Solid waste
The terms solid waste can be defined as garbage material that arises from animal and human activities that generate waste that is discarded as unwanted. Solid waste is always generated from industries, residences as well as commercials areas. This waste may be handled and categorized in different ways. The waste can be categorized based on the materials that make up the waste such as plastics, glass and organic waste. The categorization may be based on the level of hazardousness. The categories may also pertain to the classification of the waste, whether this waste is industrial, domestic or from commercial institutions or even demolition of construction.
The hazardous waste we defined as the waste which is substantial and potential threats to the life of the people living in a specific environment. These are materials which are known and tested and have exhibited one or more hazardous traits. Hazardous waste is flammable, corrosive and explosive (Blackman, 2016). A good example of such waste includes any toxic materials that can have a serious effect on the environment.
The issue if biomedical waste is one that has gained greater significance in recent years. Biomedical waste is defined as waste that is generated during the treatment of animals and human beings. This is waste that is always generated during various research activities. Biomedical waste is produced in large quantities by hospitals. This waste can cause infection, and during decomposition can produce toxins.
Electronic waste is composed of electric or electronic devices. These materials can be refurbished, reused and salvaged through the process of waste recovery. Electronic devices can become waste when they have exhausted their utility value and this can happen through the process of redundancy, replacement or even what is called breakage. In simple terms, these are materials or wastes that are considered obsolete electronics. They contain very heavy and precious metals or only 20% of the material can be recovered. Many countries including the United States do not have any regulations on how to handle such waste.
Radioactive waste is defined as the by-product of various nuclear technological products and process. They are materials which are released by industries dealing with radioactive materials and they include nuclear research and power. Modern nuclear shows over 96% of the fuels spend is recycled into what is called uranium (LaGrega & Evans, 2010). The radioactivity of the remaining 4% decreases over time. This means that it has to be isolated and confined in appropriate disposal facilities until it degrades completely.
Waste reduction can be defined as minimizing the generation and this is the practice of using less to bring down the amount of waste that is being generated in the environment. Waste reduction also includes activities of recycling and material recovery that reduce the end amount of material lost.
The product lifecycle management is defined as how goods are handled as they move through what is known as the typical stage of its product life. There are four major stages that a product goes through: the first stage is an introduction, the second stage is growth, the third stage is maturity and the final stage is decline. The handling of the product involves the manufacturing of the goods and how the goods are marketed. The concept of product lifecycle helps to make business decisions right from pricing, its promotional and expansion of the market. A good product life cycle management must bring together many stakeholders such as managing, employees and marketers who are involved in streamlining the entire products.
An effective waste management policy in many countries is based on the EU waste Hierarchy. This policy includes several measures that are found across the entire 5 tiers namely; prevention, minimization, reuse and recovery as well as disposal.
References
LaGrega, M. D., Buckingham, P. L., & Evans, J. C. (2010). Hazardous waste management. Waveland Press.
Blackman Jr, W. C. (2016). Basic hazardous waste management. CRC press.