| Many governments, towns and communities | | | | The most important reasons to separate waste at |
| throughout the Western world are making new rules | | | | the source are: |
| concerning the treatment of Municipal Solid waste | | | | - The difficulty to find sites for new landfills and the |
| (MSW). New concepts of waste management are | | | | negative attitude of the public towards landfilling and |
| needed in which the idea of recycling is of major | | | | incinerating. |
| importance. | | | | - Source separation improves the quality of the |
| Incineration will be used for the easily burnable | | | | products which will have to be recycled. The fact |
| fraction of what cannot be recycled, and for some | | | | that the organic fraction is separated from the |
| kinds of hazardous wastes such as hospital waste, | | | | inorganic fraction means that the organic fraction will |
| while the left over will be disposed of in sanitary | | | | have a low concentration of heavy metals and will be |
| MSW landfills. | | | | free of metals, glass and stones, while the inorganic |
| The recycling of products is best done at source by | | | | fraction will be drier and less dirty. |
| the public when they put their waste out for | | | | The degree of recycling which can be achieved |
| collection and this is called source separation. | | | | depends of the system used for source separation |
| However, if the waste is mixed up when collected it | | | | but it is the highest if the separated waste is picked |
| can still be separated again by mechanical separation | | | | up at the houses in separate containers. |
| plants or by hand picking using human labour and a | | | | A high percentage of recycling can only be achieved |
| conveyor. | | | | though by recycling the organic fraction of MSW |
| The plants in which the separation of mixed wastes | | | | whereby anaerobic techniques such as the anaerobic |
| is carried out are usually called Mechanical Bioligical | | | | digestion process are very promising since they not |
| Treatment Plants, or MBTs. These plants cost a lot | | | | only produce a humus-like residue, comparable to the |
| to build, are expensive to run. They also use a lot of | | | | compost produced in aerobic conversion techniques, |
| power which reduces the value of recycling by | | | | but also a form of energy, biogas, which can be |
| expending non-renewable energy in the process. | | | | easily upgraded to several forms of valuable energy. |
| The last decade has seen source separation | | | | So, by source separating your waste you can make |
| introduced in many countries, especially in Scandinavia, | | | | a difference - especially if there is an Anaerobic |
| Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and | | | | digestor in your area. |
| Canada. Now, more recently source separation is | | | | Why not find out more about waste technologies, |
| being implemented in the United Kingdom and the | | | | and encourage your friends to recycle. Your children |
| rest of Europe now that European Waste | | | | and later generations will benefit - don't they deserve |
| Regulations require so much of the MSW produced | | | | the same opportunities you had? |
| not to be landfilled. | | | | |