A waste management system is the strategy an organization uses to dispose, reduce, reuse, and prevent waste. Possible waste disposal methods are recycling, composting, incineration, landfills, bioremediation, waste to energy, and waste minimization.
Waste Disposal Methods
There are multiple waste management strategies and methods available. These strategies can be combined or rearranged to form a waste management system that fits an organization. Modern waste management strategies are geared towards sustainability. Other alternatives for waste management is to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.
Also known as physical reprocessing, recycling is ideal for the disposal of inorganic waste such as plastic, glass, and metals. Though organic waste such as paper and food can also be recycled, composting would be a better waste disposal method as it converts organic waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer.
Waste to energy or WtE, on the other hand, is the conversion of non-recyclable waste into heat, electricity, or fuel using renewable energy sources such as anaerobic digestion and plasma gasification.
Anaerobic digestion is the biological reprocessing of animal manure and human excreta into methane-rich biogas. Plasma gasification uses a plasma-filled vessel operating at high temperatures and low levels of oxygen to transform hazardous waste into syngas. Another option for disposing of hazardous waste is bioremediation, the treatment of contaminants, toxins, and pollutants through micro-organisms.
Read more: Waste Management System: A Guide
