Managing Our Waste

Managing Our Waste

1. Types of Waste

   • Waste = any unwanted material or substance that results from human activity or process
   • Municipal solid waste = nonliquid waste from homes, insititutions, and small businesses
   • Industrial solid waste = waste from production of goods, mining, agriculture, petroleum extraction, and refining
   • Hazardous waste: solid or liquid waste that is toxic, chemically reactive, flammable, or corrosive
     • Wastewater: Used water from households, businesses, or industry
     • Waste stream: the flow of waste as it moves from its sources toward disposal destinations

2. Goals of Waste Management

   • Minimize the amount of waste generated (source reduction)
     • Use materials efficiently,
     • consume less, buy goods will less packaging
     • use goods longer
     • Source reduction: Preventing waste in the first place
   • Recover waste materials and recycle them
     • Recovering or removing waste from the waste stream
     • Recycling: collects and sends used goods to facilities to manufacture into new goods
     • Composting: recovery of organic waste by converting it into mulch or humus through decomposition
   • Dispose of waste safely and effectively

3. Current Methods:

   • Most industrialized nations now bury waste in lined and covered landfills or burn it in incineration facilities
   • Sanitary landfills: waste buried in the ground or piled in large, engineered mounds to prevent contamination and health threats
     • Landfill gas: a mix of gases that consists of 50% methane
   • Incineration: A controlled process that burns garbage at very high temperatures
   • Materials recovery facilities (MRFs): workers and machines sort, clean, shred, and prepare items

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