Waste management has been a very serious issue globally. Every year, over 11 billion metric tons of waste are produced, with humans accounting for 90% of this total. Millions of tons of waste in the United States end up in landfills and pollute the environment where they are dumped. If sustainability is practiced, we can reduce and control waste in our environment.

What is waste management?

Waste management is simply the act of managing, transporting, and removing waste from our environment. It’s a practice by which waste is disposed of and controlled in the human environment.

Lots of this waste just goes to waste and ends up in landfills, causes pollution of land and water bodies. This why we need to put sustainable waste management solutions into practice.

What is sustainable waste management?

Sustainable waste management is the practice that involves the removal, transportation, and disposal of waste in a way that will not impact the environment ecologically or the health of living humans or the yet-to-be-born.

In a simple term, it is the process of removing waste from the environment without leaving an impact on the eco-system.

Sustainable waste management can involve recycling, reuse, and proper disposal of waste.

What are the benefits of sustainable waste management?

Emphasis is often placed on how best to manage waste. But if we don’t talk about sustainability to control it, then we don’t really mean business. The following are some of the reasons we need to practice sustainability to manage our waste:

1. Saves money

If sustainable practices are practiced, we can all save a lot of money. If we reuse items, perhaps by recreating them or recycling them rather than getting new ones, We are saving the environment as well as money. This is so because waste will drastically reduce, and it will be easier for the authorities in charge to manage it.

2. Manage pollutions

The world is already polluted by carbon from industrial and manufacturing activities. Adding to it with our waste is like adding to our own problems. Sustainable waste management solutions will help us minimize the rate of environmental pollution.

3. Preserve the environment.

Despite the government’s laws and policies toward waste management, Proper disposal of waste is still a problem. It contaminates the water, pollutes the air, and litters the land. All these are hazardous to the environment. To achieve a good living environment, sustainability is key.

4. Regenerative economy

One of the key players in the world economy is the manufacturing industry. It not only consumes a lot of our natural resources but also increases the mass of CO2 in the atmosphere. If we continue building more factories, we are definitely further putting ourselves at risk from carbon and its dangers.

The best solution is not to keep producing but to stop producing. We can achieve a breakthrough by embracing a regenerative economy through the recycling and reuse of old products instead of putting them to waste. Plastics, clothes, iron, water, solar, and human and animal feces are some of the products that can be recycled to produce new or entirely different things.

Human and animal feces can be used to produce fertilizer for plants, and plastic can be used to build different plastic items, just like clothes, when recycled. Wastes are now used to generate electricity, so why put them into waste and produce new ones, whose production activities can harm our planet?

Sustainable waste management and recycling

In many countries like Denmark, waste is being put to good use rather than left to pollute the air, water, and land. Waste can be used to generate electricity using bioelectricity. It’s already being used in a lot of countries today. We can call it waste energy, but it is being put to good use to produce useful power generation.

Biomass is a source of electricity derived from waste. It has the capability of electrifying hundreds of thousands of homes if properly implemented, considering the millions of dollars in annual waste in the United States.

A sustainable waste management solution is nothing without recycling. Recycling will help cut down on production, reducing CO2 in the atmosphere. It will also boost the economy in the sense that the resources will be less exploited, producers will have to cut prices, and they will also offer recycling programs to their customers.

Recycling is good, but reusing is best. Due to the process of recycling, a little carbon is released too, though not as much as in production. There are a lot of people, especially the well-to-do, who use things for a short time and then dispose of them as trash. Some of these things are sometimes as good as new. If the sale of fairly used products is encouraged, they can be sold instead. Other people can come and get them at fairly used stores and reuse them. By reducing waste, more sustainability can be achieved.

Other than polluting everywhere with liters of taxpayer money used to clear dumps and transport waste to landfills, Sustainability will save us some money and improve our lives.

7 Sustainable Waste Management Strategies And Solutions

As different countries struggle with sustainable waste management solutions, others are already getting it right. The technology is being developed to help with waste management and achieve a greener and healthier society. Below are some of the strategies that, if taken seriously, will revolutionize waste management.

1. Generating energy from waste

Biomass is a real and good source of energy generation. In Copenham, Denmark, for example, waste from the city is used to generate electricity for over 30,000 homes. That’s not all. The waste-to-energy plant called Copenhill also generates heat for over 70,000 homes during the winter season. Instead of dumping all the city waste in a landfill, why not use it for beneficial things like this? Electricity is very important, but hydroelectricity, which is a major source for many countries, is costly and not entirely safe. Eradicating waste and generating electricity and energy with it is a better way to go for a greener environment.

2. Improving packing systems

Many cities still face issues with sorting systems. Improving the waste sorting system is one way to achieve an effective waste management solution.

There is a need to separate recyclables from non-recyclables and hazardous waste. It’s best that homes and offices have three different trash cans for non-recyclables, recyclables, and hazardous waste.

Removing refuse and hazardous waste has a lot of negative effects. some of which include intoxicating the waters and decomposing the soil. Separating trash cans for hazardous waste is the way to go.

Songdo, a city in Korea, has made giant strides in achieving perfect waste sorting systems. Each home is connected by a channel of pipes where waste is passed to a nearby processing plant. Recyclables and non-recyclables are separated, and the recyclables are ready for recycling processes.

3. Looking for ways to recycle hazardous wastes

Hazardous wastes have a lot of effects on the atmosphere. Some of the common hazardous wastes are expired drugs, broken glasses, hospital disposals, and batteries. Though it is very difficult to recycle these, through scientific research and experimentation, there may be some good news.

If not properly disposed of, these wastes can release toxic and harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, water, and planting soils. People need to be educated on how best to dispose of them to avoid the aftermath of careless disposals.

Disposing of hazardous waste in cities is very difficult. But if additional trash cans are made available for them, that would be the best.

4. Implementing pay-as-you-dispose regulations

People need to be really conscious of the amount of waste they produce. The pay-as-you-dispose program is the best way to do that. If people are made to pay for every size of waste they dispose of, that will further enhance sustainability and reduce waste sizes. $1 or $2 for every trash bag wouldn’t be bad. Through this, many people who just throw away things they no longer use but have not spoiled can give them out to people who need them instead of paying to throw them away. It will also reduce pollution and the excessive burden on landfills.

5. Introducing an AI-powered dumpster

One of the problems faced by sustainable waste management solutions is that dump trucks only collect trash once or twice a week without knowing if they are full or not. The concern is also that it’s difficult to even know what kind of trash is inside, whether it’s hazardous or not.

Miami seems to have gotten a little ahead in this with the introduction of AI-powered dumpsters. With it, the dump drivers can know when it is full and come remove them. Also, the kind of waste inside the dumpster can be detected with this technology.

If other cities in the United States can introduce that too, that will be a great stride towards a sustainable waste management solution.

6. Stop using single-use things

Single-use things often constitute a large portion of the waste in our homes. This is why there are so many waste products. To reduce waste in our cities, we can replace single-use things with reusables. For example, replacing coffee cups with plastic or glass cups and satchels with cans Through this, we can achieve a reasonable and sustainable waste management solution. As wastes, we contribute by doing these things, which will reduce city waste sizes.

7. Drift from hard copies to soft copies

Paper waste makes up a large quantity of office, retail, and school waste. Using digital means to write down these things we do on paper can reduce paper waste. It goes beyond just saying that the effect of paper production using trees as raw materials will be reduced, thus preserving the environment.

Another solution is paper recycling. Paper recycling is now possible and very popular. Instead of those papers ending up in landfills, they can be used to produce new papers and cardboard.

What is a lifestyle change an individual can make to impact sustainable waste management?

To achieve a sustainable ecosystem, it is the collective responsibility of everyone. It’s not for the government alone to talk about climate change; it’s our duty too, as it affects each and every one of us. There are certain lifestyles we need to adopt to attain a green planet. Some of these include

1. Proper disposal of waste

Disposing of our refuse properly is very important for sustainability and healthy environments. Ensuring we put all waste in trash cans and dispose of it in the dumpster is a good lifestyle for a greener planet.

2. Reinvent fashion

The fashion industry is one of the fastest-growing currently. The detriment is that it contributes about 10% to CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. If we purchase from sustainable clothing brands, we can be one step closer to reducing waste and promoting sustainability.

3. Using reusable items only

Single-use items account for about 15% of waste in homes and public places. Coffee cups, satchels, and plastic bottles can be replaced with cups, cans, and water bottles. This is an effective, sustainable waste management solution we should all follow.

4. Use sustainable materials for our housing

The construction industry is involved in all other industries. Using sustainable building materials for the construction of our homes can be part of our own efforts to create a greener and healthier world.

5. Reducing food waste

About 1/3 of food produced globally at the initial or final stage becomes trash. The United States has the 2nd highest level of food waste globally, which ends up contributing millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. If you are not hungry, don’t order any food to avoid waste, or give it to the hungry around you.

6. Educating the future generations

There is a need to teach the coming generation the need to curtail carbon emissions if they want to live on a green planet. It’s our collective responsibility to do that. Teaching your kids to dispose of waste properly, how to reduce waste, and how to embrace sustainability at every level is pivotal to a brighter, brighter future.

Final Thoughts On Sustainable Waste Management Solutions

Not all waste should be wasted; we all need to maintain the planet for healthy living. These solutions provided here should be taken very seriously. Let’s save our planet from carbon before it sieves us.