The Importance Of Waste Management

Municipal solid wastes are leftovers made by the population such as food, plastic bottles, household wares and many more. These items referred by most as “the garage” or “trash”. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015) In the early 1900’s, incinerators were used to burn waste however by the Mid-20th century, lawmakers enacted the first government regulations in an attempt to address increasing concerns about the environmental impact of unregulated waste management practices. With the first waste management legislation being passed in 1965, brought along the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, thus bringing us into a new world of waste management.(Vault, n.d.)

Identified wastes in the current processes using the seven wastes as a guide to what should be looked for. The question was asked, “Why did this waste occur?” and, “What can be done to prevent it?”.

Although many people lack concern over the removal of their garbage, as modern sanitation systems leave almost no trace of it whatsoever to the common individual; however, as the collected data supports, garbage poses a significant threat to the global environment, as pollution causes damaging consequences around the globe.

Waste is unwanted material that needs to be disposed of. It may include materials leftover from manufacturing procedure or from households. They can be discarded straightaway or can be treated by recycling. It can comprise a wide range of materials like papers, cards, plastic, glass, metals, textiles, used needles, body parts, food waste, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, radioactive materials, and medical devices.

But rubbish can potentially have value for others. As the old saying goes:“One man's junk is another man's treasure”.(Unknown). This is essential for defining how come there are businesses of rubbish. Rubbish allows them to make money by disposing it off in proper manner. These businesses turn rubbish into something of value. They make this possible by converting it into marketable products or by moving it away for dumping. (“Rubbish Society”, 2009 p.119). The growth in the recycling industry and people’s increased awareness and participation in recycling programs all over the world has also created an opening for larger organizations to operate recycling and disposal operations on an international level. The process of recycling can thus give value to rubbish and waste by producing outputs

We have become a very wasteful society where it seems as if everything is disposable; as a society, we need to be conscious of just how much waste we produce and what we are able to do to reduce that amount to protect our environment.

This assignment will aim to outline the ways in which rubbish can be said to have value in a consumer society. It will attempt to outline all the various ways value is taken in one form or another from refuse which will include; the ecological value by reducing the space taken up in landfill sites, the value of profit in reducing Local Authority Costs by the selling of recyclable rubbish, the value of conserving natural resources when recycling paper, glass, plastic, clothing and IT equipment. The charitable value of providing clothing both in UK and abroad for those in need of help and food to those who might starve without the aid of charity. The value of education both in the UK and abroad in the re-distribution of IT equipment.

Today’s day in age, we look around and see waste everywhere we go. Garbage trucks picking up waste, landfills over flowing, Green House gas Emissions entering our atmosphere. So much intelligence in the world, yet we still contribute to a large portion of waste that is destroying our planet. How can we decrease potential waste? As a planet we are ruining our ecosystem which keeps us able to live in a sustainable manner. We will be analyzing two articles one from The Washington Post and the other from NPR. In both articles we will discuss the issues having to do with food waste such as over production, environmental issues, and the waste of useable products.

Municipal waste dumping site is entitled places for waste disposal. Depending on a city’s level of waste management, waste can be literally dumped, separated for recycling purposes, or simply burnt. Poor waste management poses an enormous challenge to the health of city residents, especially those who live near the dump sites. The waste can potentially pollute water, food sources, land, air and vegetation. Poorly dumping waste can lead to environmental degradation, destruction of the ecosystem, and risks to the public health.

Waste is any substance or material that no longer serves a specific purpose, and is therefore disposed of after its first use. It is currently a significant issue for Australia; Australia is currently one of the highest waste producing countries in the world, and has recently been ranked in the top five waste producing nations. Australia as a whole produces over 18 million tonnes of waste per year, equivalent to three million garbage trucks full of compacted rubbish. This is likely to have resulted from an increase in Australia’s overall population.

It is important to analyze the efficiency and effectiveness of the region of Waterloo’s methods for managing municipal waste, as over time waste will become an ever growing issue in our society. Through examining data provided by the region on their waste disposal methods and in comparison to other municipalities we will be able to conclude whether or not our waste is being efficiently managed here in Waterloo. Waste management is a common goal across all municipalities. It refers to control strategies targeted at the reduction in quantity and toxicity of wastes at different stages of disposal. It is a method for controlling wastes that cannot be completely eliminated from the environment.

Hazardous waste and its proper disposal have become a major sociological problem today due to its capability of contaminating the area in which we live and its potential to be lethal to all living things. In order for the United States and the rest of the world to save itself from a potentially life threatening problem they must fix the causes which lead to the improper disposal of hazardous wastes and like materials. Some reasons that hazardous waste has become a problem in the United States today is due to the breakdown in enforcing laws for the proper disposal of such wastes, a lack of initiative on big companies behalf to spend money on proper disposal, and the ease of disposing of such wastes illegally.

A.O. Coaker ,C.G.Achi, M.K.C. Sridhor, C.J.Donnett(2015) studied the current institutional solid waste management in a Nigerian private institution of higher learning. Using key informant as interview and personal field observations, the waste generation rate, pattern and characterization was made. It was concluded that if all the organic waste streams from the kitchens ,canteens and animal house are utilized for the bioenergy and organic fertilizer and non-biodegradables can be sold in the secondary market and considerable amount of wealth can be recovered

My main concern about waste disposal is toward poverty. In every society, for it to work effectively the waste disposal has to be handled properly. The lack of proper waste disposal can contribute for the underdevelopment of the community. For instance, in poorer community that does not have resources to dispose of the trash properly create a series of problems. For example, when there are a lot of trashes in a community, it will prevent investors to invest in a community, the housing market, schools and stores will decline, in consequence the houses will loose its value. This will create a ripple effect because people will start immigrating toward a better place where it is much cleaner. Families will try to move to a better place where their kids can have a better future. I ask myself who wants to live in a dirty environment? I hope nobody. That’s why I believe that the government should help the poorest communities about the ways to handle waste disposal, and better educate them about recycling.

Waste management applies to a variety of resources, from food to energy to water. Nature itself produces no waste,