Waste Management

"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

Hazardous Waste Management and Health Risks presents a systematic overview of evaluating solid and hazardous waste management practices. The book introduces readers to the basic principles of hazardous waste management and progresses into related topics that allow managers to assess environmental quality. These topics include heavy metal pollution, reproductive biomarkers as signals of environmental pressure and health risks, and environmental contamination in an international perspective. With an emphasis on sustainable development throughout the text, a zero-waste strategy as an alternative way to manage hazardous waste is suggested in a dedicated chapter. This reference book is intended as an introductory guide for managers taking waste management training courses and students involved in degree courses related to environmental engineering and management.

Rapid industrialization is a serious concern in the context of a healthy environment. With the growth in the number of industries, the waste generated is also growing exponentially. The various chemical processes operating in the manufacturing industry generate a large number of by-products, which are largely harmful and toxic pollutants and are generally discharged into the natural water bodies. Once the pollutants enter the environment, they are taken up by different life forms, and because of bio-magnification, they affect the entire food chain and have severe adverse effects on all life forms, including on human health. Although, various physico-chemical and biological approaches are available for the removal of toxic pollutants, unfortunately these are often ineffective and traditional clean up practices are inefficient. Biological approaches utilizing microorganisms (bacterial/fungi/algae), green plants or their enzymes to degrade or detoxify environmental pollutants such as endocrine disruptors, toxic metals, pesticides, dyes, petroleum hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds, offer eco- friendly approaches. Such eco-friendly approaches are often more effective than traditional practices, and are safe for both industry workers as well as environment. This book provides a comprehensive overview of various toxic environmental pollutants from a variety natural and anthropogenic sources, their toxicological effects on the environment, humans, animals and plants as well as their biodegradation and bioremediation using emerging and eco-friendly approaches (e.g. Anammox technology, advanced oxidation processes, membrane bioreactors, membrane processes, GMOs), microbial degradation (e.g. bacteria, fungi, algae), phytoremediation, biotechnology and nanobiotechnology. Offering fundamental and advanced information on environmental problems, challenges and bioremediation approaches used for the remediation of contaminated sites, it is a valuable resource for students, scientists and researchers engaged in microbiology, biotechnology and environmental sciences.

Waste: A Handbook for Management gives the broadest, most complete coverage of waste in our society. The book examines a wide range of waste streams, including: Household waste (compostable material, paper, glass, textiles, household chemicals, plastic, water, and e-waste) Industrial waste (metals, building materials, tires, medical, batteries, hazardous mining, and nuclear) Societal waste (ocean, military, and space) The future of landfills and incinerators Covering all the issues related to waste in one volume helps lead to comparisons, synergistic solutions, and a more informed society. In addition, the book offers the best ways of managing waste problems through recycling, incineration, landfill and other processes. Co-author Daniel Vallero interviewed on NBC's Today show for a segment on recycling Scientific and non-biased overviews will assist scientists, technicians, engineers, and government leaders Covers all main types of waste, including household, industrial, and societal Strong focus on management and recycling provides solutions

This book focuses on the crucial sustainability challenge of reducing food waste at the level of consumer-society. Providing an in-depth, research-based overview of the multifaceted problem, it considers environmental, economic, social and ethical factors. Perspectives included in the book address households, consumers, and organizations, and their role in reducing food waste. Rather than focusing upon the reasons for food waste itself, the chapters develop research-based solutions for the problem, providing a much-needed solution-orientated approach that takes multiple perspectives into account. Chapters 1, 2, 12 and 16 of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

From shipments of Canadian waste rotting in developing countries to overflowing landfills and ineffective recycling programs, Canada is facing a waste crisis. Canadians are becoming increasingly aware that waste is an acute environmental and human health issue – and a complex one, the solutions to which are often contradictory. Canada's Waste Flows is an honest look at the production and movement of Canadian waste, from region to region and across the globe, and its consequences. Through a series of timely empirical case studies, the book reveals waste as less of a technological problem and more of a material, economic, political, historical, and cultural concern. Canada's Waste Flows demonstrates that Canadians are misdirecting their attention to post-consumer waste and their responsibility for minimizing it through recycling; waste must be understood as a social justice issue, and in particular as a symptom of ongoing settler colonialism. Through a comparative study of waste management in southern and northern Canadian communities, Myra Hird argues that we will only resolve our waste crisis through democratic engagement. A critical and compelling book that will generate conversation and incite change, Canada's Waste Flows uncovers how Canada's role as a global leader in waste production and export is key to changing Canada's waste future.