The Earth is never going to get any bigger but the population is still increasing. Every one of us produces vast amounts of waste everyday. This waste has to go somewhere and at the moment lots of rubbish is being buried in the ground. These places are called landfill sites and they are huge, smelly and dangerous. We need to stop producing so much waste.

What materials can you recycle?

How can we reduce the amount of waste we produce?

 

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of waste materials. The disposal of waste in landfill usually occurs in abandoned quarries, mines or borrows pits. If it is poorly done then litter, vermin and liquids can leach out of the land. The other main concern is the production of gases such as methane and carbon dioxide which can kill vegetation and are also greenhouse gases.

Incineration involves burning waste especially medical to produce heat, gas steam and ash. The biggest draw back is the pollutants that are produced. Many counties are now trying to reduce the waste going to the able to site by recycling. Recycling at present includes glass, paper, some plastics, metals and even clothing. Food and garden waste can be broken down using biological digesters to produce composts that can be returned to our environment. One of the best ways to reduce waste is not to produce as much in the first place. For example plastic bags are found in bins in their millions every year. Supermarkets are now encouraging people to reuse them and to bring their own bags when shopping. As a society we need to re-educate people to think about the waste that we are producing.

Grouping and changing materials