Waste Flashcards
Why is the amount of waste produced increasing?
Population growth
Economic development
Increasing by 7% per year
What is MSW?
Municipal solid waste
Known as refuge or rubbish
Doesn’t include industrial, agricultural, medical or sewage waste
Composition varies between countries and overtime
Large increase in E waste
What is a waste stream? (+ what effects them)
A flow of waste from its source to its disposal
Effected by:
- economic characteristics
- lifestyles
- attitudes
How do economic characteristics effect waste streams and components?
Components and disposal vary
wealthier = consume more
so developed countries produce more waste
HICs - regulated and managed disposal, recycling
LICs - improper dumping, causes environmental issues
no regulated systems
HICs - more paper and plastic
- 31% paper, 28% organic
LICs - more organic
- 5% paper, 64% organic
Not a large link to waste streams
How do lifestyles effect waste streams and components?
Urban areas have more waste than rural areas - more people
Urban areas contain more manufactured waste compared to organic in rural areas
Diet
More processed foods create more packaging waste
Vegetable diet can be composted
Facilities available effect streams - determined by authorities
How do attitudes effect waste streams and components?
Many HICs have a throw away culture
Results in high levels of waste
Long and complex waste streams
Health concerns mean more food is thrown away in case it goes off
Environmental attitude effect how much is recycled or amount of waste produced
Impacts of increasing amounts of waste
Treating and collecting costs are high
Pollution caused by methane released
Health problems / contamination from improper disposal
Lack of space in landfill sites, more dumping
What is the best way to dispose of waste and how can this be done?
Recycling
Can be done by education, financial incentives or laws
Sources of waste in urban areas
Industrial waste
Manufacturing or industrial activity - scrap metal, solvents, chemicals
Commercial waste
Made from businesses or shops - food, paper, cardboard
Personal waste
Produced in private homes - plastic, food and packaging
methods of waste disposal
unregulated
recovery
recycling
submergence
trade
incineration
landfill
unregulated
waste dumped on unofficial sites
- ecosystems and wildlife damaged
- rivers and water polluted
- attract vermin = disease
recovery
waste repurposed into new products
+ reduces waste to landfill
+ reduced demand for natural resources
recycling
waste reprocessed into new products
+ reduced demand for natural resources
+ reduced ghg emissions and energy
+ less waste overall as reused
- new infrastructure
submergence
waste is dumped at sea - illegal
- toxic so damages ocean ecosystems
trade
bought and sold - shipped around world (see other)
- damage to country receiving
what is global waste trade?
international trade of waste between countries
for further treatment, disposal or recycling
cheaper to export then develop infrastructure
ends up in LICs
- fewer regulations
results in improper disposal
= contamination of water (for people and wildlife) and environmental issues
positives of landfill
+ can be covered with vegetation, absorb released carbon by photosynthesis
+ cost effective
+ easy to manage
+ methane released can be captured and used as fuel, reduces need for fossil fuels (removal of carbon from long terms stores)
negatives of landfill
- takes up a lot of space, eventually run out
- unsightly, bad smell, attracts vermin, often unwanted by neighbours
- if not properly lined, chemicals can leach and contaminate water supply
- decomposition releases methane, ghg, fast flow of carbon to atmosphere (but slower than combustion)
positives of incineration
+ safe disposal of chemicals and toxic waste (no leaching)
+ can be used to produce energy, reduces need for fossil fuels, less impact on long term carbon stores
+ uses less land
+ cost effective
negatives of incineration
- more expensive
- fast flow of carbon to atmosphere
- creates air pollution, carbon dioxide is a ghg
- unpopular to local residents
outline waste in Singapore
- industrialisation, increased wealth ,consume more goods, increased waste
- running out of space (shift to incineration over landfill)
- now 60% of population recycle waste
- 4 incineration plants
- 3% of energy provided from incineration
evolution of singapores approach
earlier - landfill, lack of space and environmental issues
1970s - move to incineration, due to massive increase in waste, provide energy
2000s - Semakau, island for landfill to increase capacity, lined to prevent leaching
current - avoid creation of waste, shift away from throw away culture, aims to reduce, reuse and recycle
uses incineration (4 plants) and landfill
Successes in Singapore
Incinerators fitted with pollution control systems - limit ghg emissions up to 90%
Incineration reduces waste volume by 90%
3% cities energy provides from incineration
Limitations in Singapore
Still creates pollution and ghg emissions in use and transportation
- 1.56 million tonnes ghg emissions in 2017 due to transporting waste
Still incinerating ,argue quantities
- not met zero waste zero landfill goal
