In most countries in the world, organic materials and paper are the main contributors to municipal waste. In developing countries, large cities generate most of the municipal waste. Data are rarely available for rural areas, but factors like the type of energy source used for cooking and heating and seasonal differences play a part in the composition of waste (for example in rural communities in Mongolia there is a large difference between the vo...

Australia is not a big player in the waste trade, but a good percentage of its exports are shipped all the way to Europe. In 2000 Australia reported the export of 16 689 tonnes of waste (all classifi ed as hazardous) to New Zealand, Belgium, Great Britain, France and Austria. More than half the waste consisted of used lead acid batteries, which were moved across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. Most of the rest of the waste (described as lead dro...

When ships like oil tankers and cargo vessels pass their use by date they are broken up for scrap. Large ships are generally built by companies in countries like Japan, South Korea and Germany, but when it comes time for recycling and disposal they are sent to Pakistan, Bangladesh, India... Here thousands of low paid workers use basic tools to strip and break up the pollution-saturated hulls. The activities can take place on beaches – at high tid...

Landfi ling is the most common waste management practice, and results in the release of methane from the anaerobic decomposition of organic materials. Methane is around 20 times more potent as a GHG than carbon dioxide. If the disposal of organic matter were to be decreased (for example by composting or incineration) it would be possible to reduce the amount of methane emissions. However, landfill methane is also a source of energy, and some lan...

The Ok Tedi mine is located high in the rain forest covered Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea. Prior to 1981 the local Wopkaimin people lived a subsistence existence in one of the most isolated places on earth. That was before the 10 000 strong town of Tabubil suddenly appeared in the middle of their community. The Ok Tedi mine was built on the world’s largest gold and copper deposit (gold ore capping the main copper deposit). From the very begi...

Sound waste management requires a high level of technology and a signif cant budget. What Japan and Germany can afford today, most countries will have to wait a long time for. Developed countries have a lot to learn from the recycling and reuse levels in developing countries.

Prior to 1970, shipbeaking was concentrated in Europe. It was a highly mechanised activity carried out at docks by skilled workers. However the increasing cost of upholding environmental health and safety guidelines made it unprofitable. So the industry moved from the steel capped boots and hard hats of Europe to the bare footed workers of Asia. It is estimated that approximately 100 000 Asians are employed as ship breakers. (International Labou...

Municipal waste is everything collected and treated by municipalities. Only part of it is comes from households, the rest is generated by small businesses, commercial and other municipal activities. So it is produced from both consumption and production processes. Like all waste, municipal waste is on the rise and it is growing faster than the population, a natural result of our increasing consumption rate and the shortening of product life-spans...

The amount and composition of municipal waste depends on a variety of factors. It is related to our living standard but wealth does not explain everything. It is also correlated with levels of urbanization, energy choices, waste management strategies and the “good” or “bad” habits of consumers. Although our garbage bins represent only a small part of the total waste generated, it is an important part: the one in which everyone can take action. Th...

Agricultural waste consists of things like pesticide waste, discarded pesticide containers, plastics such as silage wrap, bags and sheets, packaging waste, old machinery, oil and waste veterinary medicines. In a comparison between selected European countries, Hungary and Ireland have a greater share of waste from agriculture and forestry.

Hazardous waste needs to be monitored and controlled from the moment the waste is generated until its ultimate disposal. Proper hazardous waste control requires a plan to reduce the amount of waste generated or the toxicity of the waste produced. The most environmentally sound and economically efficient way of managing any waste is not to generate it in the first place (source reduction).

In 2000 Germany reported sending more than threehundred thousand tonnes of waste to 14 countries. All countries appeared to receive a broad combination of hazardous waste apart from China, which received nearly 50 tonnes of household waste. In year 2000, Germany was amongst the top importers, bringing in over 1 million tonnes of waste from 38 countries. Most of the waste came from the Netherlands, Italy, Luxemburg and Belgium and contained a comb...

On average a computer is 23% plastic, 32% ferrous metals, 18% non-ferrous metals (lead, cadmium, antimony, beryllium, chromium and mercury), 12% electronic boards (gold, palladium, silver and platinum) and 15% glass. Only about 50% of the computer can be recycled, the rest is dumped. The toxicity of the waste is mostly due to the lead, mercury and cadmium – non-recyclable components of a single computer may contain almost 2 kilograms of lead. ...

Economic conditions have led to the almost complete closure of old Soviet era industrial complexes. Neither the Rustavi and Zestafoni chemical and metallurgy plants or the Chiatura and Tkibuli mines still function. However, the piles of unused chemicals and heavy metal stocks that still litter these sites pose a very real threat to the local people and environment. In addition, about 300 military sites fulfi lling various purposes – including ro...

In 2000 Australia imported 1600 tonnes of waste from New Zealand, Norway, French Antarctic and South Africa. This included mostly copper and lead compounds from New Zealand, selenium from Norway and household waste from the French Antarctic base.

As 1.3 billion Chinese thunder into the great pleasures of consumption, municipal waste is certainly a major environmental concern. This graph shows the amount of waste from 1991 to 2003 in Hong Kong.

Turning raw materials into consumer products generates waste - depending on the technology used, the nature of the raw material processed and how much of it is discarded at the end of the chain. Very often manufacturing wastes end up in the hazardous category. (please note that the Italy figure is not consistent with the source reference, and is erroneous)

Pollution emitted in industrial areas represents a threat to human health and the surrounding natural resources. We have a tendency to believe that the production processes are the only source of environmental damage, and often forget about the possible long-term effects of harmful production practices. When deposited, there is quite some difference in the amount of time needed for degradation of common products and packaging, and the environmen...

Hazardous wastes can often be recycled in an environmentally sound manner. Wastes that cannot be recycled must be treated to reduce the toxicity and the ability of the constituents to move throughout the environment. Treatment residues must be safely stored to avoid spills and leaks. (US Environmental Protection Agency).

The priority now is to decrease the amount of waste we generate. That means changing our consumption patterns, for example by choosing products that use recyclable material, market fresh produce instead of canned food, less packaging and easily recyclable containers (for example glass instead of plastic). It also means recycling – sorting, collecting, processing and reusing materials that would otherwise be handled as wastes. This graphic present...