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Urban waste and its disposal - Coggle Diagram
Urban waste and its disposal
Urban waste needs to be managed effectively as large amounts of waste are created in a relatively small space
The sources of urban waste include; industrial, commercial and personal
How is Urban Waste increasing
Many countries are industrialising and improving standard of living, wealthier people produce more waste
the development of throw-away culture through high consumerism
Population increase
Built in obsolescence, when a product is built for a specific time period and designed to be replaced
MSW (Municipal solid waste)
most commonly known as rubbish, changes over time e.g. in the UK the majority of MSW used to be coal however it is now waste from food markets or plastic
Types of waste disposal
Landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials
For
Makes good use of abandoned quarries
easily managed
methane can be vented and used as biogas (a fuel)
cost effective and relatively safe if managed effectivley
Against
attracts vermin, flies and scavenging birds
wind-blown material becomes unsightly litter
burying organic waste leads to anaerobic decay which produces methane
leachates percolating through the ground can be toxic to groudnwater
lorry traffic is generated
Recycling means reprocessing materials that can be used again such as metals, cardboard or glass. It reduces the need to produce more material as well as reducing the amount of landfill
Against
expensive to build and maintain to avoid hazardous leakage
public resistance if separately charged
Public collection points can generate litter (inevitable?)
requires public to sort out waste which can be an inconvenience
For
less landfill - less greenhouse gas emissions emmitted - depends on eneegry used to recyle
Organic waste can be composted and sold to enrich soil
sustainable
Doorstep wheelie bin safe
Incineration means burning waste rather than storing it. Incineration does reduce the amount of waste going to landfill however burning requires fuel and produces gases such as greenhouse gases as well as toxic gases which are detrimental to the environment
Against
not all MSW is combustible
carbon dioxide emissions are a greenhouse gas
chimney emissions can be toxic
Particulate emissions require managing
For
Heat steam and ash produced are valuable resources
requires far less land than landfill sites
Produces energy from burning MSW
cost effective once setup
Safe disposal of medical waste
Manila, the phillipines
Major waste disposal issues - 10% recycled waste, Payatas is a landfill site that was officially closed in 2000 but people still live around there and waste pick
Amsterdam, Netherlands
built an AEB waste-to-energy plant that creates 525 GWH per year
The AEB waste to energy si by far the most efficient in the world thanks to technological innovation
Also helped to cut carbon dioxide emissions because it has 3 purposes, waste disposal, electricity generation and heat generation