The waste management industry collects, transports, processes, and recycles or disposes of solid, liquid, and gaseous waste. Landfills are being overhauled due to environmental concerns, and recycling is increasing. Incineration and biological disposal options are being explored, and hazardous waste is disposed of by specialized companies.
Waste management involves the collection, transport, processing and recycling or disposal of solid, liquid and gaseous waste in an environmentally sound manner. The waste management industry includes bodies tasked with this task. In many locations, waste management is conducted by private companies either directly or under contract to a local government, while other jurisdictions manage waste through local government agencies.
Traditionally, solid waste was collected from consumers and taken to landfill. As the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) increases, concern about disposal methods has increased. Not only is there a shortage of landfills in some areas, but scientific advances have revealed a number of environmental concerns around contamination from untreated landfills. In addition to finding alternative ways to dispose of municipal solid waste, the waste management industry has been overhauling its landfill management. Landfills in the United States and many other regions now have clay liners, and trash is spread out, compacted, and then covered with earth every day.
The waste management industry has also become the world leader in recycling. Japan has perhaps the best success record to date, with over 70% of all municipal waste being recycled. In the US, this amount is around 33% and in the UK the total is just over a quarter of the MSW produced. Recycling not only reduces waste disposal but saves production energy.
There are a number of other disposal options used by the waste management industry to reduce the need for landfills. Incineration is a mature technology, but some plants are now equipped to convert burning waste into energy in the form of heat, electricity or gas. Many of these facilities first sort the recyclable products and then use the heat from incinerators to convert the water into steam to run the plant or to produce electricity. Japan has been very successful in using energy from waste treated in advanced thermal treatment plants (ATT) to meet part of municipal energy needs. Large-scale ATT plants were also built in Europe and North America
Waste can be treated with thermal, chemical, biological and physical processes. One biological disposal option being explored by the waste management industry is the use of aerobic digestion. In 2002, Thomley Waste Transfer Station in County Durhan, UK opened with two aerobic digestion towers. This plant treats non-segregated MSW, successfully diverting over 70% of treated waste from landfills or incinerators.
Some sectors of the waste management industry specialize in the disposal of hazardous, toxic or medical waste. These companies do asbestos removal, remediation of toxic sites, and disposal of substances that cannot be deposited in a landfill. Many countries and local government agencies have specific regulations requiring the disposal of such items. It usually involves treating waste in such a way as to make it harmless or at least toxic, as well as the methods of final disposal. Toxic liquid waste is often deposited in underground injection wells which are highly regulated to prevent contamination of drinking water.
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