THE IMPACT OF MANAGING SOLID WASTE: REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE

THE IMPACT OF MANAGING SOLID WASTE: REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE

CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The term ‗waste‘has a different meaning for different people. In general, waste is unwanted‘for the person who discards it; a product or material that does not have a value anymore for the first user and is therefore thrown away. But ‗unwanted‘ is subjective and the waste could have value for another person in a different circumstance, or even in a different culture (Van de Klundert and Justine, 2001). There are many large industries that operate primarily or exclusively using waste materials such as paper and metals as their industrial raw materials. In the context of Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM), waste is regarded both as valueless and as a useful material providing a potential source of income. This real value of waste in many low-and middle-income countries (developing countries) is confirmed by the huge informal sector that lives on waste collection and recovery (Van de Klundert and Justine, 2001).

Waste, either in solid or liquid form is being produced since the dawn of human existence and it is not excessive to say, waste is the first thing generated before people are able to contribute to the betterment of lives. Due to social and environmental consequences, waste reuse, recycle and recovery have become essentials in minimizing the environmental damage that could occur through indiscriminate waste disposal (Sivapalan, Mohamad, Mohamad, and Muhd-Noor, 2005).

Davies (2008) notes that ―what some people consider to be waste materials or substances are considered a source of value by others‖ This relative attribute of waste can be compared with the concept of ‗resource‘ which has also been defined as material that has use-value and ―a reflection of human appraisal‖ (Jones and Hollier, 1977). Just as a material becomes a resource when it gains use-value, it also becomes waste when it loses its use-value. Like resources, waste is also a relative concept of human appraisal because what constitutes waste can vary from one person to another, one society to another and over time. As noted by Jessen (2002) ―our waste stream is actually full of resources going in the wrong direction‖.

Waste reuse and recycling as an alternative management option for waste is now recognized as an important approach to solving waste problem both in developed and developing world. Resource recovery from dumped consumer products is growing in significance, as waste is increasingly seen as a valuable resource. As human beings continuously realized that resources are finite, efficient use of resources and resources recovery from wastes are vital for global environmental sustainability (Zaman and Lehmann, 2011).

Developed countries generally rely on land filling to overcome the problem of waste accumulation (Girling, 2005; Pacione, 2005). The landfill seems to have a special attraction for municipal waste managers because it offers a cheap and convenient option for waste disposal compared with other strategies such as reuse, recycling and energy recovery (Charzan, 2002). In fact, with the exception of few countries like Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark who recycle substantial proportions of their waste, most countries in Europe and North America still dump the bulk of their municipal solid waste in landfills (OECD, 2002; Girling, 2005). For instance, In May, 2008, the inadequacy of waste disposal land created mayhem in the Italian city of Naples when the streets became laden with waste, blocking traffic and causing nuisance and hazards (Anthony, 2009). The European Commission’s thematic strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste (European Union, 2005) called for life-cycle thinking in waste policies and moving towards a recycling society. This has in turn highlighted the opportunities for improved coherence between policies on waste and those on climate change and resource efficiency (European Environment Agency (EEA), 2011).

THE IMPACT OF MANAGING SOLID WASTE: REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE