1. Contemporary sustainability
issues in urban areas
Waste Management

2. Waste management and recycling in
cities
• To ensure sustainability cities must manage
waste efficiently
• The aim of waste management is to extract
the maximum practical benefits from products
and to generate the minimum amount of
waste
• The waste hierarchy is the cornerstone of
most waste minimisation strategies

3. Waste management hierarchy
The concept lays out the order in which options for waste management should be
considered preferable in terms of their environmental impact.

4. Political aspects of waste management
• EU and UK governments produce targets for
local authorities to reduce waste in landfill
• Local authorities must increase the amount of
waste recycled
• Fines are given if targets are not met
– Some local authorities have considered fining
households for throwing away waste more than
average and rewarding those who throw away less
than average
– However the press produced a large campaign
against this and it has diminished

5. Management strategies
• Strategies vary between regions because of
different waste types, amounts, area available
and land uses
• In London alone there are differences in the
amount of waste recycled

6. WASTE MANAGEMENT METHODS

7. Disposal
• Disposing in landfill involves burying waste
• Most established in disused quarries or mines
– If well managed landfill is inexpensive and relatively
hygienic
– If badly managed landfill can create adverse
environmental impacts
• Vermin, wind blown litter and leaching
• By- products e.g. methane gas and carbon dioxide
• Modern landfill sites include methods to
minimise the negative effects of the waste

8. Incineration
• Combustion of waste material
– Convert waste into heat, gas and ash
• Burn waste in a furnace
• Practical method of hazardous waste disposal
– Biological medical waste
• Controversial
– Gaseous pollutants

9. Recycling methods
• Process of extracting value or products from
waste = recycling
– Recover/ reuse material
• The raw materials may be extracted and
reprocessed or the energy may be converted
to electricity

10. Physical reprocessing
• Developed countries recycling = collection and
reuse of waste materials
– Sorted and raw materials are reprocessed into new
products
• Recycling materials may be collected at different
times to normal waste using dedicated collection
vehicles
• Products that are recycled include:
– Aluminium cans, steel tins, plastic bottles, glass
bottles etc.
• Composed of one material = easily recycled
• Recycling of more complex products is more time consuming
and difficult

11. Biological reprocessing
• Organic waste e.g. plant material can be
composted
– Resultant material can then be recycled as mulch
• Waste gas from the process captured
– Generate electricity
• Variety of composting methods
– Compost heaps to industrial scale enclosed vessel
digestion of domestic waste

12. Energy recovery
• Energy content of waste harnessed directly
– Direct combustion fuels
– Indirect processing into another fuel

13. WASTE REDUCTION METHODS

14. Reduction
• Reuse second hand products
• Repair broken items
• Designing refillable items and items which use
less material

15. DEFRA
• Set targets for local authorities
– Encourage them to reduce landfill and increase
recycling rates