Waste Management Strategies

W

aste management or waste disposal are all the activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes amongst other things collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. It also encompasses the legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste management encompassing guidance on recycling.

Waste can take any form that is either solid, liquid, or gas and each have different methods of disposal and management. Waste management normally deals with all types of waste whether it was created in forms that are industrial, biological, household, and special cases where it may pose a threat to human health.  It is produced due to human activity such as when factories extract and process raw materials. Waste management is intended to reduce adverse effects of waste on health, the environment or aesthetics. The countries should have committed to sustaining a healthy environment and a vibrant economy. Consistent with this commitment, there has been a fundamental shift in the way we view solid waste. It is now recognized that solid waste is a resource that can result in the creation of jobs through cost effective and environmentally responsible management.

For an example, achieve this goal, the Department of the Environment, after extensive consultation with municipal governments and the people of Nova Scotia, has developed a forward-looking "Solid Waste-Resource Management Strategy." The Strategy will ensure that the people of this province receive the maximum environmental and economic benefits while minimizing the potential increases in the cost of managing solid waste.

Some of waste management strategies are;                        

Achievement	Lead by example with sustainable policies and practices
Dedication	Seek integrated waste management solutions including diversion
Collaboration/Transparency	Facilitate cooperation and collaboration, including encouraging partnerships
Service to our Community	Engage the community to ensure the SWMS meets their needs and objectives
Sustainability/Integrity	Recognize waste is a resource and find solutions that support reduction, reuse, recycling and energy recovery before disposal
Continuous Improvement	Invest in infrastructure with the flexibility to accommodate growth, changing policies and encourage innovation

The Solid Waste Resource Management Strategy include these benefits:

§  Bans on the disposal of beverage containers, corrugated cardboard, newsprint, scrap tires, used oil, lead-acid batteries, waste paint, automotive antifreeze, glass food containers, steel/tin cans, selected plastics and compostable organic materials.

§  Expansion of the current deposit/refund system on beer and liquor bottles to include all beverage containers with the exception of milk. Milk containers will be recycled through province-wide collection programs.

§  The number of active landfills will be reduced by approximately 75 percent. Currently, there are 40 active landfills in the Province. All landfills will have to meet the Department of the Environment's new stricter guidelines to prevent leachate and other problems associated with the current variety.

§  In order to ensure that cost increases are minimized, municipal units will be encouraged to cooperate on a regional scale. It is recommended seven solid waste resource management regions be established.

§  The Department of the Environment estimates the Strategy will cost each Nova Scotian an additional 50 cents a week.

§  Solid waste resources will be used to create new employment in Nova Scotia through the production of value-added goods. The Department of the Environment and the Resource Recovery Fund are working on plans to use scrap tires as the feedstock for a reprocessing plant. Other innovative plans include composting and Nova Scotia-based reprocessing of plastics, corrugated cardboard, disposable diapers and aseptic containers, such as juice packs. The Strategy will create approximately 600 jobs in recycling, collection and environmental industries. These jobs will be primarily in the private sector.

§  The Resource Recovery Fund will be a private sector, industry driven, non-profit organization. It will be charged with the marketing of recyclable materials in order to ensure Nova Scotia's environmental industries have a critical mass of feedstock from domestic sources. These materials will be used to establish industries based on the processing of recyclables.

§  The Strategy will involve diversion of 60 to 70 percent of household hazardous waste from disposal facilities.

§  The innovative environmental technologies developed for use in Nova Scotia will be marketed to other jurisdictions that are facing the same challenges.

Group members

Fonseka S.A.N.S                               162447K

Gunasekara I.V.W                             162446T

Maathangi S.                                     162697L

Pushpakumari M.N.A                        162719J

Silva M.W.L.R.K                              162438V