booklet 12 - urban waste

• waste stream


  The flow of (waste) materials from generation, collection and separation to disposal
• Urban mining


  The process of recovering compounds and elements from products, buildings and waste which would otherwise be left to decompose in landfills.
• Global waste trade


  the movement of waste between and within countries
• What has caused the amount of waste to increase?

  - over consumption of goods and food

  - population increase

  - rise in fast fashion

  - desire for new items

  - higher disposable incomes
• Who generates the most waste?

  countries, income groups and projected increases.

  Countries with the largest population sizes generate the most waste

  Countries like Brazil, china and Japan have informal economies as they are EDCs

  Developed countries like USA create a lot of waste

  
  

  Middle class and wealthier people produce more than working class or low income people as they have more disposable income
• What are the sources of urban waste?

  Mining and Quarrying

  Construction and demolition

  Municipal solid waste
• Types of waste


  Residential - plastics, cardboard, white goods etc

  Industrial - packaging, food waste

  Commercial - glass, metal, plastics and cardboard

  Urban services - general waste from parks, sludge
• What are the impacts of increasing waste generation?

  - collecting waste costs

  - waste makes a large source of methane

  - water and ground contamination

  - untreated water and waste can lead to health issues

  - many authorities struggle to collect large quantities of waste
• What are the four approaches to waste management and how do they work?

  - Reduce the amount of waste - thinking more carefully about lifespan and packaging

  - Reuse goods to extend their lifespan - bring back schemes, refurbishing and reconditioning

  - Recover value - recycling, composting and incineration

  - Dispose of waste in landfill
• What is the Waste Hierarchy?

  lists that are ordered from most sustainable at the top to least sustainable waste strategy at the bottom.

  Waste can be disposed or diverted
• What is the destination of waste in England from 2000 - 2015?

  How is it changing?

  Landfill was very high at the start of the century - 22 million tonnes now it has decreased to around 7 million tonnes

  Incineration has increased to 13 mollion tonnes costing around £1.6 billion

  
  

  Recycling has fluctuated over the years - now around 26 million tonnes costing £3 billion
• Recycling and recovery


  selective extraction of disposed materials - recycling, composting or energy generation

  
  

  Creates negative environmental issues
• Trade


  Global waste trade - trade of waste between countries for disposal, recycling and reuse

  
  

  Toxic waste is often traded to LICs and there don't have the correct facilities to deal with it
• Reduction (incineration)


  Can reduce volumes by 90%

  Energy and heat can be used to generate electricity and to heat homes

  Burning waste in poorer countries is discouraged due to poor air pollution
• Burial (landfill)


  Method of waste disposal that involves disposing of waste under the ground.

  Landfills create several environmental issues - methane and ammonia are produced
• Submergence of waste


  This is dumping waste in water bodies such as the sea, and is banned by international convention.

  
  

  However, it still occurs and this waste could spread across the oceans, be ingested by marine life and plastics can remain in the system for a very long time.
• What is Norway's bottle recycling scheme?

  Norway have a bottle recycling scheme with a recycle rate of 97%

  It is a deposit scheme where people get back a the deposit for recycling a bottle
• What approach do UK local authorities take?

  Uk has recycling schemes in place - everyone has to recycle their waste

  They also have landfill sites where general waste is disposed

  Composting is used in the UK
• What is the circular economy

  model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible
• Waste Management Mumbai - waste

  Produces 7500 metric tonnes of waste per day

  No real waste collection system in place

  The slum of Dharavi has a recycle zone and this could be the future of sustainable management 80% gets recycled
• Waste Management Mumbai - issues

  Mumbai still has huge issues with its waste - Deonar dump - 90 years of waste and 10 storeys high - receives more than 3700 metric tonnes per day
• Waste Management strategies - Mumbai

  The government are tying to put strategies in place like clearing the dump and getting more recycling schemes in place but some of these opportunities are difficult and hard to do
• Waste management Singapore


  why

  lack of space

  urbanisation

  rise in population
• Waste management Singapore - what's in place

  Created a unique offshore landfill island called Semakau where all the rest of the waste that isn't incinerated is stored

  Lined with impermeable membrane to stop leeching

  Also they are tying to increase their recycling to 70%
• Waste management Singapore - good and bad

  Positives - incineration reduces volumes by 90%

  Negatives - by 2045 the landfill site will be full so not a forever solution
• Waste management Amsterdam - why do they need it

  - lack of space

  - rise in population

  - rise in consumerism
• Waste management Amsterdam - what's in place

  waste system

  - landsinks ladder - avoid creating waste, generate energy and dispose of what is left

  
  

  This method is considered both economically and environmentally netter than land fill
• Waste management Amsterdam - good and bad

  Positives - economically and environmentally viable, much better than landfill

  Negatives - not totally sustainable