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Methods of disposal
Integrated waste management using LCA (life cycle analysis) attempts to offer the most
benign options for waste management. For mixed MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) a
number of broad studies have indicated that waste administration, then source separation
and collection followed by reuse and recycling of the non-organic fraction and energy
and compost/fertilizer production of the organic waste fraction via anaerobic digestion to
be the favoured path. Non-metallic waste resources are not destroyed as with
incineration, and can be reused/ recycled in a future resource depleted society.
Plasma gasification
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. generated 250 million
tons of waste in 2008 alone, and this number continues to rise. About 54% of this trash
(135,000,000 short tons (122,000,000 t)) ends up in landfills and is consuming land at a
rate of nearly 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) per year. In fact, landfilling is currently the number
one method of waste disposal in the US. Some states no longer have capacity at permitted
landfills and export their waste to other states. Plasma gasification offers states new
opportunities for waste disposal, and more importantly for renewable power generation in
an environmentally sustainable manner.
Incineration
Recycling
The popular meaning of ‘recycling’ in most developed countries refers to the widespread
collection and reuse of everyday waste materials such as empty beverage containers.
These are collected and sorted into common types so that the raw materials from which
the items are made can be reprocessed into new products. Material for recycling may be
collected separately from general waste using dedicated bins and collection vehicles, or
sorted directly from mixed waste streams.
The most common consumer products recycled include aluminum beverage cans, steel
food and aerosol cans, HDPE and PET bottles, glass bottles and jars, paperboard cartons,
newspapers, magazines, and corrugated fiberboard boxes.
Sustainability
Biological reprocessing
Waste materials that are organic in nature, such as plant material, food scraps, and paper
products, can be recycled using biological composting and digestion processes to
decompose the organic matter. The resulting organic material is then recycled as mulch
or compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. In addition, waste gas from the
process (such as methane) can be captured and used for generating electricity and heat
(CHP/cogeneration) maximising efficiencies. The intention of biological processing in
waste management is to control and accelerate the natural process of decomposition of
organic matter.
Technologies
Traditionally the waste management industry has been slow to adopt new technologies
such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, GPS and integrated software
packages which enable better quality data to be collected without the use of estimation or
manual data entry.
• Technologies like RFID tags are now being used to collect data on presentation
rates for curb-side pick-ups which is useful when examining the usage of
recycling bins or similar.
• Benefits of GPS tracking is particularly evident when considering the efficiency
of ad hoc pick-ups (like skip bins or dumpsters) where the collection is done on a
consumer request basis.
• Integrated software packages are useful in aggregating this data for use in
optimisation of operations for waste collection operations.
• Rear vision cameras are commonly used for OH&S reasons and video recording
devices are becoming more widely used, particularly concerning residential
services and contaminations of the waste stream.
• Waste hierarchy - The waste hierarchy refers to the "3 Rs" reduce, reuse and
recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their
desirability in terms of waste minimization. The waste hierarchy remains the
cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy
is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the
minimum amount of waste.
• Extended producer responsibility - Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a
strategy designed to promote the integration of all costs associated with products
throughout their life cycle (including end-of-life disposal costs) into the market
price of the product. Extended producer responsibility is meant to impose
accountability over the entire lifecycle of products and packaging introduced to
the market. This means that firms which manufacture, import and/or sell products
are required to be responsible for the products after their useful life as well as
during manufacture.