7 Best Methods of Waste Management

Importance of Waste Management

Look outside; you will see running cars and other vehicles, factories and business firms working to keep our economy growing, and many other activities that we consider to be of a developed and civilized world. All these tools and activities are destined to make our lives better and more convenient. But at what cost?

What price are we paying for these conveniences? Is it just some dollars or something else? Well, it is way more than just some pennies. It is our health, our lives, and our environment. That’s the real price of our unsustainable and grossly mismanaged luxurious lives.

Our cars, running on gas and oil, are polluting the air. Factories and businesses that make products like computers, phones, bikes, fertilizers for agriculture, and even the textile industry are all polluting our environment in one way or another. And the most dangerous pollutant of these businesses is the waste they create.

What is a Waste?

A waste is something that is of no further use to a person. But, as we can see, this is a highly subjective definition of waste. For example, a second-hand mobile phone is of no use to its first owner. Here, it is a waste. But for the person who has purchased it from the first one, the mobile phone is not a waste. 

We can also understand it from the perspective of a homeless person. The food you throw out is a waste to you. But for a homeless person, this food is of critical importance. It's the question of life and death here. So, there is no waste. Thus, it is quite difficult to clearly define the waste.

But we all can agree on some grounds. For everyone, a discarded vehicle is a waste. The only use for a rusted piece of iron is to smelt it in factories and create something new. So, a pitched and rusted vehicle is nothing but a waste. It has no purpose other than recycling. And this is the waste that we are talking about.

There are many waste materials, especially toxic metals, that we can see around us. Almost all the big cities of the world have huge landfills where the city management dumps the gathered waste. They have things like broken computer parts, household waste like kitchen waste and unused household appliances, discarded vehicles like bikes and cars, and electric waste like wires, switches, and boards.

How Can We Manage Waste Effectively

The waste we generate has to be managed properly if we want to survive and sustain on Earth. Today, our scientists might be looking for other Earth-like planets in the universe, but until we find one, which is highly unlikely to happen shortly, we must keep this world safe and healthy for us and our future generations. To do this, effective waste management is of critical importance. And to manage waste effectively, we can follow the following steps:

  • 3 Rs Strategy: This is the most important and simplest method of reducing waste. It stands for Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle and pursues individuals to minimize the use of those products that generate waste. If used, such products must be recycled and sustainable.

  • Use Bicycles: For shorter distances, either walk or use low-polluting methods like bicycles and electric bikes. Even for longer distances, try to use electric vehicles that are less polluting.

  • Public Transport: For everyday commutation purposes, we should use public transport like buses and trams. This will not only limit pollution but also reduce the vehicle traffic and congestion problems that are prevailing in almost all the cities of the modern world.

  • Better Roads: This is the responsibility of governments to provide better roads to citizens. Smooth roads reduce not only the commutation time but also the use of petrol/diesel consumed in traveling. 

  • Utilize Degradable Waste: Waste like vegetables and fruit can be degraded at home and utilized in homegrown gardens. Such waste contains high humus content and high carbon matter, and other necessary nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, etc., for plants’ growth.

  • Keep Appliances Serviced: To increase the life of home appliances and private vehicles, we should keep them ungraded and well-maintained. This will also reduce their electricity consumption and add to their longevity. Besides that, we should also utilize our right to repair by which, instead of purchasing a new device every time, we would be able to repair and reuse the same instrument for a longer period.

  • Sustainable Recycling: Recycling is the best way to overcome the problem of increasing waste. But we must ensure that the recycling should be non-polluting and there should be no waste generation during this process. Otherwise, the whole purpose of recycling will be wasted.

Besides that, we can also follow some activities like reducing electricity consumption at homes and offices, changing our food habits, reducing food wastage, and so on to keep pollution and waste levels below. These actions are certainly, of our benefit.

What are the Impacts of Waste

The waste we see in landfills is highly polluting. Wastes like motor oils, automobile batteries, household appliances, paints and solvents, pesticides, compressed gas tanks like oxygen cylinders, etc., release highly toxic chemicals like lead, mercury, formaldehyde, per- and polyfluroalkyl substances (PFAs), and so on.

All these chemicals are highly sustainable and have a long life, enough to keep the environment toxic for a long time. These chemicals, if they enter the human body, can have some serious impacts on our health and well-being. Even wildlife is not safe from its harmful consequences.

Some of the prominent impacts of waste are the following:

  • Health Impacts: Gases and smokes from accumulated waste increase the chances of diseases like lung cancer, bronchitis, asthma, etc. The toxic metals from them pollute our food and water and can cause food poisoning and other related disorders. 

  • Land and Water Pollution: The toxins released from these waste products enter the water streams and pollute the freshwater that is used by both humans and animals for their sustenance. Besides that, these toxins also degrade the quality of the land over which they are lying.

  • Impacts on the Ozone Layer: Chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrocarbons, and other elements, especially those that are used in refrigerants, reduce the strength of the Ozone layer. A reduced ozone layer will not be able to protect the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. This will have devastating impacts on all the lives on the Earth.

  • Impacts of Wildlife: The waste products are mostly thrown in areas where humans do not prefer to live. But such areas are important habitats for wild animals. We throw garbage into the rivers, seas, and oceans. This reduces the longevity of marine animals. Similarly, if thrown into forests, this waste not just pollutes the air, water, and land but also increases the possibility of events like forest fires.

Studies of Waste Management

With the increasing awareness about waste management, many universities and colleges worldwide are offering courses on topics like environmental pollution, sustainable development, and waste management, among others. The ultimate objective of these courses is to create a generation of professionals who knows the importance of our environment and how it can be managed sustainably. 

Waste management is taught extensively in higher education, where students have to complete various assignments and projects to become professional waste managers and environment friends. But sometimes, these essays and assignments become perplexing for students, and they need management assignment help.

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