Recycling Industrial Waste
Many steps have been taken over the past few decades to promote recycling industrial and urban waste globally (the Viennese waste management system - 1985, and the Conventional Solid Waste Management program in Peru, which started in 1990). However, the results and achievements of these efforts pale in comparison to the waste and residue which is still being disposed in an irresponsible and harmful manner worldwide.
Harmful disposal of industrial and urban residue triggers an ecological chain reaction – the extent of which is not yet known. Toxic gases emitted from massive landfills harm civilian health and wildlife, while the landfills themselves take up thousands of square kilometers of earth – land which could be cultivated agriculturally or urbanized. Another popular solution is waste incineration. This too is a controversially debated issue, with many arguments against. While the emission of the gaseous toxins furan and dioxin, which are produced in the incineration process, has been significantly decreased over the past decade, there are still many health concerns- especially during start up and shut down events, or where filter bypass events are required. In addition, recycling activists argue that waste incineration comes as an 'easy way out' of reusing garbage in a constructive manner, and that it acts as a barrier to the issue of recycling.
One aspect of industrial waste which is extremely politically charged as well as environmentally crucial is the handling of nuclear waste. Radioactive waste is produced by non-nuclear industries as well as nuclear industries, and poses a threat to global wildlife and human health due to its soil and plant infiltration in contaminated sites. Varied attempts have been made by different organizations (The International Atomic Energy Agency, Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, World Health Organization) to purify contaminated sites and to find long term solutions for the disposal of this waste, but there are still many controversies surrounding the matter.
In addition to health concerns, there have been many illegal dumpings of nuclear waste worldwide, in which corporations moved their waste to an unauthorized region in order to dodge legal responsibility.
In spite of all these dilemmas, many researchers claim there may be a solution to radioactive waste in which it can be partly reused to power other industries, but this isn't cost effective and doesn't receive governmental backing.
In order to stabilize urban and wild surroundings, it is vital to maintain clear guidelines and regulations regarding the conveyance and treatment of waste. It is also crucial to introduce this as a relevant issue in educational faculties worldwide.
Helpful Sites:
http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/Statistics.htm
http://www.sbg.ac.at/ipk/avstudio/pierofun/waste/residual.htm
http://www.imp.mtu.edu/sldwaste/sldwaste.html
http://www.texasep.org/html/wst/wst_1msw.html
http://www.em.doe.gov/pages/emhome.aspx
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1282_prn/t1282_part1.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/oct/09/italy.nuclearpower
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