sustainability challeges

• waste can be released into the hydrosphere by

  • soot captured in snow
  • bacteria accumulatinf in rivers due to toxins
  • pesticides washing from plants into creeks
• industrial waste is more likely to contain large quantities of chemicals and other toxins that can harm the environment
• waste management involves the dual purpose of conservation of material and the prevention of pollution
• environmentally responsible waste managemetn seeks to reduce the use of energy and resources as well as the volume and toxicity of any waste
• organisations seek to use the least resource intensive options of dealing with waste
• reasons for rapidly escalating cost of waste dispersal include

  • less room available for landfill, waste must be transported greater distances
• excessice water use by industrial processes can lead to shortages for the environment or other users
• wastewater management is not isolated from other sections of the environment
• suspended soil and pther particles can make water unsuitable for uses that require clean clear water
• waste management stratergies

  • avoidance (use fewer materials)
  • containment (waste does not impact enviro)
  • disposal (waste in a place viewed as low risk)
  • energy recovery
  • recycling
  • reusing
  • waste treatment
• under the Environment Protection Act in Victoria it is illegal to dispose of untreated wastewater in water bodies
• wastewater treatment is the process of converting water that is not needed or is not safe into water that is safe for the enviro
• after treatment of water it can be used for industrial processes
• biological waste treatment plants use biological matter and bacteria to breakdown waste matter
• biologicla waste treatment, treat water from households and buisnesses
• physical waste water treatment planes use chemcila reactions as well as physical processes to treat wastewater
• physical waste treatment, treat water from industries
• industrial plants, refineries and manufactoring plants treat wastewater at onsite facilities
• standards for drinking water quality are set by governments or international standards
• health can be impacted by water containing bad bacteria or heavy metals
• economies can be impacted by the quality of water being unable to support food growth and making the post of purification prohibitive
• easy methods to purify water include:

  • boiling water
  • filtration through gravel and sand
  • charcoal filtration
• methods of water purification include physical, biological and chemcial processes
• physical process of water purification

  • filtration
  • sedimentation
  • distillation
• biological processes of water purification

  • slow sand filters
  • biological carbon pump
• chemical processes of water purification

  • flocculation
  • chlorination
• other processes of water purification

  • electromagnetic radiaiton
• water purification = the processs of removing chemicals and biological components that may cause an imapct on humans or the environment, from water
• an ecologically sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations, it also maintains and inhances ecological processes