Waste Management

Waste of all sorts

• biodegradable waste & non-biodegradable waste

• origin of waste

  • mining

    • waste rock, chemicals, tailings

  • agriculture forestry

    • obsolete pesticides & fertilizers, organics, plastics & containers, manure

  • industry

    • textiles, plastics, ash, nuclear waste

  • household, commercial, and government bodies

    • municipal solid waste, electronics, medical waste

  • construction demolition

    • concrete, plastic, wood, metal, glass

  • wastewater treatment

    • sewage sludge, solid waste, chemicals

• majority of waste in the US is industrial

• municipal waste → trash or garbage

• rich countries produce more waste than poor ones

• low-income nations produce less solid waste, but more organic matter

Electronics & Food

• food waste

  • during the winter holiday season, the US has a 25% increase in trash → 25 million tons extra, 1M extra per week

• e-waste is a problem in middle and high income countries

  • 150 million obsolete cell phones per year → only 10% recycled

• toxic materials & heavy metals treated as hazardous waste

• Basel Convention, since 2002

  • reduction of hazardous waste generation

  • promotion of environmentally sound management of hazardous waste

  • e-Stewards Initiative: electronics waste recycling standards

  • restriction of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes → regulatory system