Modern Waste Management
Waste management is a critical industry in every community, part of the process of maintaining a good quality of life for all citizens. While it has been behind the scenes since cities and towns were first developed, it has grown into a modern technological business with state-of-the-art facilities and processes.
Addressing Society’s Needs
There are political overtones in everything done to address society’s waste management needs. Innovations must be approved and comply with environmental concerns. For progress to be made, changes in approach must be adaptable and publicly acceptable. Fortunately, in large part, this is the case. For example, anaerobic digestion has been found to be the answer to biowaste (such as organic food or sewage) in the face of the obsolescence of landfills. If you can convert biowaste to compost and fertilizer, you are not only avoiding leachate and gas, but you are offering a useable product that will not affect climate change with harmful emissions. As a solution, anaerobic digestion by means of microorganisms also has vast implications for biogas energy usage.
Philosophical positions are strong when it comes to waste. A Zero Waste policy is on the lips of many politicians and community leaders. If people can change their lifestyles and adopt a more proactive stance and sense of responsibility, the vast problems of disposal can be met. Waste managementhas become an ethical issue of vast proportions. Words like reuse, recycle, and energy conversion are part of the modern vocabulary.
Users are one end of the spectrum, producers another. They also have a duty to control toxicity and keep equipment repaired and in good working order. Dumping old electronic machinery is anathema to everyone. Policies like Extended Prouder Responsibility have been instituted to try to ameliorate the practice and stem its spread, particularly I Asia and Africa. In addition, agencies have been established to address greenhouse gases such as the ISWA (International Solid Waste Association)targeting waste sector activities for emission reduction. Such organizations expect to impact the carbon footprint of the industry in the coming years. Thus waste management is less the villain and more the harbinger of change.
Resources & Articles on Waste Management
Meanwhile, technological advancement keeps marching forward. Waste to energy (WTE), alternately known as energy from waste (EFW) is a recognized form of treatment that disposes of, but does not convert, waste. New processes like gasification, pyrolysis, thermal depolymerization and plasma arc gasification are impressing environmentalists as replacements for noisy and dangerous incinerators that have always been the subject of community objection. Furthermore, turning waste into vehicle fuel has been lauded as an excellent solution (biofuel). Emissions from landfill can be turned into electricity while WTE plants turn energy into steam.
Don't Waste Your Waste
Don't Waste your waste - Video presentation by Valentino Ristevski
With progress at hand, it is still a governmental issue to establish parameters for the industry and secure practical applications. Countries around the world struggle variously to separate and control waste disposal. The industry faces enormous challenges but seems to be universally dedicated to finding solutions like infra-red sorters that protect the environment, are safe and cost effective, and work well long-term.