Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

How Do We Deal With Waste Today Discus Hellip

Good Essays
1017 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Do We Deal With Waste Today Discus Hellip
How do we deal with waste today? Discuss. BY KOH SHEN MING

With the rise of growing population in the world, the amount of waste gradually increases. In general, waste or rubbish, trash, junk, garbage, depending on the type of material or the regional terminology, is an unwanted or undesired material or substance. The waste products created by a natural process or organism quickly become the raw products used by other processes and organisms. Therefore, the existence of waste disposal treatments helps to regulate the waste efficiently and effectively such as recycling and incineration. In my opinion, there are many kinds of waste managements in order to regulate the amount of waste; despite there are being some inevitable drawbacks for such methods. Initially, incineration plants also known as waste-to-energy plants (WTE) — a waste treatment technology which the combustion of waste for recovering energy and is popular used in the countries which suffer from scarcity of land, such as Japan and Singapore. Incineration reduces the mass of the waste from 95 to 96 percent and this reduction depends upon the recovery degree and composition of materials, which means that incineration however, does not replace the need for landfilling, but it reduced the amount to be thrown in it. In Singapore, for instance, growing population and booming economy have contributed to a 6-fold increase in the amount of solid waste disposed from 1,260 tonnes a day in 1970 to a peak of 8,289 tonnes a day in 2013. Hence, the 4 incineration plants in Singapore such as Keppel Seghers Tuas Waste-To-Energy (KSTP), take the vital roles to reduce the amount of daily waste due to the shortage of landfills site. In Japan, the Toshima Incineration Plant in Tokyo burns 300 tons of garbage a day while producing electricity, hot water and even road materials instead of landfilling due to Japan is small and densely populated. Evidently, the amount of waste in countries that have limited of land can be reduced through the process of incineration.

Subsequently, today, the recycling programs are popular in most of the countries, such as United States and China, even in Singapore. In the process of recycling, the recyclable waste materials can change into new useful products that help the countries to reduce the amount of waste effectively. Moreover, 3R’s — “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” also used as guidelines in recycling which helps to reduce the garbage going into landfills thereby protecting and conserving the environment. In United States, for example, there were about 9000 curbside recycling programs in 2009. In the same year, American recycled 82 million tonnes of materials and recovered 34% of waste generated. In United Kingdom, the recycling rate was 17% in 2012 and the existence of Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 aid to decrease the amount of household waste. Ostensibly, the use of recycling can help to deal with waste into useful products. Furthermore, the most common waste management is landfilling which dispose the trash onto or into the land directly in most of the countries due to cost effectiveness and it is the last step in a hierarchy of waste management. After the incineration, the ashes from incinerators and non-incinerable waste are transferred to landfill. In Singapore, Semakau Landfill opened on 1st April 1999 and it is Singapore’s only landfill facility. In 2013, the landfill received an average of 2,400 tonnes of WTE plant ash and non-incinerable waste daily. Nevertheless, when landfill is completely used up, the particular country need to find another land to deal with waste and it is a challenge for small country, such as Singapore and Japan. For one word, the waste is commonly treated into landfill and it is the cheapest way compared to incineration and recycling. However, there are some disadvantages of such waste treatments such as high costs of recycling. Although recycling programs have become a key component in waste management, recycling programs are in fact one the most costly methods of waste disposal. With the time, money and energy spent collecting and processing recycled goods, the price of recycling is much higher than discarding waste into landfills or incinerators. In Atlantic Country, New Jersey, selling recyclable goods brings in $2.45 million, nonetheless, the cost of collecting and sorting these recycled materials plus interest payments on the recycling facility costs the country over $3 million. From my point of view, despite the high costs of recycling, the environmental and health benefits of recycling outweigh the costs and I believe that recycling is more than just an issue of economics and is essential to caring for human health and environmental sustainability.

In addition, the burning of waste such as incineration contributes to climate change. Incinerators emit more carbon dioxide (CO2) per unit of electricity (2988 lbs/MWh) than coal-fired power plants. (2249 lbs/MWh) and according to the U.S. EPA, “waste to energy” incinerators and landfills contribute far higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions. In Denmark, the poster child of Europe’s incinerator industry recently discovered that its incinerators were releasing double the quantity of carbon dioxide than originally estimated, and had probably been doing so for years, causing Denmark to miss its Kyoto Protocol GHG reduction targets. In my opinion, I think this is not a serious problem that needs to tackle, even though the emission of carbon dioxide can cause environmental problems, because of the amount of daily waste sharply increase will speed up the use of landfill sites if the waste is not reducing through incineration.

To sum up, there are certain types of waste disposal treatments with its advantages and disadvantages. Incineration — reduce waste largely at one time but it release excessive of carbon dioxide which is harmful to people’s health; recycling — waste materials change into useful products, however, it requires high costs to proceed; landfilling — the cheapest way to deal with waste but it is a challenge for some countries which had only limited land. From my point of view, there are a lot of waste managements to regulate the waste effectively, even though there are some drawbacks for using such methods.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Waste treatment system reported in this paper is in Batam Municipality. It is an island city in Riau Island Province of Indonesia, which is located east of Sumatera Island and near Singapore. It has a territorial area of 108,265 (ha). During the period from 2000 through 2010, the population increased at an annual average of 7.57%. Currently, 1,168,741 citizens live in Batam Municipality. Population density has increased from 600 people/km2 in 2009 to 641 people/km2 in 2010. Waste collecting system is done by three ways. Firstly waste is immediately brought by each resident to temporary dumping site. Secondly the waste is brought to temporary dumping site under neighborhood coordinator by using garbage cart. Thirdly the waste are collected and transported directly to final disposal site by conveyor company. Interestingly since it is difficult to find site for temporary dumping site in residential place, household waste must to be collected from door to door by conveyor company. The waste generation from offices, industries, markets also are stored in 1. Existing Waste Treatment System in Batam their containers/temporary dumping site before Municipality transferred to final disposal site. Solid waste treatment system in Batam Government has conducted a 3R (reduce, reuse Municipality is managed by Dinas Kebersihan dan and recycle of the waste) campaign to community.2) Pertamanan (DKP) (Waste and Landscape Management Agency). This institution has been Hereafter we can find several neighborhoods which appointed according to Batam Municipality have done waste source treatment although it is still Regulation No.12/2007 regarding Establishing on limited because of lack of knowledge and low Organization Structure and Work Arrangement in willingness to implement government campaign. Batam Municipality. Waste transportation in Batam Municipality is held by conveyor company and supported by…

    • 2111 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Waste Segregator Chapter 1

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Waste, has remained to be the most visible and dangerous environmental problem in the country. Due to a growing population, rapidly increasing consumption and increasing urbanization,…

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Waste management is all about the need to change our attitude to waste. The four methods of managing waste at the moment are: landfill, composting, recycling and energy recovery (incineration). To be sustainable, waste must be managed in a way that is maintainable for the foreseeable future and will not be hurtful to the environment or the population. Waste is a problem at the moment because the amount of waste we use is increasing and therefore so is toxicity along with the time that the rubbish is toxic for. We are also running out of landfill sites. Therefore, another method of waste management must be found that will solve these problems.…

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Waste In Canada

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As humanity develops new technology, the magnitude and severity of waste increases. When computers were developed, it widely was believed that the need for paper would be eliminated. On the contrary this was widely proven false and we are now utilizing more paper than ever. Canada is not an exception as the typical Canadian generates an average of three pounds of solid waste each day1. This alone shows what a careless species we have become- using and disposing materials without even considering the damage we are causing. With half a trillion tones of waste around the world, only 25% may be reused for a second or third time and less than 5% can be renewed limitlessly1. These facts are true only in developed countries. Since these traditional…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lots of shanty residents make a living from waste. Each day, two incinerators burn 7,500 tonnes of waste which has resulted in a problem caused by a management strategy. In 1990 there were only two landfill sites. To make some money, children and adults scavenge and extract materials to sell. One example is that food waste can be fed to animals and car tyres can be made into sandals. A waste disposal unit has been fitted into most people’s houses in Shanghai and the waste is used as a fertiliser. Toxic waste and safe disposal of it becoming a big issue as the manufacturing industry increases. After the Bhopal accident, the toxic waste couldn’t be disposed of properly and safely in India so The USA took the waste and disposed of it safely. Recycling plant provide the main way forward.…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    For a city to be sustainable, managing its waste efficiently whilst causing the least possible damage to the environment is imperative. The amount of waste produced by the global population is steadily increasing resulting in a continual problem over how and where to dispose of this waste. Targets have already been made such as European Union laws, UK national plans and strategies and at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 (Agenda 21). Currently, most domestic waste ends up in landfill sites, and the general aim has been to avoid this as much as possible. Waste management methods vary widely according to different areas due to various reasons such as type of waste material, nearby land uses and the area available. Methods could include reducing the amount of waste, reusing goods to extend their lifespan, recovering value and disposing of waste in landfill sites.…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Informative Speech

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The consumption habits of modern consumer lifestyles are causing a huge worldwide waste problem. Having overfilled local landfill capacities, many first world nations are now exporting their refuse to third world countries. This is having a devastating impact on ecosystems and cultures throughout the world. Some alternative energy companies are developing new ways to recycle waste by generating electricity from landfill waste and pollution. http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/garbage-energy/.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Waste Management

    • 10091 Words
    • 41 Pages

    Abstract The management of residues from thermal waste treatment is an integral part of waste management systems. The primary goal of managing incineration residues is to prevent any impact on our health or environment caused by unacceptable particulate, gaseous and/or solute emissions. This paper provides insight into the most important measures for putting this requirement into practice. It also offers an overview of the factors and processes affecting these mitigating measures as well as the short- and long-term behavior of residues from thermal waste treatment under different scenarios. General conditions affecting the emission rate of salts and metals are shown as well as factors relevant to mitigating measures or sources of gaseous…

    • 10091 Words
    • 41 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The best way to manage solid waste is to not produce it in the first place. To that end, buy only what you need. Buy durable products, and maintain and repair them to ensure longer product life. Borrow or rent items you don’t use often. Putting a bit more thought into the way you manage your household waste can help you get more organized. With careful planning, you'll be able to save money and have less of an impact on the environment.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Modern society with its facilities accessed through the inventions and discoveries of science and technology faces a dangerous situation because of environmental pollution. The ecological balance is also lost due to environmental pollution. The industrialization of Society introduced to the world in the 18th century and the subsequent introduction of motorized vehicles in the 19th century, and the arrival of computers with the new concept of Information Technology in the 20th century have upgraded not only the life style of the human population but increased the rate of explosion of the human population substantially. The state of affairs has also caused an exponential growth in the production of goods and services which in a way opened a space for a tremendous amount of waste/ e-waste as by-products. The indiscriminate discharge…

    • 3015 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Thesis English

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This diagram show the problem, the affected, and the output of the improper way of waste disposal. This explains the problem, which is the improper waste disposal, lack of garbage collectors, improper segrega of waste, and lack of knowledge about waste managament. Those who are affected are the residents, the children, the old citizens, and also the Environment itself. And the result of this are serious disease, suffering from bad smell, unability of eating healthy…

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wasteful society

    • 789 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Waste is one of the major environmental concerns in the 21st century, each year, we are generating millions of tons of waste in our homes and communities. Part of that enormous amount of waste is generated through the construction, renovation, and demolition of homes. The most effective way to stop this number from growing, is by preventing waste in the first place, by reducing the amount of materials we use and reuse materials where possible. Recycling stations will be set up in every suburb and purchasing goods made from recycled products are also important strategies.…

    • 789 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Library Research

    • 3685 Words
    • 15 Pages

    The amount of refuse we produce everyday can be identified by the amount of garbage collected by the government trucks assigned to the different areas in the community. The problem of waste management and disposal becomes increasingly as population grows, more industries present in the community and material consumption expand.…

    • 3685 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Waste to Energy

    • 3473 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Municipal Solid Waste. (n.d.). Environmental Protection Agency: Waste to Energy. Retrieved November 24, 2009, from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website: http://www.epa.gov/‌RDEE/‌energy-and-you/‌affect/‌municipal-sw.html…

    • 3473 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hong Kong Landfill Problem

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The government has suggested solving the problem by incineration. Incineration is a waste treatment which involves burning of organic material in rubbish. In the 11 November 2010, the Chief Executive Mr Donald Tsang invited an incineration plant in Tokyo. With the advanced technology from Japan, the plant can reduce the size of waste by 90%, which can save a lot of space for the landfill. Many people may think incineration can cause environment problems as the pollutants emitted in the combustion process are toxic and cause greenhouse effect. However, the plant invited installed special exhaust gas treatment system like filters and catalytic reactor. The effect to the environment is minimized to a harmless level. According to “CE visits incineration plant in Tokyo” (2010), Mr Tsang was satisfied and pointed out that incineration was environmental friendly, effective and sustainable (¶ 9).…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays