| Each year in the UK alone, 22.5 million tonnes of | | | | prevent it damaging the environment but also it can |
| waste is thrown in rubbish bins or waste bins around | | | | be used as a method of creating energy. |
| the home and office. All this waste has to be | | | | And while it is true that landfills can cause pollutants |
| managed and waste management is of vital | | | | to enter the water table. Land fills can be covered |
| importance to ensure we are not all knee-deep in | | | | over once used and the land can be converted into |
| rubbish. | | | | nature parks which can offset any damage the |
| Waste management is becoming increasingly more | | | | original land fill had on the environment. |
| important as government’s across the globe are | | | | Recycling: recycling is not just done at home by |
| trying to reduce the impact of waste on the | | | | separating our rubbish by using a recycling bin. Much |
| environment. But what happens to all that rubbish | | | | of what ends up in our conventional waste bin is now |
| that ends up in our waste bins and wheelie bins? | | | | being recycled by waste management teams. And |
| There are only really three methods for disposing of | | | | while recycling is obviously good for the environment, |
| waste that we throw into our rubbish bins: | | | | there are detrimental effects too. Some of our |
| Landfill | | | | waste is exported abroad in vast quantities to be |
| Recycling | | | | recycled but this can have harmful effects due to |
| Incineration | | | | the carbon costs of transportation and the damage |
| And there are advantages and disadvantages in each | | | | to local environment where the rubbish ends up, as |
| method of waste management. | | | | often these are developing nations that have less |
| Landfills: land fills are either holes in the ground that | | | | stringent environmental rules. |
| are naturally forged such as canyons or ravines; holes | | | | Incineration: Incineration is perhaps the most |
| forged by former industrial processes like mines or | | | | environmentally unfriendly method of getting rid of |
| quarries; or just mounds where rubbish we place in | | | | the rubbish in our waste bins. Unfortunately, there |
| our waste bins piles up. | | | | are many nations that are forced to incinerate a lot |
| Land fills are not necessarily detrimental to the | | | | of rubbish due to constraints in land space. The only |
| environment. While they do create greenhouse gases | | | | alternative is to ship the rubbish abroad which is not |
| such as methane, this is actually offering potential | | | | only financially costly but also has environmental costs |
| benefits as not only can the methane be captured to | | | | too. |