Ever wondered, where does all the waste that we throw from our homes go? And, why is it important to know about it? Waste management is more of a necessity than we think. It plays an extremely necessary role in global cleanliness. It is a process of disposing of the waste that we produce. Every year, we produce 11.2 billion wastes worldwide. Managing such a huge amount of waste is essential as this waste can affect the environment in several ways. If we look at the bright side, proper waste management can result in a clean environment. In fact, it can be rewarding. There are companies that pay for giving them waste. Moreover, the companies themselves earn huge amounts of revenue just by following the practice of waste management. It reduces pollution, aids in conserving both energy and environment and keeps the environment clean.
But on the other hand disposing the waste in an inappropriate manner like dumping it in land or water bodies or burning it, can cause air and water pollution. Any damage to the environment will negatively impact our lives too. Non- biodegradable and toxic waste (example – radioactive remnants) can cause damage to the environment and to the health of the living beings. In addition, several kinds of wastes can adversely affect the soil, groundwater and habitats in the surroundings. Based on how the waste is managed, it has been estimated that in 2016, approximately 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide was generated. That represents about 5 percent of global emission.
Thus, we can conclude one thing that the ultimate goal of proper waste management is protecting the environment. If the environment would be affected, it would affect us too in the same manner.
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So, we can say waste management is extremely crucial both for the environment and for the living beings. Let’s talk about some strategies that can assist in waste management.
- The 3 Rs: The 3 Rs i.e. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle have always been an essential component when we talk about waste management. Reduce means to cut the amount of waste produced. Reuse refers to the use of products in different ways before throwing it. Recycle means transforming useless and old things into new and useful things. Exerting these things into our lives can support waste management to a higher extent.
- Waste to Energy (WtE): Converting non recyclable waste into different forms of energy is another way to reduce waste. Waste to energy plants burns garbage or trash in order to produce steam which is used to generate electricity.
- Saying no to plastic: Plastic is the biggest source of pollution as it is non-biodegradable. Around 275 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced by the world each year and 4.8 million of it is dumped in the oceans resulting in pollution in water bodies. Reducing the use of plastic as much as possible will help in reducing a lot of waste. We have to try sticking to food with zero packaging, it will decrease much of the plastic waste produced.
- Digitalisation: Doing activities digitally helps in reducing waste to a great extent as it cuts the resources that we will need to do it physically. This may make us less dependent on things like plastic. Digitalisation can replace multiple items that we use in our day to day life.
- Compost: All the management starts with us as we are the ones who are generating. Composting is a strategy that we can use at our homes to reduce waste. Food scraps can be used as compost for plants. It’ll also work as a fertilizer for the soil along with the management of waste.
- Buying in bulk: The best way of management of waste is not creating waste first. Most of the unnecessary things that we buy are either thrown by us or we never use it at all. In one or other way, we waste it. So, at this point it is better to buy only necessary things as this will help in both saving the environment and saving money.
- Donating: Donating is a great approach that can make you do social work as well as waste management. Donating things like books, clothes, furniture etc. will help in reducing a lot of waste and someone will be able to use it. Furthermore, it would be more contributing to the environment if we adopt the nature of using second hand products. These ways could be supportive for managing waste.
- Say no to bottled water: There is a myth that bottled water is healthier than tap water. But, the reality is tap water is also clean. 80 % of plastic bottles we buy end up in landfills resulting in water pollution that can affect the health of living beings on land as well as aquatic life. It is far better to use a reusable bottle.
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- Reusable containers: For storing food haven’t we used aluminium foils multiple times? Aluminium foils are neither eco-friendly nor good for storing food, also we often use plastic bags too. All these things need to be replaced by reusable containers. Reusable containers and reusable food wraps are best substitutes along with helping in waste management.
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Read Also : What if we could convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into fuel?
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- Repurposed items: Repurposing refers to using a particular product in a different way than its original use. It can be easily done by modifying items and exerting it in a new way. Repurposing will make it easier to use the unusable things at home only without wasting it.
Waste generation has increased rapidly in recent years on a global level. It is expected to increase up to 70% by 2050 due to the rising population. As a citizen we cannot make a big difference but, we can still work on several things to make a difference in our environment. A good waste management system can also aid in making a circular economy. We can start with our own homes and can motivate others to do as well.
Tags: #carbon dioxide, #environment, #getgreengetgrowing, #global, #gngagritech, #greenstories, #Pollution, #waste, #wastemanagement, #water, #WaterPollution, #worldwide
