
; such as urea
, sweat
or feces
. Litter
is waste which has been disposed of improperly. Feces contain large quantities of fresh and soft texturized waste products.
Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically and socially.
There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.
: Mother Teresa (1910–1997), A Gift for God, 1975
The ocean is tired. It's throwing back at us what we're throwing in there.
: Frank Lautenberg, US Senator, on cases of dumped waste washing ashore at beaches, quoted in USA Today, 11 August 1988
Source Reduction is to garbage what preventive medicine is to health.
To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed.
; such as urea
, sweat
or feces
. Litter
is waste which has been disposed of improperly. Feces contain large quantities of fresh and soft texturized waste products.
Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically and socially. The compositions of different wastes have varied over time and location, with industrial development and innovation being directly linked to waste materials. An example of this includes plastics and nuclear technology. Some components of waste have economical value and can be recycled
once correctly recovered.
Waste is sometimes a subjective concept, because items that some people discard may have value to others. It is widely recognized that waste materials are a valuable resource, whilst there is debate as to how this value is best realized. Such concepts are colloquially expressed in western culture by such idioms as "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
There are many waste types
defined by modern systems of waste management
, notably including:
- Municipal Waste includes household waste, commercial waste, demolition waste
- Hazardous Waste includes Industrial waste
- Bio-medical Waste includes clinical waste
- Special Hazardous wasteHazardous wasteA hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
includes radioactive waste, Explosives waste, E-waste
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
According to the Basel Convention:
"Substances or objects which are disposed off or are intended to be disposed off or are required to be disposed off by the provisions of international law" (Basel Convention).
Produced by the United Nations Statistics Division (U.N.S.D.):
"Wastes are materials that are not prime products (that is products produced for the market) for which the generator has no further use in terms of his/her own purposes of production, transformation or consumption, and of which he/she wants to dispose. Wastes may be generated during the extraction of raw materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption of final products, and other human activities. Residuals recycled or reused at the place of generation are excluded."}}
The UK's Environmental Protection Act 1990 indicated waste includes any substance which constitutes a scrap
material, an effluent or other unwanted surplus arising from the application of any process or any substance or article which requires to be disposed of which has been broken, worn out, contaminated or otherwise spoiled; this is supplemented with anything which is discarded otherwise dealt with as if it were waste shall be presumed to be waste unless the contrary is proved. This definition was amended by the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 defining waste as:
The European Union has started a discussion that will end in an End-of-Waste directive which will clarify the distinction between waste, which shall be treated for disposal, and raw materials that can be reused for the same or other purposes.
Scholars
- Proposed definitions by Pongrácz and Pohjola (2004)
- Non-wanted things created, not intended, or not avoided, with no Purpose.
- Things that were given a finite Purpose thus destined to become useless after fulfilling it.
- Things with well-defined Purpose, but their Performance ceased being acceptable
- Things with well-defined Purpose, and acceptable Performance, but their users failed to use them for the intended Purpose.
- Taiichi Ohno from Toyota Production System describes waste as "Any human activity that absorbs resources but creates no value".
Reporting
There are many issues that surround reporting waste. It is most commonly measured by size or weight, and there is a stark difference between the two. For example, organic waste is much heavier when it is wet, and plastic or glass bottles can have different weights but be the same size. On a global scale it is difficult to report waste because countries have different definitions of waste and what falls into waste categories, as well as different ways of reporting. Based on incomplete reports from its parties, the Basel Conventionestimated 338 million tonnes of waste was generated in 2001. For the same year, OCED estimated 4 billion tonnes from its member countries. Despite these inconsistencies, waste reporting is still useful on a small and large scale to determine key causes and locations, and to find ways of preventing, minimizing, recovering, treating, and disposing waste.
Environmental costs
Waste attract rodents and insects which harbour gastrointestinal parasites, yellow fever, worms, the plague and other conditions for humans. Exposure to hazardous wastes, particularly when they are burned, can cause various other diseases including cancers. Waste can contaminate surface water, groundwater, soil, and air which causes more problems for humans, other species, and ecosystems. Waste treatment and disposal produces significant green house gas (GHG) emissions, notably methane, which are contributing significantly to global climate change.Social costs
Waste management is a significant environmental justiceissue. Many of the environmental burdens cited above are more often borne by marginalized groups, such as racial minorities, women, and residents of developing nations. NIMBY
(not-in-my-back-yard) is a popular term used to describe the opposition of residents to a proposal for a new development close to them. However, the need for expansion and siting of waste treatment and disposal facilities is increasing worldwide. There is now a growing market in the transboundary movement of waste, and although most waste that flows between countries goes between developed nations, a significant amount of waste is moved from developed to developing nations.
Economic costs
The economic costs of managing waste are high, and are often paid for by municipal governments. Money can often be saved with more efficiently designed collection routes, modifying vehicles, and with public education. Environmental policies such as pay as you throwcan reduce the cost of management and reduce waste quantities. Waste recovery (that is, recycling
, reuse
) can curve economic costs because it avoids extracting raw materials and often cuts transportation costs. The location of waste treatment and disposal facilities often has an impact on property values due to noise, dust, pollution, unsightliness, and negative stigma. The informal waste sector consists mostly of waste picker
s who scavenge for metals, glass, plastic, textiles, and other materials and then trade them for a profit. This sector can significantly alter or reduce waste in a particular system, but other negative economic effects come with the disease, poverty, exploitation, and abuse of its workers.
Education and awareness
Educationand 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 universityproject. University
and vocational education are promoted by various organizations, e.g. WAMITAB and Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.
See also
- Environmental dumpingEnvironmental dumpingEnvironmental dumping is the practice of transfrontier shipment of waste from one country to another. The goal is to take the waste to a country that has less strict environmental laws, or environmental laws that are not strictly enforced...
- Fly-tippingFly-tippingFly-tipping is a British term for dumping waste illegally instead of in an authorised rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto land, i.e...
- Life cycle assessmentLife cycle assessmentA life-cycle assessment is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from-cradle-to-grave A life-cycle assessment (LCA, also known as life-cycle analysis, ecobalance, and cradle-to-grave analysis) is a technique to assess environmental impacts...
- List of waste types
- LitterLitterLitter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
- RecyclingRecyclingRecycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
- Waste by countryWaste by countryWaste, unwanted or unusable material, varies in type and quantity in the different countries around the world.-Developed nations:Developed countries produce more waste per capita because they have higher levels of consumption. There are higher proportions of plastics, metals, and paper in the...
- Waste collectionWaste collectionWaste collection is the component of waste management which results in the passage of a waste material from the source of production to either the point of treatment or final disposal...
- Waste collection vehicleWaste collection vehicleGarbage truck refers to a truck specially designed to collect small quantities of waste and haul the collected waste to a solid waste treatment facility. Other common names for this type of truck include trash truck and dump truck in the United States, and bin wagon, dustcart, dustbin lorry, bin...
- Waste converterWaste converterA waste converter is a machine used for the treatment and recycling of solid and liquid refuse material. A converter is a self-contained system capable of performing the following functions: pasteurization of organic waste; sterilization of pathogenic or biohazard waste; grinding and pulverization...
- Waste managementWaste managementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
External links
- Resource Productivity and Waste at the OECD