Waste

Today there are many things that go to waste such as food, resources, and many other things that seem to be unimportant. Waste, or wastes, are considered to be unwanted or unusable materials.

Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or it is worthless, defective, and is of no use. It is a by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, join product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product’s value above zero.

Some examples include municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive waste, and others. The main type of waste is household and commercial waste. They are commonly known as trash or garbage, items that are typically thrown away daily from the ordinary household. This includes product packaging, yard waste, clothing, food scraps, appliance, paints, and batteries. There is also construction and demolition waste which includes but is not limited to steel, wood products, drywall and plaster, brick and clay tile, asphalt shingles, concrete, and asphalt.

There is also the more dangerous hazardous and radioactive waste. Hazardous includes radioactive waste, explosive waste, and electronic waste. With the radioactive waste it is nuclear which is produced by nuclear power plants, nuclear reactors, hospitals, research centers, and mining facilities. Continuing with this there is energetic hazardous waste containing munitions, fireworks, flares, hobby rockets, and automobile propellants. Electronics are also wasted such as televisions, computers, cell phones, printers, scanners, and fax machines. With this the internal components of iron, gold, palladium, platinum, and cooper go to waste with their electronics.

Within all the realms of waste there is mixed waste which contains three subsections. There is hazardous waste which contains radioactive material, waste in general which includes recyclable materials and organic materials, along with the combination of broken glassware, floor sweepings, non-repairable household goods, non-recyclable plastic and metal, and clothing and furnishing. Additionally, ashes and soot, residential renovation waste materials are included under this definition. One of the final types of waste is medical waste. This is generated from hospitals, physicians’ offices, dental practices, blood banks, veterinary offices, and research facilities. These often are contaminated with bodily fluids from humans or animals and contain blood, vomit, urine, and other bodily fluids.

There are many issues with reporting waste, most commonly with how it is measured. It is measured either by size or weight which is difficult because there is a stark difference between the two. Organic waste is much heavier when wet while plastic or glass bottles can have different weights but can be the same size. Along with this, different countries have different definitions of waste and what falls into which categories as well as different ways of reporting.

The main issue is the waste management. This includes collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and economic mechanisms. There are many health issues associated with the entire process of waste management either directly or indirectly. Waste management is meant to deal with municipal solid waste which is created by industrial, commercial, and household activities. It is supposed to help build sustainable and livable cities and keeping people in good health.

Unless the waste is kept in good condition and is managed it is not possible to continue keeping people in good health. Continuing to sort our waste is the only way to responsibly manage the waste that we produce and to continue to allow the health of people to prosper.

To limit waste it is important to follow the 7R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, repurpose, recycle, and recover. Refuse and reduce relating to non-reaction of waste. Reuse and repair refer to increasing the usage of the existing product. Repurpose and recycle involve maximum usage of the material use in the product. Recover is least preferred and least efficient waste management practice involving the recovery of embedded energy in the waste material. Certain non-biodegradable products are also dumped away as “disposal”, and this is not a “waste-management” practice.