Disposal of Waste

Disposal of Waste

• E-waste is transported to villages in China, where workers, including children, retrieve valuable metals, posing health risks; shipping e-waste to China was banned in 2018, but illegal smuggling continues.

Incineration

• Many cities have built waste incinerators to burn municipal waste, reducing waste volume by 80-90%.
• Incinerators produce energy, using heat to heat buildings or generate steam and electricity.
• Residual ash and unburnable residues are sent to landfills, representing 10-20% of the original volume.
• The cost-effectiveness of garbage incinerators is debated, with high initial construction costs (between $100-300 million USD).
• Incinerators compete with recyclers over paper and plastics, which are high-energy fuels.
• Cities have contracts guaranteeing a certain amount of waste daily, and some communities buy garbage from neighbors to meet contractual obligations.

Ocean Dumping

• Oceans are not large enough to absorb waste without harm, and even remote beaches are littered with non-degradable trash.
• Developed countries like the US used to dump waste into the ocean until federal legislation prohibited it.
• Plastic debris is a growing problem in the world's oceans.

Landfills

• Modern sanitary landfills are designed to contain waste, with operators compacting trash and covering it daily with a layer of dirt to reduce smells and litter and discourage insects and rats.
• Landfills require an impermeable clay and/or plastic lining to prevent leakage to groundwater and streams.
• Drainage systems are installed to catch leachate and carry it to collection ponds for chemical testing.

Recycling

• Opponents of incineration argue that we should invest more in recycling than in building expensive incinerators.
• Recycling is the reprocessing of discarded materials into new products.
• Materials can be recycled for their original purpose or made into entirely new products.
• Aluminum is one of the easiest and most valuable materials to recycle due to its high value, lightweight, and multiple uses.

Reuse

• Reusing materials in their present form saves energy and cost, and is more efficient than recycling or composting.
• Reusing glass and plastic containers is more efficient than producing new ones.
• Reusable glass containers make an average of 15 round-trips between factory and customer before being recycled.

Reduce

• Industries can save money by reducing waste, and companies are finding ways to use less material in their products.
• However, waste production has increased in recent decades due to consumerism and economic growth.

Management of Hazardous Waste

• Integrated Hazardous Waste Management aims to produce less hazardous waste, reuse or recycle it, convert it to less hazardous materials, and safely store what's left.

Transition to a Sustainable Low-Waste Society

• Organizing grassroots movements can prevent the construction of incinerators, landfills, and treatment plants.
• Encouraging reuse and recycling through government subsidies and tax breaks can reduce waste production.
• Environmental justice movements can raise awareness and pressure governments and businesses to act on environmental issues.

Learn about the different methods of waste disposal, including the impact of e-waste smuggling and the health risks associated with it.