What Does the Future Hold for Waste Management?
The management of waste is a global concern and issue that regulation is vital for. This is due to the concern of landfill overflow, waste being dumped in our oceans, and pollution from the waste that we produce. All of these concerns if left to escalate could have the potential to have devastating effects on our planet for humans, animals, plant life, and some of the earth’s most beautiful scenery. This is why it is so important that all waste is managed correctly and as much waste as possible is recycled or used for another purpose. Across the globe, waste management companies and local authorities have put together multiple strategies of managing waste so that a minimum amount is sent to landfill. In this post, there are multiple different strategies of how waste will be managed in the future to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill.
Why is The Disposing of Waste in Landfills So Bad?
Realistically speaking, it’s not mainly dumping in landfills that is bad, it’s the waste that is being dumped into landfills which causes the major problems. Many waste products such as specific plastics, containers, styrofoams contain dangerous substances which leaked liquids into nearby groundwater, attracted pests, and were also fire hazards. These problems cause heavy pollution in our air and our water, which can make humans very ill, additionally to killing plants and animals that are vital to the health of our planet. Many waste products also produce greenhouse gases (the main cause of climate change) when burned. As landfills have a high fire risk, the more that is dumped, the higher the fire risk. It is important that the waste we produce is minimally sent to landfill to avoid the pollution and the escalation of climate change.
A problem that is the landfills themselves is their growth. Continual dumping in landfills can cause the landfills to spread, which can cause them to even reach residential areas and bodies of water such as lakes and oceans. If landfills are in contact with water bodies, it can rapidly accelerate the process of water pollution and waste can enter the water bodies. Additionally to pollution, waste in water bodies can be devastating for life in water. Waste in water can lead to life in water being trapped in waste, or large waterborne species swallowing the waste. This could lead to mass deaths of species living in water and could even lead to some species becoming extinct. Pollution in waters can also damage underwater plant life, meaning there would be a shortage of food for some underwater species.
Recycling
Recycling is perhaps the most common and well know waste management strategy to prevent waste from entering landfills. In definition, recycling is the action or process of converting waste into a reusable material. People across the worlds are daily reminded and encouraged to recycle their waste, and governments across the globe are constantly giving incentives for people to recycling. An example of this is a reduction in tax if people recycle, specific bins for recycled goods, and many events charge a deposit for using plastic goods and will receive their money back for bringing back the plastic goods. The incentives and governments tactics to encourage recycling have been so effective that people globally have got into the habit of recycling their goods using the correct recycling bins. Recycling is also very common as there is a wide variety of waste products that can be recycled, such as aluminium, paper, and some plastics. It is vital that these products are recycled as they would waste space in landfills, and also would reduce pollution and slow down the process of climate change.
Biofuels
Biological waste can be reused in a fantastic way by converting the waste into biofuel. Biofuel is an incredible source of energy that can be used for a multitude of purposes such as creating electricity and powering vehicles. A great advantage of biofuels is that it produces no greenhouse gases when it is burned, therefore, it reduces the need for fossil fuels such as gasoline or kerosene. By widely producing and using biofuels, it would rapidly slow down the process of climate change. Many companies across the globe such as FedEx and UPS, who are constantly pressured on their fossil fuel use, have begun to use biofuels as an alternative to power some of their fleets to reduce their carbon footprint.
Biofuels are produced by drying out the biological waste and waiting for the biological waste to ferment. This produces ethanol, which can be used to power waste. Biological waste or biomass can be used to create electricity by burning it in a biomass boiler, which converts the biomass to electricity which can be sent to the national grid. The process of burning the biomass does in fact produce CO2, however, it does not produce such large quantities of CO2 that would be damaging to the environment.
Waste Management Middlesborough
For the future of waste management, it seems like more and more waste will be used for recycling and biofuels, and the use of biofuels and recycled materials will become progressively more common. This blog was written by Ben Donne, who is the content writer for 1st Choice Waste Management. Ben has a passion for promoting businesses beliefs and morals, to help people understand what the business can provide. For environmentally friendly and sustainable waste management in Middlesborough for you or your business, use 1st Choice Waste Management.