Waste management

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For other uses, see Waste management (disambiguation).

A blue wheelie bin in Berkshire, England

Waste management in Kathmandu (Nepal)

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and

monitoring of waste materials.[1] 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 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.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Methods of disposal
o 1.1 Integrated waste management
o 1.2 Plasma gasification
o 1.3 Landfill
o 1.4 Incineration
 2 Recycling
 3 Sustainability
o 3.1 Biological reprocessing
o 3.2 Energy recovery
 4 Avoidance and reduction methods
 5 Waste handling and transport
 6 Technologies
 7 Waste management concepts
 8 Education and awareness
 9 See also
 10 References
 11 External links

[edit] Methods of disposal

[edit] 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.

[edit] Plasma gasification

Main article: Plasma arc waste disposal

Plasma is a highly ionized or electrically charged gas. An example in nature is

lightning, capable of producing temperatures exceeding 12,600 °F (6,980 °C). A
gasifier vessel utilizes proprietary plasma torches operating at +10,000 °F (5,540 °C)
(the surface temperature of the Sun) in order to create a gasification zone of up to
3,000 °F (1,650 °C) to convert solid or liquid wastes into a syngas. When municipal
solid waste is subjected to this intense heat within the vessel, the waste’s molecular
bonds break down into elemental components. The process results in elemental
destruction of waste and hazardous materials.[2]

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. generated 250
million tons of waste in 2008 alone, and this number continues to rise. About 54% of
this trash (135,000,000 short tons (122,000,000 t)) ends up in landfills and is
consuming land at a rate of nearly 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) per year. In fact, landfilling
is currently the number one method of waste disposal in the US. Some states no
longer have capacity at permitted landfills and export their waste to other states.
Plasma gasification offers states new opportunities for waste disposal, and more
importantly for renewable power generation in an environmentally sustainable
manner.[3]

[edit] Landfill

Main article: Landfill

Landfill operation in Hawaii.

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.

A landfill compaction vehicle in action.

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.
[edit] Incineration

Main article: Incineration

Spittelau incineration plant in Vienna.

Incineration is a disposal method that involves combustion of waste material.

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.

[edit] Recycling

Main article: Recycling

Steel scrap, sorted and baled for 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 beverage cans,
steel food and aerosol cans, HDPE and PET bottles, glass bottles and jars, paperboard
cartons, newspapers, magazines, and corrugated fiberboard boxes.

PVC, LDPE, PP, and PS (see resin identification code) are also recyclable, although
these are not commonly collected. 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.

[edit] Sustainability

The management of waste is a key component in a business' ability to maintaining

ISO14001 accreditations. 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.)

[edit] Biological reprocessing

Main articles: Composting, Home composting, and Anaerobic digestion

An active compost 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 are 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[4][5] 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 (SOx, NOx, pariculates, dioxin, furans, PAHs...).

An example of waste management through composting is the Green Bin Program in

Toronto, Canada, where household organic waste (such as kitchen scraps and plant
cuttings) are collected in a dedicated container and then composted.

[edit] Energy recovery

Main article: Waste-to-energy

Anaerobic digestion component of Lübeck 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).

[edit] Avoidance and reduction methods

Main article: Waste minimization

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, ...[6] and designing
products that use less material to achieve the same purpose (for example,
lightweighting of beverage cans).

[edit] Waste handling and transport

Main articles: Waste collection vehicle and Dustbin
A front-loading garbage truck in North America.

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.[7]

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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:

Diagram of the waste hierarchy.

 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.

[edit] 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 Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage about
waste, what happens to it when it's "thrown away", and its impact on the world.[8]

[edit] 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

[edit] References
1. ^ "What is Waste Management?". 2009.
http://www.wanless.com.au/what_is_waste_management.html.
2. ^ Alliance Federated Energy | What Is Plasma Gasification
3. ^ Alliance Federated Energy | Why Plasma Gasification
4. ^ Life Cycle Environmental Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste to Energy
Technologies
5. ^ Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Municipal Solid Waste Management in the State
of Kuwait
6. ^ Removing food remains to reduce waste
7. ^ Sorting through garbage for gold, retrieved 2009-11-24
8. ^ Television review: 'Trash Inc.', Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times, 29 September
2010

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Waste

 Waste = Food Documentary - A documentary on the Cradle to Cradle design

concept of Michael Braungart and William McDonough.
 Envirowise UK Portal
 "American dumpster: Builders deep-six too much material"
 Analysis of existing methods for refuse processing
 Clean Pyrolysis an alternative approach from Intervate
 What is Waste Management?
 Gasoline from Vinegar | MIT Technology Review

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