Accomplishments In Waste Utilization

"In the beginning we knew them as scavengers. Then as garbagemen. Then solid waste haulers. Then the dispensers of sophisticated environmental services. The changing language charts the evolution of a huge industry. No company better represents this industry than Waste Management, today the largest and most successful provider of environmental management services in the world." "The range of capabilities that Waste Management's family of companies offers today represents a wish-list of services for the environmentally awakened end of the twentieth century. It includes collecting, disposing, and reusing solid waste in sanitary landfills, incinerators, and through recycling; managing all forms of hazardous wastes through treatment, incineration, and recovery processes; remedying chemical waste pollution; managing medical waste; transporting and securing disposal of low-level nuclear wastes; generating a scarce commodity, energy (chiefly electricity), from an abundant one, garbage, in waste-to-energy incinerators and through methane gas recovery from landfills; and programs to encourage waste-reduction and recycling-the greatest of all environmental crusades." "A list of the company's accomplishments abounds with superlatives which are important less as a boast than as an indicator of scale. Waste Management is the nations largest handler of solid and chemical waste; the largest asbestos-abatement company; the largest private waste-water treatment company; the largest low-level radioactive waste management company; the largest wastereduction consultancy; the third largest engineering firm; and one of the largest managers of medical waste. The company is the largest buyer of trucks and containers, whose burgundy color is recognized in cities and towns everywhere." "What we once viewed merely as a problem of sanitation of conservation, we embrace today under the banner of environmentalism. To some, who have appropriated the word "green" for their cause, environmentalism has become a fierce ideology. To others, like Dean Buntrock, founder and chairman of Waste Management, Inc., it has become an opportunity to provide a vital service and build one of the world's most successful companies in the process. As our cultural attitudes have shifted and as the regulations regarding waste have multiplied, markets have been created and sustained. For those with the right combination of foresight and know-how, the opportunities have been enormous." "Waste Management explains how Waste Management, Inc. shaped and was shaped by those opportunities. It describes how, in the last twenty years, one of America's great companies has embraced change and created wealth as it grew."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Solid waste management affects every person in the world. By 2050, the world is expected to increase waste generation by 70 percent, from 2.01 billion tonnes of waste in 2016 to 3.40 billion tonnes of waste annually. Individuals and governments make decisions about consumption and waste management that affect the daily health, productivity, and cleanliness of communities. Poorly managed waste is contaminating the world’s oceans, clogging drains and causing flooding, transmitting diseases, increasing respiratory problems, harming animals that consume waste unknowingly, and affecting economic development. Unmanaged and improperly managed waste from decades of economic growth requires urgent action at all levels of society. What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050 aggregates extensive solid aste data at the national and urban levels. It estimates and projects waste generation to 2030 and 2050. Beyond the core data metrics from waste generation to disposal, the report provides information on waste management costs, revenues, and tariffs; special wastes; regulations; public communication; administrative and operational models; and the informal sector. Solid waste management accounts for approximately 20 percent of municipal budgets in low-income countries and 10 percent of municipal budgets in middle-income countries, on average. Waste management is often under the jurisdiction of local authorities facing competing priorities and limited resources and capacities in planning, contract management, and operational monitoring. These factors make sustainable waste management a complicated proposition; most low- and middle-income countries, and their respective cities, are struggling to address these challenges. Waste management data are critical to creating policy and planning for local contexts. Understanding how much waste is generated—especially with rapid urbanization and population growth—as well as the types of waste generated helps local governments to select appropriate management methods and plan for future demand. It allows governments to design a system with a suitable number of vehicles, establish efficient routes, set targets for diversion of waste, track progress, and adapt as consumption patterns change. With accurate data, governments can realistically allocate resources, assess relevant technologies, and consider strategic partners for service provision, such as the private sector or nongovernmental organizations. What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050 provides the most up-to-date information available to empower citizens and governments around the world to effectively address the pressing global crisis of waste. Additional information is available at http://www.worldbank.org/what-a-waste.

This book highlights current efforts and research on waste management, processing and valorization, particularly in Asia-Africa countries. Chapters 1–2 highlight the overview of plastic waste management and the production of waste plastic oil (WPO). Chapters 3–5 discuss the landfill characterization and application of incineration and composting for waste processing. A new achievement in adsorbent production is highlighted in Chapters 6 and 7 while Chapters 10 and 11 focus on sewage characteristic and its utilization using microalgae. Enzyme production using waste is covered by Chapters 10-12. Chapter 13-14 dedicated to the advances in production of bioenergy. The book concludes with a discussion on life cycle analysis for solid waste management (Chapter 15).