The Importance Of Waste And Waste Management

Decent Essays
As global population growth rises, consumption of households will increase. Consequently, the amount of waste they generate rises globally. In addition, Hoonrweg and Bhada-Tata (2012) points out that economic development is one of the factors that contributes to the rate of wastes produced, besides the scale of industrialization, public habits and local climate. Higher economic development in a country (which is shown by an increase in economic growth) means the income level of households increases, and this is highly correlated to the consumption. The consumption of goods and services consequently increases, as does the amount of waste produced. Based on the data collected in 2005, the higher population and economic growth in a region, the …show more content…
Waste is all materials which are disposed because they are no longer wanted/used (Environmental Protection Act, 1990, cited in CIPS, 2007). According to European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (2013), there are 10 types of waste, i.e., municipal waste (this type of waste consists of everyday items that are discarded by households and commercial enterprises; which becomes the focus of this essay), industrial waste (including manufacturing), hazardous waste, construction and demolition waste, mining waste, biodegradable municipal waste, packaging waste, electrical and electronic equipment waste, End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) and tyres, and agricultural waste. These types of waste should be managed properly through the implementation of waste management that is explained by waste management hierarchy. The waste management hierarchy (shown in the diagram below) is the level of waste management strategies in order to apply what the best for the environment. Furthermore, this hierarchy has benefits to the environment, for example, reducing pollutants, preserving natural resources, preventing the emissions of greenhouse gases, creating jobs in the environmental sector/program and supporting the development of green technologies (Defra, 2011). European Commission (1999) indicates that waste prevention should be a priority in any waste management strategies. When policy makers make a plan according to waste management, they should consider the risks to the public health and environment because different level has different

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