The environmental challenges posed by improper waste disposal impact various things. It can lead to soil contamination, poor human health, as well as furthering the negative impact of climate change.
Luckily, implementing these sustainable waste management practices helps to promote a greener future through more eco-friendly methods. What’s more, these practices are easy to implement and form part of a wider efficient waste management ecosystem
This blog explores 9 environmental waste solutions that can be easily adopted by businesses and households alike. Many of these practices will also further general office efficiency and sustainable practices.
What is Waste Management?
Waste management refers to the systematic process of handling waste from its inception to its final disposal. This is especially important for hazardous waste management.
Proper waste management reduces pollution, conserves natural resources, and mitigates climate change effects. Implementing these changes gives businesses an opportunity to contribute towards a greener tomorrow.
These sustainable waste management practices are relatively easy to implement. Just throwing something in the correct bin helps to lessen the amount of waste dumped at places like municipal landfills and dumpsites.
What Are Environmental Waste Solutions?
Environmental waste solutions are strategies and technologies designed to minimise waste production and mitigate its harmful effects on the environment. They offer a comprehensive range of solutions, from recycling solutions to more comprehensive environmental waste solutions.
From individual efforts like composting to large-scale systems like waste-to-energy plants, these solutions address the global waste crisis effectively by foregrounding practices like resource recovery and safe waste disposal.
Why Reduce Waste?
Reducing waste is one of the most important actions we can take to protect the environment. By producing less waste, we conserve resources, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the burden on landfills.
Waste reduction also plays a key role in preventing pollution, which can harm ecosystems and wildlife. This is an essential part of waste management solutions and general waste disposal.
Implementing waste reduction strategies is a cornerstone of modern waste management practices. This is because reducing what becomes waste at the manufacturing stage ensures that an unnecessary burden is not placed on already overworked waste systems.
Sustainable Waste Management Solutions
It is relatively well known that waste management and environmental best practices go hand-in-hand. Proper waste management lessens environmental damage, while cutting corners can worsen effects like climate change.
The numerous waste types require varying waste streams. Hazardous waste and non-hazardous waste, for instance, are often segregated to lessen the environmental impact of improper disposal and subsequent contamination situations.
For this reason, waste management companies like Cleanway attain certifications from registered bodies like the Environmental Protection Agency to showcase their expertise in safe practices. These use this knowledge whenever working with waste.
9 Environmental Waste Solutions
The 9 environmental waste solutions listed below are common throughout the global waste management industry. They highlight the drive to find more sustainable and efficient ways of managing waste.
A key part of these solutions is that they adopt the latest technologies while still looking into the past. Their goals are to find ways to safeguard the environment without cutting corners and harming human health.
1. Composting
Composting is the process of turning organic waste into a new product that has a new value and purpose. It is a great waste management tactic as it lessens the overall amount of waste produced.
Many businesses work with organic waste without being fully aware of it. While green waste products are commonly composted, items like cardboard and paper can also safely be turned into new compostable products.
2. Recycling
Recycling is common and popular because of its effectiveness. Many in the waste management industry continue to use it to its benefits in extracting value from trash.
Recycled products are great for various reasons. They are an example of what can happen when people see value in trash as they stand as a means to convert old materials into something new, thereby reducing total waste amounts.
3. Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion is the process of breaking down waste materials in an oxygen-free environment so that it can be formed into a new product. It creates a gaseous product that does not need to spend the rest of its life on a landfill or dumpsite.
This is the major benefit of anaerobic digestion. While current methods use the latest technology available, the process itself is steeped in old waste management practices of decomposition.
4. Upcycling
Upcycling, while similar to recycling, is the process where waste items are converted into products of greater value. While the greatness of it might be subjective, it is still a valuable tool when it comes to disposed items.
It is also a testament to the direction of the waste management industry. The current goal is to find ways to avoid landfills and to find ways to convert waste into new and efficient products.
5. Circular Economy
Circular economies explore means of converting waste products back into the marketplace through various means and measures. While they exist in many industries, waste management is a great example of them.
Their effectiveness goes back to the idea that efficient management of resources is one of extracting the maximum value from them. For this reason, they have become very popular in waste circles.
6. E Waste Recycling
E waste recycling refers to recycling the various electronic products that we use on everyday. E waste figures are rising as new technologies are being adapted and developed across the globe.
The major benefit of recycling e waste is more than just the general benefits of recycling. Many electronic products contain valuable materials that can be extracted and reused in new products or even sold for the value themselves.
7. Waste to Energy (WTE)
Waste to energy (WTE) technologies tackle to problems at once: they reduce the amounts of waste that end up in landfills, and they create sustainable ways to create energy.
The infrastructure of WTE products varies depending on many factors. Some countries like Singapore run their entire electrical grid on waste, while other small scale producers use waste to create effective energy means.
8. Plastic Alternatives
Plastic products can cause major problems when it comes to waste management. Using alternatives helps to solve this issue at the source of it.
Luckily, the world has adapted to this issue by creating alternatives to single-use plastic items. Common examples include reusable water bottles and coffee cups.
9. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a commitment made by certain companies to produce products are can be sustainably disposed of. There are many ways to go about this.
Some tech companies, for example, have places in their stores where old devices can be returned for recycling purposes. They then safely extract value from them and reuse them in new items.
Final Thoughts
Environmental waste solutions help to build a more sustainable future for everyone on the planet. If anything, this should be the reason why business leaders must adopt their tactics. It should not just be for the few who work with dangerous items like hazardous waste.
If you are interested in furthering and improving your company’s waste systems, then be sure to contact Cleanway. Our team of experienced waste management experts are capable of tackling a variety of waste-related issues in a safe and eco-conscious manner.