Comprehensive Waste Management
Under the pollution control perspective, waste is regarded as an undesirable by-product of the production process which is to be contained so as to ensure that soil, water and air resources are not contaminated beyond levels deemed to be acceptable. Lucien Maystre provides an overview of the issues that must be addressed in managing waste, providing a conceptual link to the increasingly important roles of recycling and pollution prevention.
In response to extensive evidence of the serious contamination associated with unrestricted management of waste, governments have established standards for acceptable practices for collection, handling and disposal to ensure environmental protection. Particular attention has been paid to the criteria for environmentally safe disposal through sanitary landfills, incineration and hazardous-waste treatment.
To avoid the potential environmental burden and costs associated with the disposal of waste and promote a more thorough stewardship of scarce resources, waste minimization and recycling have received growing attention. Niels Hahn and PoulLauridsen provide a summary of the issues that are addressed in pursuing recycling as a preferred waste management strategy, and consider the potential worker exposure implications of this.