Human activities produce a lot of waste and managing this waste has become a science in itself. The management involves collection, transport, processing and possible recycling of the waste. This waste management is very important to the environment and neglect of this could lead to effect on the health, pollution and also to very poor aesthetics caused by the unsightliness of waste dumps. Waste management also involves recovering of resources and can involve a number of substances each one of which requires its own form of expertise.
Waste management processes will differ from country to country and will quite often depend on the financial and technological resources available in that country. In cities across the world, the management of waste is the responsibility of local elected bodies and their representatives. These services are paid for by the community, but unless there is a general awareness about the efficiency of such waste management the effects on community health due to wrong practices being followed can be quite far reaching. Waste dumps can pollute the atmosphere, leach into underground water sources and generally cause respiratory and other problems for people staying in the vicinity of such dumps. The starting and closing of such dumps has become a vast field for experts in waste management and has led to many firms developing complete divisions to handle the business.
Concepts of waste management are varied and would depend on the usage of the waste. The hierarchy of waste management is generally classified as reducing waste, reusing waste and recycling waste.
Reducing waste is something that each citizen of the world can practice. Take one less copy of documents in your office, reuse paper where you can, prepare as much food as can be eaten, use less water, switch of lights and appliances when not in use and many such methods could help to reduce wastage.
Reusing resources or utilizing resources efficiently is another method to help out on waste. Use a car pool, recycle water; factories using waste heat to help other production facilities, using recyclers instead of the local landfill are ways to reuse waste.
Recycling has now attained an almost industry like status as people have discovered that a lot of value is still left over in waste that can be used to create new products or even extending the life of old ones. Laws in place now have ensured that certain industries that manufacture products have to have a recycling method on offer before they can sell new products. This has been done by extending the producer responsibility to include disposal costs into the market cost of the product, so that he is made responsible for its ultimate disposal.
Governments are also now extending the responsibilities of people and manufacturers or processors to say that a polluter has to pay for any pollution that he creates and the stringent application of these rules could ensue that waste is managed better.