogeneration) maximising efficiencies. The intention of biological processing in waste management is to control and accelerate the natural process of decomposition of organic matter.
There is a large variety of composting and digestion methods and technologies varying in complexity from simple home compost heaps, to small town scale batch digesters, industrial-scale enclosed-vessel digestion of mixed domestic waste (see Mechanical biological treatment). Methods of biological decomposition are differentiated as being aerobic or anaerobic methods, though hybrids of the two methods also exist.
Anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of MSW Municipal Solid Waste has been found to be in a number of LCA analysis studies to be more environmentally effective, than landfill, incineration or pyrolisis. The resulting biogas (methane) though must be used for cogeneration (electricity and heat preferably on or close to the site of production) and can be used with a little upgrading in gas combustion engines or turbines. With further upgrading to synthetic natural gas it can be injected into the natural gas network or further refined to hydrogen for use in stationary cogeneration fuel cells. Its use in fuel cells eliminates the pollution from products of combustion.
An example of waste management through composting is the Green Bin Program in Toronto, Canada, where Source Separated Organics (such as kitchen scraps and plant cuttings) are collected in a dedicated container and then composted.
Energy recovery
mechanical biological treatment plant in
Germany, 2007 ]] The energy content of waste products can be harnessed directly by using them as a direct combustion fuel, or indirectly by processing them into another type of fuel. Recycling through thermal treatment ranges from using waste as a fuel source for cooking or heating, to anaerobic digestion and the use of the gas fuel (see above), to fuel for
boilers to generate steam and electricity in a
turbine.
Pyrolysis and
gasification are two related forms of thermal treatment where waste materials are heated to high temperatures with limited
oxygen availability. The process usually occurs in a sealed vessel under high
pressure. Pyrolysis of solid waste converts the material into solid, liquid and gas products. The liquid and gas can be burnt to produce energy or refined into other chenmical products (chemical refinery). The solid residue (char) can be further refined into products such as
activated carbon. Gasification and advanced
Plasma arc gasification are used to convert organic materials directly into a synthetic gas (
syngas) composed of
carbon monoxide and
hydrogen. The gas is then burnt to produce electricity and
steam. An alternative to pyrolisis is high temperature and pressure supercritical water decomposition (hydrothermal monophasic oxidation).
Avoidance and reduction methods
An important method of waste management is the prevention of waste material being created, also known as waste reduction. Methods of avoidance include reuse of second-hand products, repairing broken items instead of buying new, designing products to be refillable or reusable (such as cotton instead of plastic shopping bags), encouraging consumers to avoid using disposable products (such as disposable
cutlery), removing any food/liquid remains from cans, packaging, ... and designing products that use less material to achieve the same purpose (for example,
lightweighting of beverage cans).
Waste handling and transport
.]] Waste collection methods vary widely among different countries and regions. Domestic waste collection services are often provided by local government authorities, or by private companies in the industry. Some areas, especially those in less developed countries, do not have a formal waste-collection system. Examples of waste handling systems include:
In Australia, curbside collection is the method of disposal of waste. Every urban domestic household is provided with three bins: one for recyclables, another for general waste and another for garden materials - this bin is provided by the municipality if requested. Also, many households have compost bins; but this is not provided by the municipality. To encourage recycling, municipalities provide large recycle bins, which are larger than general waste bins. Municipal, commercial and industrial, construction and demolition waste is dumped at landfills and some is recycled. Household waste is segregated: recyclables sorted and made into new products, and general waste is dumped in landfill areas. According to the ABS, the recycling rate is high and is 'increasing, with 99% of households reporting that they had recycled or reused some of their waste within the past year (2003 survey), up from 85% in 1992'. This suggests that Australians are in favour of reduced or no landfilling and the recycling of waste. Of the total waste produced in 2002–03, '30% of municipal waste, 45% of commercial and industrial waste and 57% of construction and demolition waste' was recycled. Energy is produced from waste as well: some landfill gas is captured for fuel or electricity generation. Households and industries are not charged for the volume of waste they produce.
In Europe and a few other places around the world, a few communities use a proprietary collection system known as Envac, which conveys refuse via underground conduits using a vacuum system. Other vacuum-based solutions include the MetroTaifun single-line and ring-line systems. In Canadian urban centres curbside collection is the most common method of disposal, whereby the city collects waste and/or recyclables and/or organics on a scheduled basis. In rural areas people often dispose of their waste by hauling it to a transfer station. Waste collected is then transported to a regional landfill. In Taipei, the city government charges its households and industries for the volume of rubbish they produce. Waste will only be collected by the city council if waste is disposed in government issued rubbish bags. This policy has successfully reduced the amount of waste the city produces and increased the recycling rate. In
Israel, the Arrow Ecology company has developed the
ArrowBio system, which takes trash directly from collection trucks and separates organic and inorganic materials through gravitational settling, screening, and hydro-mechanical shredding. The system is capable of sorting huge volumes of solid waste, salvaging recyclables, and turning the rest into biogas and rich agricultural compost. The system is used in California, Australia, Greece, Mexico, the United Kingdom and in Israel. For example, an ArrowBio plant that has been operational at the
Hiriya landfill site since December 2003 serves the Tel Aviv area, and processes up to 150 tons of garbage a day.
Technologies
Traditionally the waste management industry has been slow to adopt new technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, GPS and integrated software packages which enable better quality data to be collected without the use of estimation or manual data entry.
Technologies like RFID tags are now being used to collect data on presentation rates for curb-side pick-ups which is useful when examining the usage of recycling bins or similar. Benefits of GPS tracking is particularly evident when considering the efficiency of ad hoc pick-ups (like skip bins or dumpsters) where the collection is done on a consumer request basis. Integrated software packages are useful in aggregating this data for use in optimisation of operations for waste collection operations. Rear vision cameras are commonly used for OH&S; reasons and video recording devices are becoming more widely used, particularly concerning residential services and contaminations of the waste stream.
Waste management concepts
There are a number of
concepts about waste management which vary in their usage between countries or regions. Some of the most general, widely used concepts include:
Waste hierarchy - The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimization. The waste hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste. Extended producer responsibility - Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy designed to promote the integration of all costs associated with products throughout their life cycle (including end-of-life disposal costs) into the market price of the product. Extended producer responsibility is meant to impose accountability over the entire lifecycle of products and packaging introduced to the market. This means that firms which manufacture, import and/or sell products are required to be responsible for the products after their useful life as well as during manufacture. Polluter pays principle - the Polluter Pays Principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused to the environment. With respect to waste management, this generally refers to the requirement for a waste generator to pay for appropriate disposal of the waste.
Education and awareness
Education and
awareness in the area of waste and waste management is increasingly important from a global perspective of
resource management. The
Talloires Declaration is a declaration for
sustainability concerned about the unprecedented scale and speed of environmental
pollution and
degradation, and the
depletion of
natural resources. Local, regional, and global
air pollution; accumulation and distribution of toxic wastes; destruction and depletion of forests,
soil, and
water; depletion of the
ozone layer and emission of "green house" gases threaten the survival of humans and thousands of other living species, the integrity of the earth and its
biodiversity, the security of nations, and the heritage of future generations. Several universities have implemented the Talloires Declaration by establishing
environmental management and waste management programs, e.g. the
waste management university project.
University and
vocational education are promoted by various organizations, e.g.
WAMITAB and
Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. Many supermarkets encourage customers to use their
reverse vending machines to deposit used purchased containers and receive a refund from the recycling fees. Brands that manufacture such machines include
Tomra and
Envipco.
In 2010, CNBC aired the documentary about waste, what happens to it when it's "thrown away", and its impact on the world.
See also
List of waste disposal incidents List of waste management acronyms History of waste management Biomedical waste Food waste Recycling Rubberecycle Recycling and Waste Management Exhibition (in the UK) Environmental waste controls Industrial symbiosis ISSOWAMA Institute of Professional Environmental Practice
References
External links
Waste = Food Documentary">Waste = Food Documentary - A documentary on the Cradle to Cradle design concept of Michael Braungart and William McDonough. Envirowise UK Portal Clean Pyrolysis an alternative approach from Intervate Gasoline from Vinegar | MIT Technology Review