Municipal solid waste: the economic opportunity

Autor: M. P. Abu, M. N. M. Yunus, S. Kathiravale
Rok vydání: 2007
Předmět:
Zdroj: Sustainable Development and Planning III.
ISSN: 1743-3541
1746-448X
DOI: 10.2495/sdp070962
Popis: We currently live in a world where depletion of resources is beyond control. The call for sustainable development both environmentally and economically is spelt out loud and clear. Hence, the current and future generations must ensure that all resources shall be preserved, fully utilized and well managed. Generally, the developed countries generated more waste, recycle more and have the money to employ new technology to treat their waste. As for the developing and the third world countries, the waste generated is more organic in nature, which calls for lesser recycling, whereas disposal is by open dumping. The effects of this naturally would mean that in the lower income countries pollution to the water and air is huge as compare to the more developed countries. Action needs to be taken in a world where economic power determines the treatment method. Hence, the idea of recovering all ‘wealth’ in the waste is essential to ensure that even the poorest countries could benefit from all waste management technologies. For this to work, recycling, reuse and recovery of energy is essential in an integrated approach towards waste management. Many technology managers are working towards ‘Zero Waste’ these days but how far away is it?
Databáze: OpenAIRE