Waste Creation, Minimisation
and Management
Taken in isolation, each piece of waste we produce or cause to be produced appears trivial. But we produce waste in all aspects of our lives, and when this is seen in its totality it is an enormous shock - we are drowning in our own waste, both solid and liquid.
The more consumeristic our society, the more waste we produce. The majority of waste is domestic waste, with industry and commerce producing their fair share of solid and liquid waste. There are other kinds of waste: demolition waste, radioactive waste, sewage sludge, agricultural waste, mining wastewaters, and waste of energy and water. There is not a simple solution to the problem. It requires action at all levels.
| We often do not have a direct influence on non-domestic waste, but we can directly control the amount of domestic waste we generate. Australia is among the highest producers of waste in the world. Each year in Australia, each one of us generates an average of 1000 kg, ie 1 tonne, of domestic, commercial and industrial waste. Where does all this waste go? Most ends up in landfill sites. During 2002-03 more than 17 million tonnes of waste ended up in landfills in Australia - 30 percent of this was domestic or municipal waste. |  |
|
No matter how hard we try we might not be able to rise above our own waste.
|
The first step in domestic waste management is waste minimisation. Waste minimisation means limit or eliminate waste before it is produced and reduce its quantity and toxicity. The aim is prevention. The next actions we can take are reuse, recycle, and treat and appropriate disposal. This strategy embraces a life-cycle approach whereby re-usable and recyclable waste may be used as an alternative to traditional source inputs, whereby, not only is waste reduced, but pressures on the natural resources are reduced.
Domestic waste often contains hazardous waste that can potentially harm human health or the environment and often this will be disposed with other domestic waste in landfills. Hazardous wastes require careful management as they may be flammable, poisonous, corrosive, explosive or reactive. Hazardous waste includes paints, cleaners, waste oils, garden chemicals, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and tubes.
The first step for industry is also minimisation and prevention. This means industry needs to list and measure wastes produced at all stages of the manufacturing process, and then to add up their treatment and disposal costs. In many industries, considerable wastes can be reused or recycled within the same process or factory or used in another process in another factory. Considerable attention needs to be paid to packaging at point source.
| Waste water is another area which requires attention. Much of the water we use ends up as waste water. We use water in the home to shower, cook, clean, water the garden, wash the car, flush toilets. Waste water is also produced as storm runoff which is polluted from urban ground surfaces. Waste water is also produced in shops, offices, and factories. |  |
There are financial, environmental and health considerations involved in recycling waste water. Waste water minimisation is the first step.
No matter how hard we try we might not be able to rise above our own waste.
Resources and LinksCopyright 2005 - Last updated October 2005