Recycling and Waste Management

As industries and world population are growing, the quantity of waste being dumped is also increasing. For leading a healthy life, society has to efficiently manage the waste produced by it. United States, which is the number one trash-producing country in the world, produces about 1,609 pounds per person per year US has 5% of the world's people and it generates 40% of the world's waste.

Estimates reveal that China will produce approximately 533 million tons of waste by 2030, which is a staggering amount.  Much of the wastes generated worldwide (60 to 85%) are primarily disposed in landfills, including open and engineered landfills.

Waste management is therefore essential to collect, transport, process, recycle, dispose    and monitor the waste dumped by the people in a society and around the world as a whole.

Waste classification

Wastes can be classified as follows: 

Waste management practices

Waste management involves 

  • Prevention and reduction (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle)
  • Recovering energy from some forms of waste to be used as fuels
  • Composting the organic waste for use as fertilizers for plants
  • Burying the sanitary waste into the ground and incineration and so forth. 

Practices in waste management are different the world over, dependent on certain issues such as how developed the nation is, if it is a city or rural area and so on. Disposal has been developed from the traditional landfill system, composting, and incineration to today's innovative ways of waste management. For example, in Australia, the most common method of disposal of solid waste is to landfills, because it is a large country with a low-density population. By contrast, in Japan it is more common for waste to be incinerated, because the country is smaller and land is scarce. 

A few other countries are also adopting waste management measures that incorporates recycling and energy recovery. Landfills and methane emissions have been remarkably reduced, despite some national exceptions, MBT and WTE facilities are expanding in all their forms and recycling has become a major trend with substantial results.

Market size and growth

Waste management explores a wide range of opportunities in product and services related to solid & liquid waste collection, disposal and management, hazardous & toxic waste management and reduce-reuse-recycle solutions. For example, the global e-waste management market has shown an upward trend over the recent years. Research anticipates the market to reach $21billion in 2020 from $6.9billion in 2009.

The largest segment of the market, made up of recycled metals, is expected to reach $11.4 billion in 2014, after increasing at a CAGR of 8.8% from the estimated 2009 value of $7.5 billion. The segment made up of recycled plastics was estimated to be worth $976 million in 2009, and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 10% to reach nearly $1.6 billion in 2014.The smallest segment of the market, recycled silica, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1%, from $4.9 million in 2009 to $6.9 million in 2014.

Recycled plastics – their use depends on the type of plastic - PET can be recycled into bottles, deli trays, carpets, clothing, textiles and automobile parts. HDPE can be recycled into bottles for laundry products and motor oil, recycling bins, agricultural pipe, bags, garden edging and plastic lumber.

Recycled PVC can become playground equipment, flooring tiles and air bubble cushioning. Recycled LDPE can be used to manufacture bags, compost bins and plastic lumber. Polypropylene can be recycled into automobile parts including battery casings, textiles, industrial fibers and films used for bulk packaging. Polystyrene can be recycled into office accessories, garden nursery supplies and protective package cushioning.

Waste to energy 

Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technology, a sustainable as well as cost-efficient solution for converting waste into energy, is emerging as a key component of integrated waste management strategies across the globe. 

The market for WtE is highly competitive with a large number of players active in the industry. Worldwide, about 130 million tonnes of municipal solid waste are combusted annually in over 600 WtE facilities that produce electricity and steam for district heating. According to Pike Research, the waste-to-energy (WTE) market will see global revenue increase from $3.7 billion in 2010 to $13.6 billion in 2016 

A variety of new technologies such as ranging from conventional combustion process to state-of-the art thermal depolymerization technologyare being used and developed for the production of fuels which are capable of converting wastes into heat, power, fuels or chemical feedstock. 

References: 

Related Links: