The disposal of waste in a society such as ours, also called “consumer society ", is among the most serious problems to solve. Not only because it causes environmental pollution (the storage of waste can be harmful to the soils and their destruction by incineration can cause polluting emissions), but also because of the waste of new materials and the energy needed to produce them.
Waste disposal can take place in different ways depending on their characteristics. Waste can be disposed of in landfills ; burned in incinerators (also called “ waste-to-energy plants ”, because they produce energy from the combustion of waste); treated in composting or other specialized plants; recycled for a new or different use.
Waste disposal in landfills
The landfills are the most economical disposal system.
About five sixths of the garbage collected in United Kingdom still ends up in open landfills, now completely full.
Today, landfills are controlled installations. They are in fact equipped with both waterproofing systems (which protect the soil and groundwater from pollution) and systems that recover the gas produced by the fermentation of waste.
Despite this, land filling remains the worst solution. It is the worst solution because it represents, first of all, a great waste of materials and energy and secondly because the landfills (in the management of which infiltrations of criminal organizations have often been found ) occupy large spaces, and it is increasingly difficult to find suitable places in which to place them. .
Waste disposal at incinerators
The waste can also be taken to the few functioning incinerators (many have been closed because they did not respect the environment by emitting poisonous fumes). In this case the waste is incinerated in special ovens, recovering the heat to produce the steam that will run a turbine, or for heating purposes.
These plants, called waste- to- energy plants , to function well, must treat waste with a high calorific value, i.e. those that produce a lot of heat when they burn, such as paper, wood and plastic, but not organic waste (for example food waste ). Furthermore, they must have adequate fume purification systems.
Talking about waste incineration plants still causes concern today. The danger of the pollutants produced by incinerators is however confirmed by numerous medical studies. The pollutants produced by a modern plant are in fact not eliminated by the purification tools, but simply transferred from the air to the ground with the slag and ashes. To all this must be added the production of carbon dioxide, which is decisive for the increase of the greenhouse effect .
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The proponents of incineration, on the other hand, argue that this is a convenient method for disposing of waste, because it allows the production of electricity from materials that thus regain some value.
Recycle waste
From an ecological point of view, recycling, or the process of transforming waste into reusable materials, is the most advantageous alternative to conventional waste disposal systems. In fact, recycling has numerous advantages:
- the reduction of the extraction of non-renewable resources , such as metals and fossil sources of energy (coal, oil, methane);
- reducing the exploitation of renewable resources , such as wood to make paper;
- The reduction of energy consumption. The energy required for the recycling of a metal is in fact much lower than that required to extract the same metal from its minerals;
- reduction of atmospheric emissions of substances responsible for the greenhouse effect , such as carbon dioxide;
- The reduction of water consumption linked to production processes.
Finally, in recent years, an ecological awareness of respect for the environment has begun to develop in public opinion (read How to protect the environment from degradation ) which has convinced citizens of the need to collect waste wisely, dividing it according to their nature (paper, glass, cans, etc.): separate collection is the first essential step for their recycling.
In United Kingdom, various laws oblige the Regions to favor separate waste collection and require municipalities to set up a service for the separate collection and disposal of batteries and batteries, medicines, toxic and flammable products, paper, glass, aluminum and plastic.
Composting plants
Waste disposal can also be done in composting plants. Composting concerns waste of organic substances:
- household products, such as kitchen waste;
- Products that come from markets and food shops, restaurants, canteens, etc .;
- plant material (cut grass, leaves ...) that derives from the maintenance of public and private parks and gardens (green waste fraction);
- Sludge from sewage treatment plants.
These organic substances, sent to landfills, contribute significantly to the formation of biogas (especially methane), which must be burned in order not to cause unpleasant odors. It also produces very polluting waters, which form at the bottom of landfills: this is why landfills must be lined with waterproof material! If sent to incinerators, the organic material, which is very wet, burns poorly and increases the amount of energy required for combustion.
The best solution for organic substances therefore consists in a separate collection to produce an organic fertilizer called compost.
The organic waste sent to the composting plants is shredded, mixed and arranged in piles 2 or 3 meters high, which are then turned over and aerated regularly.
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During the composting process, microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) decompose the waste, as occurs in nature. After a period of 3-5 months you get a product, the compost. This can be used in the preparation of soils for pot or nursery cultures, or spread as fertilizer on the soil.
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