Geographical Issues Scaffold

Geographical Issues Scaffold – Waste Management
Title, Date and author of source:
The title of this combined article is ‘Spatial Inequality, Waste Management.’ The article management was published on Thursday, 21st February 2013. The author of this source is Daniel Palermo.
Geographical Issue: In this article, the author talks about two geographical issues which are currently occurring around the world. The geographical issue is Waste Management. The piece discusses the problems to do with the amount of waste we produce. She talks about the high level of waste which is produced, not only domestically, but globally. The article mentions “Australia is known as the second highest country in the world in relation to how much waste we throw away.”
Spatial Dimensions:
Waste is produced every day in all parts of the world. It is released in the air, on land and even in the ocean. Everyone produces waste, though it is becoming more difficult to manage it due to the growing amount. The waste produced ranges from organic waste and household waste to others such as industrial waste. Organisations and individuals are all finding ways to minimise the effect of too much while encouraging others to be sustainable and reduce the amount of waste produced.
Ecological Dimensions:
Increase in population means increase in waste. Waste is produced by everyone from the things we use and do in everyday life. It is also due to using resources and producing things unsustainably. The waste we produce needs to be well managed because it not only affects us, but the earth and other organisms, due to things like the air quality and toxins surrounding us.
Impacts:
This geographic issue is impacting the Earth and organisms very badly. This is because of the rise in the amount of waste surrounding us. It is harming wild life and affecting our natural environment. There is a rise in pollution in the air and in the ocean. The food chains are also being disrupted due to the harm of species. Landfill is taking up space on land, with nowhere to go. There is also contamination of ground water and soil. Another impact is methane emissions that add to greenhouse gasses and increase in local health risk.

Key interest groups and contrasting perspectives:
Two key interest groups which focus on waste management are Chemsal and Entech industries PTY LTD. Chemsal specialises in managing chemical waste. They help all companies and organisations, both government and government by taking waste and separating solids and liquids and either disposing it or recycling. On the other hand, Entech Industries PTY LTD focuses on environmental services to do with chemicals and waste management. They are a large organisation with fully qualified teams.

Organisations and individuals have responded to this geographical issue in many ways. The 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle' Campaign was introduced to reduce the amount of waste produced in addition to the council garbage system in Australia, which provides separate bins for garbage and recycling for households. Australia also has a successful sewage and storm water system which sustainably maintains the amount of waste produced. Some of the many things that the government and large organisations do the manage waste include making the polluter pay for releasing toxins, educating citizens to recycle and creating laws and legislations to reduce industrial waste.

Individuals help reduce waste by decreasing use of plastic bags, following the reduce reuse and recycle campaign and reducing the use of things like plastic. Some of the known organisations which help us manage waste are Australian Council of Recyclers, Sustainable Schools Project, Waste management council of Australia and Planet Ark. These organisations are alongside the local, state and federal government.

Responses (Individuals, Groups and Governments):

Individuals: The majority of individuals are working towards the reduction of waste. This method is much effective if all individuals work together. We are making progress but there is always room for improvement.

Groups and Governments: Organisations are doing their best to inform and educate everyone about the issue. They raise money and do their best work to help manage the waste and keep a sustainable planet. They help out all those impacted by the issue and prevent as much damage as they can.

How successful are these strategies?
These strategies are quite successful and effective. It will be even more successful if everyone including individuals, companies and large organisations did their part. The issue of waste management is currently problematic, but we have the potential to solve it.
Waste management poses a threat in sustainability by long term s and short term effects. Some examples include effects on living standards such as air quality, health hazards, reduction of residential and commercial growth and more. Groups and organisations reduce the amount of waste being disposed and where it goes. The effects on social justice would be quality of life for the human race and wildlife species, which has a negative effect on positive impacts of growth. The social justice is also to keep the water and environment clean and allow people to live in a clean environment.