Approaches to waste management in MEDCs

Waste hierarchy
1. Reduce: first choice for all waste materials
2. Reuse: not always possible
3. Recycle: Best option for number of ways - plastic, metal etc
4. Recover energy: best option for some wastes - wood, avoid plastics
5. Disposal: Last choice option
Reduce
1. Uk - Courtauld Commitment
  1. 2005
  2. 40 major retailers - cut back on packaging
  3. Charges for disposal
    1. Financial incentive
Reuse
1. Returnable items
2. 'Reclaimed' items
3. 'Freecycle'
4. Charity shops
5. Up-cycling
Recycle
1. 'Closed loop'
  1. Steel cans into steel etc
2. 'Open loop'
  1. Plastic bottles into plastic wood
3. Most economically viable recycling systems in UK for metals
  1. 60% iron and metals recovered
  2. Glass 80%
  3. Paper 40%
Recycling strategies in urban areas
1. Household: Envac system: New Wembly
  1. Colour coded chutes - single storage system
2. Construction: Olympic Development Authority
  1. Divert 90% waste landfill and use 20% recycled material
Recovering energy
1. Biogen Greenfinch AD plant
  1. Opened June 2009
  2. Processes 45,000 tonnes of waste into biogas
  3. By-product 35,000 tonnes of liquid bio-fertiliser
  4. Energy produced powers 2700 homes
Incineration
1. 2nd largest waste disposal in most MEDCs
2. Minimise pollution
3. Generate electricity
4. Prevent energy being wasted
5. Doesn't recover full value of finite resources being burned

Resource summary

	Created by Felicity Picton almost 10 years ago