Waste Management

Term Paper # 100018

Environmental Studies > Management
Environmental Studies > Recycling

Waste Management

This paper discusses the three methods of waste disposal; landfill, incineration and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle).

1,426 words () | 5 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper compares and contrasts the limitations of each the three ways of dealing with waste: landfill, incineration and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). In particular, the paper focuses on municipal and non-hazardous waste. The paper critically examines each of these methods and their flaws. The paper argues that the 3Rs are the most sustainable ways of dealing with waste and that, despite the flaws, some of which can be fixed, this is the best long-term solution.

Outline:
Landfill
Incineration
The 3Rs

From the Paper:

"Waste disposal presents a big environmental problem that is universal to all nations of the world. Canada is no exception. "In 2000, Canadians generated 1021 kg of non-hazardous waste per capital" Statistics Canada (qtd. in McLaren, 373.) Waste is an increasing problem within our consumerist society, since not only has it brought about adverse environmental impact but it is also becoming increasingly expensive to deal with it and we are producing more despite all our efforts. In Canada for example "non-hazardous waste disposal per capita was 7 per cent higher in 2000 than in 1996" (Mclaren, 373). Gandy states that "many US cities now face a tax burden for their solid waste management which is exceeded only by education and roads" (31)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Collins, K. 'European Waste Management Drivers Towards a Sustainable Europe and How Scotland Can Influence the Agenda." Sustainable Waste Management. Eds. R.K. Dhir, M.D.newlands & T.D. Dyer. London: Thomas Telford, 2003. 25-44
Gandy, Matthew. Recycling and Waste. Aldershot: Avebury Studies in Green Research, 1994
Maclaren, V.W. "Waste Management: Integrated Approaches". Resource and Environmental Management in Canada: Addressing Conflict and Uncertainty. Ed. B. Mitchell. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2004. 371-97
Pichtel, John. Waste management Principles: Municipal, Hazardous and industrial. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2005
Waite, R. Household Waste Recycling. London: Earthscan Publications, Ltd., 1995