Category Archives: Recycling

A Guide to Recycling Electronics: Everything You Need to Know

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Did you know that electronic waste (ewaste) is the fastest-growing type of waste in the world? According to the United Nations, ewaste accounted for only 2% of global municipal solid waste in 2009. But this is estimated to grow to 12% by the end of 2022. That represents a lot of old electronics!

If you’re not sure what to do with your old electronics, don’t worry – Atech Recyclers explain everything, from finding an ewaste recycler to what happens to your electronics after recycling. Keep reading for more information!

Guide to Recycling Electronics

What is ewaste, and where does it come from?

Ewaste is short for electronic waste and refers to any electronic device or component that has been discarded and is no longer in use. This can include anything from old smartphones and laptops to TVs and gaming consoles.

Ewaste comes from a variety of sources. Consumers generate ewaste when they upgrade their electronic devices. Businesses create ewaste when they discard old equipment, and even governments contribute when they replace outdated technology systems.

Whatever the source, ewaste poses a significant environmental threat if not handled properly. That’s why it’s important to recycle your old electronics whenever possible!

How do we get rid of ewaste, and why is it a global problem?

Currently, we deal with ewaste in two ways:

  • by recycling ewaste into new products
  • by burning ewaste to extract metals and other materials

Both of these methods have serious drawbacks. Recycling is expensive and can be complicated to do correctly. Burning ewaste creates toxic fumes harmful to both people and the environment. That’s why we need to find better ways to deal with ewaste – and why recycling electronics is critical!

There are a few different ways to recycle electronics. You can take them to a local recycler, send them in for mail-in recycling, or drop them off at an e-cycling event.

Each method has its pros and cons, so it’s imperative to evaluate which recycling methods are effective and convenient. Local recyclers are a great option if you want to recycle a small number of items or if the recycling facility is close by. They can often handle a variety of materials, and many will accept ewaste for free. However, not all local recyclers have the ability to extract metals and other materials from electronics, so do your research first.

Mail-in recycling services are a good option if you have a large number of items to recycle or if the recycling facility is far away. These services usually charge a fee, but they often have a lower environmental impact than local recyclers. Many mail-in recyclers also offer rewards programs that give you money back for recycling ewaste.

Did you know that ewaste is one of the fastest-growing types of waste in the world?

It is a global problem because e-waste contains valuable materials that can be recycled and reused. When e-waste is dumped in landfills, the toxins it releases can leach into the soil and water supplies. Recycling e-waste helps mitigate these risks and keeps these valuable resources from being wasted.

A collaborative global solution needs to be found to prevent ewaste from getting out of control. More and more countries are struggling to deal with the influx of ewaste, and it’s becoming an increasingly pressing issue.

If this trend continues, by the end of 2022 we could be generating more than 52 million metric tonnes of ewaste each year. That’s enough waste to fill about 20 Sydney Opera Houses!

What are the effects of ewaste on the environment and human health?

Environmentally, ewaste can quickly become a problem. Toxic substances like lead, mercury, and arsenic can leach from ewaste into soil and water supplies. This can contaminate the environment and poison plants, animals, and people.

The effects of ewaste on human health are also a cause for concern. Many e-products contain harmful chemicals that can have adverse consequences if they come into contact with skin or are ingested. For example, cadmium is a toxic metal often found in electronics. It’s known to cause cancer, reproductive problems, and damage to the kidneys, lungs, and liver. It’s clear that we need to do something about ewaste – but what can we do?

How can we prevent ewaste from happening in the first place?

First, we need to be more mindful of how much electronic waste we produce. We can start by thinking more about the purchases we make – and only buying what we need.

We can also recycle our e-products properly. Many councils offer ewaste recycling services, so be sure to check with your local council to see if they offer this service. You can also take your ewaste to a recycler.

What are some solutions to the global ewaste crisis?

Various solutions have been tried, such as e-waste bans and e-waste recycling targets, but more needs to be done. Some of the solutions that have been proposed include:

  • Improving e-waste collection and recycling infrastructure globally
  • Developing global standards for e-waste management
  • Encouraging manufacturers to design products that are easier to recycle
  • Promoting sustainable consumption practices

The main issue is the exponential increase in the volume of ewaste, so more concerted and collaborative efforts are needed to address this growing crisis.

Everyone must do what they can

We can all play our part in helping to address the global ewaste crisis. By being more mindful of how much electronic waste we produce, recycling our e-products, and encouraging others to do the same, we can make a difference. Together, we can create a world where electronics are recycled and reused instead of ending up in landfills.

ewaste lifecycle

Ewaste has become a global problem, and it’s time we take action before our landfills overflow. There are several ways in which we can prevent ewaste from occurring in the first place. So try to purchase refurbished goods instead of new ones. Avoid buying products online that need to be shipped across oceans on planes full of plastics. And use green energy sources for charging devices at home and avoid having them plugged into outlets all day long.

Waste Disposal Methods: Perspectives for Africa

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Waste disposal methods vary from city to city, state to state and region to region. It equally depends on the kind and type of waste generated. In determining the disposal method that a city or nation should adopt, some factors like type, kind, quantity, frequency, and forms of waste need to be considered.

For the purpose of this article, we will look at the three common waste disposal methods in Africa and the kind of waste they accept.

Open Dumping/Burning

This is the crudest means of disposing of waste and it is mostly practiced in rural areas, semi-urban settlements, and undeveloped urban areas. For open dumping or open burning, every type and form of waste (including household waste, hazardous wastes, tires, batteries, chemicals) is dumped in an open area within a community or outside different homes in a community and same being set on fire after a number of days or when the waste generator or community feels it should be burnt.

There is no gainsaying that the negative health and environmental impact of such practice are huge only if the propagators know better.

Controlled Dumping

This is apparent in most States in Nigeria, if not all and some cities in Africa like Mozambique, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, to mention but a few. It is a method of disposing of all kinds of waste in a designated area of land by waste collectors and it is usually controlled by the State or City Government.

Controlled dumps are commonly found in urban areas and because they are managed by the government, some dumps do have certain features of a landfill like tenure of usage, basic record keeping, waste covering, etc. Many cities in Nigeria confuse the practice of controlled dumping as landfilling but this not so because a landfill involves engineering design, planning, and operation.

Sanitary Landfill

A sanitary landfill is arguably the most desired waste management option in reducing or eliminating public health hazards and environmental pollution. The landfill is the final disposal site for all forms and types of waste after the recyclable materials must have been separated for other usages and other biodegradables have been extracted from the waste for use as compost, heat, or energy; or after incineration. These extractions can be done at household level or Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) operated by the government or private individuals.

As desirable as a landfill is, so many factors need to be put into consideration in its siting and operation plus it requires a huge investment in construction and operation. Some of these factors include but not limited to distance from the residential area, proximity to water bodies, water-table level of the area the landfill is to be sited, earth material availability, and access road.

Solid Waste Management in Morocco

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Solid waste management is one of the major environmental problems threatening the Kingdom of Morocco. More than 5 million tons of solid waste is generated across the country with annual waste generation growth rate touching 3 percent. The proper disposal of municipal solid waste in Morocco is exemplified by major deficiencies such as lack of proper infrastructure and suitable funding in areas outside of major cities.

solid_waste_morocco

According to the World Bank, it was reported that before a recent reform in 2008 “only 70 percent of urban wastes was collected and less than 10 percent of collected waste was being disposed of in an environmentally and socially acceptable manner. There were 300 uncontrolled dumpsites, and about 3,500 waste-pickers, of which 10 percent were children, were living on and around these open dumpsites.”

It is not uncommon to see trash burning as a means of solid waste disposal in Morocco.  Currently, the municipal waste stream, including hazardous wastes, is disposed of in a reckless and unsustainable manner which has major effects on public health and the environment.  The lack of waste management infrastructure leads to burning of trash as a form of inexpensive waste disposal.  Unfortunately, the major health effects of burning trash are either widely unknown or grossly under-estimated to the vast majority of the population in Morocco.

The good news about the future of Morocco’s MSW management is that the World Bank has allocated $271.3 million to the Moroccan government to develop a municipal waste management plan.  The plan’s details include restoring around 80 landfill sites, improving trash pickup services, and increasing recycling by 20%, all by the year 2020. While this reform is expected to do wonders for the urban population one can only hope the benefits of this reform trickle down to the 43% of the Moroccan population living in rural areas, like those who are living in my village.

Needless to say, even with Morocco’s movement toward a safer and more environmentally friendly MSW management system there is still an enormous population of people including children and the elderly who this reform will overlook.  Until more is done, including funding initiatives and an increase in education, these people will continue to be exposed to hazardous living conditions because of unsuitable funding, infrastructure, policies and education.

The UK’s E-Waste Problem

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There’s no doubt that the UK is in the midst of an electronic waste crisis with more than two thirds of households sitting on old phone chargers, along with other items. A study by OKdo shows exactly how big our e-waste problem is, why it’s an issue and how we can dispose of electronic items safely and responsibly.

Here we’ll take a look at the key findings and help you get clued up on what to do with your old electronic items without adding to the UK’s landfill.

e-waste crisis in united kingdom

The UK produces some of the biggest e-waste

With an average of 23.9kg of e-waste per person, the UK is one of the top e-waste producers in the world. Shockingly, during the first six months of 2021, the country produced an amount of electronic waste equivalent to 15 Eiffel Towers.

Cables seem to be a huge contributing factor with 140 million being stored in homes up and down the country. Not only this, households have up to 60 items of old electronics that are left unused in drawers and cupboards.

Why is there such a big e-waste problem?

The main issue appears to be that people simply don’t know how to recycle their old technology with 38% of people aged 45-54 having never done it and are unsure how to. The younger Millennials are more clued up with 31% knowing how to recycle their e-waste.

With electronic products increasing every year and the demand for more digital technology due to remote working, the problem of electronic waste is only going to get worse. Add to this our culture’s obsession with having the latest gadgets and brand-new phones and smart devices, and it’s not difficult to see we’re heading for a serious landfill and environmental issue.

How can we dispose of e-waste safely?

Donating to charity is one way to dispose of unused tech without clogging up landfill. Charities will often donate such technology to communities where items are needed so you’ll be helping others too.

electrical-waste-uk

There are also many company initiatives and services which encourage the recycling of old items, often rewarding you for doing so in the form of vouchers or money off a new tech device.

Council collections or recycling centres are another option if you’re looking for a local site to take your old items to. It’s worth checking your local council to make sure your device can be recycled.

By raising awareness of the e-waste problem and making sure we know how to recycle our old technology, we can contribute to a safer and greener environment and possibly help other communities along the way.

Risk Management in Industrial Waste Management

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Waste management comes with various risks and potential liabilities for your business. Therefore, it’s vital to consider pollution prevention when implementing waste management strategies. It helps prevent air and land contamination while minimizing organizational risks and liabilities.

Often, the general public, plant managers, and government regulators may not have sufficient knowledge regarding industrial waste management. Every business owner wants to improve their industrial waste management strategies to cut costs and meet regulatory compliance. Therefore, it’s important to understand how the industry works and various ways of dealing with inherent and residual risk.

Risk Management in Industrial Waste Management

Industrial Waste Management

Typically, industrial waste management involves segregation, composting, landfill, and waste recycling. Segregation involves various steps of waste separation to ensure effective disposal. Composting is about industrial waste treatment through biodegradation and land application to improve the organic matter in the soil.

On the other hand, landfill involves burying industrial wastes that are unfit for recycling or composting. However, landfill is not an optimal waste management method since it releases pollutants into the environment. Waste recycling involves repurposing waste materials to lower the amount of waste released into the environment.

Most of the processes use waste management technologies offered by modern waste management facilities. Waste management methods can vary from one firm to another. Ideally, waste characterization is necessary to assess the types and volume of waste produced in your facility to ensure proper management. The process may include various experts like:

  • Engineers with knowledge in waste processes management
  • Quality assurance experts
  • A sampling team

The professionals have high knowledge of inventory, products, and processes within your industry. They can ensure accurate waste characterization and tracking to design the appropriate waste management strategy.

Problems of Industrial Waste

Most industrial wastes pose human and environmental risks since they can contaminate the water, air, and soil when not disposed of properly. While the pollutants have far arching health impacts on the general population, the consequences may be more significant for your employees.

For instance, workers in the Oregon electronics plant were exposed to carcinogenic chemicals that contaminated drinking water in the company. The water had exceedingly high concentrations of hazardous chemicals due to improper disposal methods.

environmental issues in niger delta

Waste disposal regulations were flimsy at that time, and dumping was the preferred method for most industries. However, most companies were oblivious of the adverse effects of dumping industrial wastes. But with proper information about effective waste management procedures, you can avoid dangerous incidents and ensure the safety of your employees.

Pollution Prevention

Pollution prevention is the use of practices, processes, energy, and materials to minimize waste and pollutants and regulate environmental and human health risks. According to the EPA’s industrial waste management guide, the hierarchy of prevention methods is based on preference. Ranked from best to least appropriate, the methods include source reduction, recycling, combustion, waste treatment, and safe release into the environment. Source reduction is the best method, while the least preferred is release into the environment.

The advantages of adopting proper waste management protocols include compliance with pollution regulations, increasing profits, and safeguarding employee wellbeing. For example, automotive companies generate significant amounts of money by recycling their waste materials. Regardless of whether you can recover money from waste products, pollution prevention methods can help your business in multiple ways, including:

  • Cost savings
  • Protecting human health and the environment
  • Enhancing worker safety
  • Positive public image
  • Better product quality
  • Lower liability

You can create a pollution prevention strategy by evaluating your waste disposal processes and looking for areas that need improvement.

Pollution Prevention in Industrial Waste Management

There are three elements that shape the prevention of pollution from waste management. The processes include source reduction, recovery/recycling, and waste treatment.

1. Source Reduction

Source reduction involves eliminating or reducing the volume of waste from your plant. Nevertheless, it’s essential to ensure that your methods won’t increase waste production in other manufacturing line processes. Ideally, manufacturing plants use various strategies for waste reduction to ensure efficient waste management.

  • Technology Modifications and upgrades –you can reduce industrial waste by upgrading your facility’s vital equipment. For instance, paint manufacturers often replace multi-tank cartridge fillers with one tank that empties source tanks to eliminate waste disposal.
  • Redesigning and reformulating raw materials –you can use alternative materials that generate fewer waste products. For example, modern medical device manufacturers replace Lead with non-Leaded materials to manufacture some medical equipment. Additionally, you can consider other ways to rethink your production process to ensure minimal waste production.
  • Ensuring a clean and well-organized production facility –better organization helps in inventory management. You can replace the holding containers with designs that prevent accidental spills when handling hazardous materials.

2. Recycling

Recycling is an effective method in industrial waste management. It can include processes like water recycling, alternative use of reclaimed materials, and optimizing raw material use. You can also join waste material exchange networks like Recycler World.

industrial waste recycling

3. Waste Treatment

While waste treatment is still a useful method, it’s the least preferred for waste prevention. It involves transforming hazardous waste materials into less toxic materials. Waste treatment processes may include chemical, biological, and physical treatment.

Physical treatment alters the physical properties of waste materials without affecting the chemical properties. On the other hand, chemical treatment changes the chemical properties of waste products through a series of chemical reactions. Biological treatment involves exposing industrial waste materials to organisms that break down the waste into simpler components and biomass. The treatment process can either be aerobic or anaerobic.

Waste Management Technologies

Waste management can be an overwhelming undertaking since it involves many processes and numerous regulations. However, a good waste management strategy ensures pollution prevention, thus making the efforts worth your time and resources.

To make sure your waste management processes effectively reduce industrial waste, you can deploy automation tools for seamless tracking. Your company can use various waste management software to streamline the production, storage, transit, treatment, reuse, reporting, and disposal of different wastes.

Conclusion

As the global population increases, the demand for consumables and non-consumable goods rises. And higher manufacturing comes with increased waste production. While it’s inevitable to avoid industrial waste, you can minimize the impacts by ensuring minimal pollution from your business. Since waste management is a multi-stage process, it’s essential to leverage technology to effectively track and manage your industrial waste.

Environmental Benefits of Refurbished Electronics: Facts and Figures

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The technological evolutions in recent times have led to a growing demand for sustainable options. Refurbished electronics like tech gadgets have evolved as the most promising solutions. There is an ever-growing concern about the effects of electronic waste on the environment. The best solution is to buy refurbished or eco-friendly electronics.

The reconditioned or refurbished electronics offer notable cost savings along with reducing the impact of e-waste. About 50 million tons of e-waste find their way to landfills every year. Each of which has led to a catastrophic impact on our ecosystem.

environmental benefits of refurbished electronics

Understanding “Refurbished”

The refurbished devices are primarily pre-owned products that are completely tested and restored, replicating the new working condition. Before reselling, the devices would have a meticulous refurbishment process by the manufacturer or the specialized third-party company.

The whole refurbishment process for the desktops, laptops, smartphones, and other electronics would include the following:

  • Complete testing and inspection of the functions of every component
  • replacement of the defective parts with the re-certified or new elements
  • Removal of every personal information and data wiping from past owners.
  • Cosmetic refurbishment or removing signs of external body damage
  • Re-packing of every accessory and cable required for usage

Consider if you buy refurbished laptops or refurbished desktops, you are getting a thoroughly operational product backed by a warranty. It comes at the most affordable price, less as compared to the retail price.

Saving Money with Refurbished Electronics

Affordability is the other significant reason behind the consumers picking the refurbished products over the new ones. For instance, the refurbished electronics would generally sell at 20 to 50% less than the original retail price. So businesses can easily save big on their IT equipment by buying refurbished devices.

How IT asset management can help the environment

When you choose to buy these refurbished products instead of the new models with similar specifications, then you can save around $100, $200, or $500 at higher costs. These savings would instantly add up even if you have to buy the computers for the whole family or a student joining a college or for your office setup.

Consumers can effectively save money on these refurbished electronics, and knowing the market will equip you with the best options.

Benefits Of Refurbished Products On the Environment

1. Minimizing The Dependency on Plastics and Core Minerals

Electronics that we are using daily need materials like silicon, gold, lithium, silver, and several other materials. It may use the rare earth elements that get mined from the earth’s core. A few of the materials are under short supply, like cobalt, which is estimated to have 40 years of supply left. Irrespective, mining these materials has a serious adverse impact on the environment.

Additionally, manufacturing computers, smartphones, and other electronics utilizes massive amounts of plastics that get mixed with the chemicals that are partially recycled.

Considering buying refurbished desktop will reuse the parts that are already manufactured, thereby minimizing the requirement for additional plastics and other core minerals.

2. Minimizing Carbon Footprint

Along with polluting the environment and adding enormous waste to our landfills, the manufacturing of the new electronics would utilize a lot of energy. For example, it is noted that 90% of the entire energy impact of smartphones arrives from their manufacturing and distribution process. A notable amount of energy gets consumed just to get the device on the store shelf.

The refurbished computers and other devices reuse the old parts, which would reduce the consumption of energy required for manufacturing the new ones. Due to this, the carbon footprint of the devices is low.

Benefits of Digital Technologies in Waste Management

 

 

3. Creates Less E-Waste

The old electronics are a huge source of global waste. Recently, less than 20% of the e-waste gets recycled every year, while the rest ends up in landfills.

Purchasing refurbished products aids in reducing e-waste by keeping these old electronics out of landfills. Whenever computers and other electronic devices get refurbished, they get repaired to meet the standards of the manufacturer and get reconditioned like the new ones. It would add to the lifespan of the old electronics.

4. Creates Less Air and Water Pollution

Mining the core minerals generates a notable amount of water pollution. The process of manufacturing would send a lot of pollution into the water and air. Additionally, the elements used for making these electronics are toxic, leading to soil and water pollution whenever they stand at a landfill.

The refurbished electronics use recycled parts that are installed manually. It generates less pollution compared to the manufacturing of new ones while sending the old equipment out to the landfill.

Conclusion

If you are out shopping for electronic devices, then opt for the refurbished ones. You can reduce the environmental impacts and conserve natural resources by extending the usable life of the electronics. A greater number of consumers today are shifting their focus to buying eco-friendly electronics. These are the best ways to upgrade the tech and help in better sustainable actions.

Circular Economy: Past, Present and Future

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For a society accustomed to the achievements of a linear economy, the transition to a circular economic system is a hard task even to contemplate. Although the changes needed may seem daunting, it is important to remember that we have already come a long way. However, the history of the waste hierarchy has taught that political perseverance and unity of approach are essential to achieving long term visions in supply chain management.

Looking back, it is helpful to view the significance of the Lansink’s Ladder in the light of the sustainability gains it has already instigated. From the outset, the Ladder encountered criticism, in part because the intuitive preference order it expresses is not (and has never been put forward as) scientifically rigorous. Opposition came from those who feared the hierarchy would impede economic growth and clash with an increasingly consumerist society. The business community expressed concerns about regulatory burdens and the cost of implementing change.

Circular-Economy

However, such criticism was not able to shake political support, either in Holland where the Ladder was adopted in the Dutch Environmental Protection Act of 1979, or subsequently across Europe, as the Waste Hierarchy was transposed into national legislation as a result of the revised Waste Framework Directive.

Prevention, reuse and recycling have become widely used words as awareness has increased that our industrial societies will eventually suffer a shortage of raw materials and energy. So, should we see the waste hierarchy as laying the first slabs of the long road to a circular economy? Or is the circular economy a radical new departure?

Positive and negative thinking

There have been two major transitionary periods in waste management: public health was the primary driver for the first, from roughly 1900 to 1960, in which waste removal was formalised as a means to avoid disease. The second gained momentum in the 1980s, when prevention, reuse and recovery came on the agenda. However, consolidation of the second transition has in turn revealed new drivers for a third. Although analysing drivers is always tricky – requiring a thorough study of causes and effects – a general indication is helpful for further discussion. Positive (+) and negative (-) drivers for a third transition may be:

(+) The development of material supply chain management through the combination of waste hierarchy thinking with cradle to cradle eco design;

(+) The need for sustainable energy solutions;

(+) Scarcity of raw materials necessary for technological innovation; and

(+) Progressive development of circular economy models, with increasing awareness of social, financial and economic barriers.

(-) Growth of the global economy, especially in China and India, and later in Africa;

(-) Continued growth in global travel;

(-) Rising energy demand, exceeding what can be produced from renewable energy sources and threatening further global warming;

(-) Biodiversity loss, causing a further ecological impoverishment; and

(-) Conservation of the principle of ownership, which hinders the development of the so-called ‘lease society’. 

A clear steer

As the direction, scale and weight of these drivers are difficult to assess, it’s necessary to steer developments at all levels to a sustainable solution. The second transition taught that governmental control appears indispensable, and that regulation stimulates innovation so long as adequate space is left for industry and producers to develop their own means of satisfying their legislated responsibilities.

The European Waste Framework Directive has been one such stimulatory piece of legislation. Unfortunately, the EC has decided to withdraw its Circular Economy package, which would otherwise now be on track to deliver the additional innovation needed to achieve its goals – including higher recycling targets. Messrs. Juncker and Timmermans must now either bring forward the more ambitious legislation they have hinted at, or explain why they have abandoned the serious proposals of their predecessors.

Perhaps the major differences between Member States and other countries may require a preliminary two-speed policy, but any differences in timetable between Western Europe and other countries should not stand in the way of innovation, and differences of opinion between the European Parliament and the Commission must be removed for Europe to remain credible.

Governmental control requires clear rules and definitions, and for legislative terminology to be commensurate with policy objectives. One failing in this area is the use of the generic term ‘recovery’ to cover product reuse, recycling and incineration with energy recovery, which confuses the hierarchy’s preference order. The granting of R1 status to waste incineration plants, although understandable in terms of energy diversification, turns waste processors into energy producers benefiting from full ovens. Feeding these plants reduces the scope for recycling (e.g. plastics) and increases CO2 emissions. When relatively inefficient incinerators still appear to qualify for R1 status, it offers confusing policy signals for governments, investors and waste services providers alike.

The key role for government also is to set clear targets and create the space for producers and consumers to generate workable solutions. The waste hierarchy’s preference order is best served by transparent minimum standards, grouped around product reuse, material recycling or disposal by combustion. For designated product or material categories, multiple minimum standards are possible following preparation of the initial waste streams, which can be tightened as technological developments allow.

Where the rubber meets the road

As waste markets increase in scale, are liberalised, and come under international regulation, individual governmental control is diminished. These factors are currently playing out in the erratic prices of secondary commodities and the development of excess incinerator capacity in some nations that has brought about a rise in RDF exports from the UK and Italy. Governments, however, may make a virtue of the necessity of avoiding the minutiae: ecological policy is by definition long-term and requires a stable line; day to day control is an impossible and undesirable task.

The road to the third transition – towards a circular economy – requires a new mind-set from government that acknowledges and empowers individuals. Not only must we approach the issue from the bottom-up, but also from the side and above. Consumer behaviour must be steered by both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ controls: through information and communication, because of the importance of psychological factors; but also through financial instruments, because both consumers and industry are clearly responsive to such stimuli.

Where we see opposition to deposit return schemes, it comes not from consumers but from industry, which fears the administrative and logistical burden. The business community must be convinced of the economic opportunities of innovation. Material supply chain management is a challenge for designers and producers, who nevertheless appreciate the benefits of product lifetime extensions and reuse. When attention to environmental risks seems to lapse – for example due to financial pressures or market failures – then politics must intervene.

Government and industry should therefore get a better grip on the under-developed positive drivers of the third transition, such as eco design, secondary materials policy, sustainable energy policy, and research and development in the areas of bio, info, and nanotechnologies. 

Third time’s the charm

Good supply chain management stands or falls with the way in which producers and consumers contribute to the policies supported by government and society. In order that producers and consumers make good on this responsibility, government must first support their environmental awareness.

The interpretation of municipal duty of care determines options for waste collection, disposal and processing. Also essential is the way in which producer responsibility takes shape, and the government must provide a clear separation of private and public duties. Businesses may be liable for the negative aspects of unbridled growth and irresponsible actions. It is also important for optimal interaction with the European legislators: a worthy entry in Brussels is valuable because of the international aspects of the third transition. Finally, supply chain management involves the use of various policy tools, including:

  • Rewarding good behaviour
  • Sharpening minimum standards
  • Development and certification of CO2 tools
  • Formulation and implementation of end-of-waste criteria
  • Remediation of waste incineration with low energy efficiency
  • Restoration or maintenance of a fair landfill tax
  • Application of the combustion load set at zero

‘Seeing is believing’ is the motto of followers of the Apostle Thomas, who is chiefly remembered for his propensity for doubt. The call for visible examples is heard ever louder as more questions are raised around the feasibility of product renewal and the possibilities of a circular economy.

Ultimately, the third transition is inevitable as we face a future of scarcity of raw materials and energy. However, while the direction is clear, the tools to be employed and the speed of change remain uncertain. Disasters are unnecessary to allow the realisation of vital changes; huge leaps forward are possible so long as government – both national and international – and society rigorously follow the preference order of the waste hierarchy. Climbing Lansink’s Ladder remains vital to attaining a perspective from which we might judge the ways in which to make a circle of our linear economy.

Note: The article is being republished with the permission of our collaborative partner Isonomia. The original article can be found at this link.

Waste Management in Peshawar

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Peshawar is among the biggest cities in Pakistan with estimated population of 4 million inhabitants. Like most of the cities in Pakistan, solid waste management is a big challenge in Peshawar as the city generate 600-700 tons of municipal waste every day, with per capita generation of about 0.3 to 0.4 kg per day. Major part of the Peshawar population belongs to low and middle income area and based upon this fact, waste generation rate per capita varies in different parts of the city.

peshawar

Municipal solid waste collection and disposal services in the city are poor as approximately 60 per cent of the solid wastes remain at collection points, or in streets, where it emits a host of pollutants into the air, making it unacceptable for breathing. A significant fraction of the waste is dumped in an old kiln depression around the southern side of the city where scavengers, mainly comprising young children, manually sort out recyclable materials such as iron, paper, plastics, old clothes etc.

Peshawar has 4 towns and 84 union councils (UCs). Solid waste management is one of their functions. Now city government has planned to build a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), Composting Plant and possibly a Waste to Energy Power Plant which would be a land mark of Peshawar city administration.

The UCs are responsible for door to door collection of domestic waste and a common shifting practice with the help of hand carts to a central pick-up points in the jurisdiction of each UC. Town Council is responsible for collection and transporting the mixed solid waste to the specified dumps which ends up at unspecified depressions, agricultural land and roadside dumps.

Open dumping of municipal wastes is widely practiced in Peshawar

Presently, there are two sites namely Hazar Khwani and Lundi Akhune Ahmed which are being used for the purpose of open dumping. Waste scavenging is a major activity of thousands of people in the city. An alarming and dangerous practice is the burning of the solid waste in open dumps by scavengers to obtain recyclables like plastics, glass and metals.

Almost 50 percent of recyclables are scavenged at transfer stations from the waste reaching at such points. The recyclable ratio that remains in the house varies and cannot be recovered by the authorities unless it is bought directly from the households. Only the part of recyclables reaching a certain bin or secondary transfer station can be exploited.

In some areas of city where waste is transported by private companies from transfer points to the disposal site out study found that scavengers could only get about 35% of the recyclables from the waste at transfer station.

Considering the above fact, it can be inferred that in case municipality introduces efficient waste transfer system in the city, the amount of recyclables reaching the disposal facility may increase by 30% of the current amount. In case house-to-house collection is introduced the municipality will be able to take hold of 90% of the recyclables in the waste stream being generated from a household.

Waste Management Outlook for India

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Waste management crisis in India should be approached holistically; while planning for long term solutions, focus on addressing the immediate problems should be maintained. National and local governments should work with their partners to promote source separation, achieve higher percentages of recycling and produce high quality compost from organics. While this is being achieved and recycling is increased, provisions should be made to handle the non-recyclable wastes that are being generated and will continue to be generated in the future.

Recycling, composting and waste-to-energy are all integral parts of the waste disposal solution and they are complementary to each other; none of them can solve India’s waste crisis alone. Any technology should be considered as a means to address public priorities, but not as an end goal in itself. Finally, discussion on waste management should consider what technology can be used, to what extent in solving the bigger problem and within what timeframe.

Experts believe India will have more than nine waste-to-energy projects in different cities across India in the next three years, which will help alleviate the situation to a great extent. However, since waste-to-energy projects are designed to replace landfills, they also tend to displace informal settlements on the landfills. Here, governments should welcome discussions with local communities and harbor the informal recycling community by integrating it into the overall waste management system to make sure they do not lose their rights for the rest of the city’s residents.

This is important from a utilitarian perspective too, because in case of emergency situations like those in Bengaluru, Kerala, and elsewhere, the informal recycling community might be the only existing tool to mitigate damage due to improper waste management as opposed to infrastructure projects which take more than one year for completion and public awareness programs which take decades to show significant results.

Involvement of informal recycling community is vital for the success of any SWM program in India

Indian policy makers and municipal officials should utilize this opportunity, created by improper waste management examples across India, to make adjustments to the existing MSW Rules 2000, and design a concrete national policy based on public needs and backed by science. If this chance passes without a strong national framework to improve waste management, the conditions in today’s New Delhi, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore and Srinagar will arise in many more cities as various forcing factors converge. This is what will lead to a solid waste management crisis affecting large populations of urban Indians.

The Indian Judiciary proved to be the most effective platform for the public to influence government action. The majority of local and national government activity towards improving municipal solid waste management is the result of direct public action, funneled through High Courts in each state, and the Supreme Court. In a recent case (Nov 2012), a slew of PILs led the High Court of Karnataka to threaten to supersede its state capital Bengaluru’s elected municipal council, and its dissolution, if it hinders efforts to improve waste management in the city.

In another case in the state of Haryana, two senior officials in its urban development board faced prosecution in its High Court for dumping waste illegally near suburbs. India’s strong and independent judiciary is expected to play an increasing role in waste management in the future, but it cannot bring about the required change without the aid of a comprehensive national policy.

Why it is Important to Recycle Used Filters and Oil

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Illegally or inappropriately disposed of used motor oil can have a grievous impact on the environment. Studies conducted indicate that a single gallon of used oil can pollute up to a million gallons of water. Used oil filters are made of steel which means they can be recycled. In some developed countries, they are the most recycled materials and dumping them in landfills is illegal in other countries, while some have stringent laws that define how they should be disposed of.

Regulatory organizations such as the environmental protection agency reiterate that used oil filters should only be recycled or disposed of once all the free flowing oil has been drained. Presently, oil filters manufactured in the United States are not subject to dangerous waste regulation provided the filter is:

  • Hot drained then crushed
  • Broken through the anti drain valve or the dome and hot drained
  • Hot drained then dismantled

Hot draining is the process of draining the oil filter near or at engine operating temperature above 60ºF. Basically, the filter is either crushed or punctured while still warm in order to clear any surplus oil. The environmental protection agency recommends hot draining for up to 12 hours.

While lubricating oil hardly wears out, it gets dirty. Foreign bodies such as chemicals, water, dirt or even metal scrapings can mix with it and lower its performance capability. Contaminated oil should be replaced either with re-refined or virgin oil in order to execute its job appropriately.

The contaminated oil can be taken through used oil recycling procedures with studies indicating that approximately 380 million gallons of contaminated oil are recycled annually. Recycled oil is often taken through immense re-refining to eliminate all the impurities in order to produce pure oil.

The end product referred to as re-refined oil should fit similar rigorous compounding, refining, and performance principles as pure motor oil. Re-refining is an environmentally and energy valuable method of managing used motor oil. Producing a gallon or re-refined base stock requires less energy that producing crude oil base stock.

Advantages of Recycling Used Filters and Oil

Oil re-refining helps reduce heavy metal emissions and greenhouse gases as opposed to combusting it as fuel. Re-refining is an ideal way of managing used motor oil, it is environmentally friendly, and converts used oil into a renewable resource. Re-refining used motor oil reduces a nation’s reliance on foreign crude oil.

Used motor oil filters contain oil at the time of disposal. Having the ideal recycling company recover them ensures that the oil is recovered and re-refined. This also helps safeguard landfill space.

Collection of Materials

The manufacturers of oil tanks and filters are responsible for the materials. Many times, they provide big containers for disposing of the used filters especially in large volume shops. Recycling companies however can provide bins or drums for used filters while the shops provide waste oil storage facilities.

While used oil tanks will not be replaced when service providers are changed, shop managers must analyze the state of their used oil storage facilities to rule out spillage or loss when oil is transferred to an oil truck.

If need be, many recycling companies can also provide storage facilities. Used oil filters do not necessarily have to be crushed or drained before being recycled provided they are kept in a bin or drum.

What Next?

Oil filters are broken down into small fragments while the metals are removed and sold as scrap. Eventually, they are used to manufacture various products such as manhole covers and rebar. The contaminated oil is sold recycling companies. A huge percentage of the used oil is refined, drained, and used as an energy alternative to natural gas while the remaining percent is processed into hydraulic oil.

Finally

Used oil can be detrimental to water bodies and the environment in general. Companies should incorporate stringent recycling strategies for both used oil and filters to protect the environment and conserve space in landfills.