What is “integrated” solid waste management?
This is an approach that includes a combination of waste prevention, waste reduction, and disposal techniques to effectively manage the problem of municipal solid waste. By reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting waste materials, less materials will appear in the waste stream destined for landfills or incinerators. 5. What is the problem with such terms as biodegradable and photodegradable? Although green-advertising claims such as biodegradable and photodegradable sound good, they arent always true. Plastics labeled biodegradable due to the addition of starch simply disintegrate into tiny non-degradable pieces after the starch has been degraded. Photodegradable plastics cannot be broken down in garbage cans or landfills because their degradation requires sunlight.
To help show Americans the primary ways in which solid waste should be managed, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has devised an approach it calls “integrated solid waste management.” “Integrated solid waste management” means using a combination of five ways to reduce and reuse as much waste as possible. The important word n the definition is “combination.” No single approach to managing solid waste will solve the problem completely. Only by combining methods can we truly manage our waste. What are the Five Ways Found in the EPA’s Approach? The EPA’s five ways to manage solid wste are: Source Reduction, Recycling, Composting, Waste-to- Energy Incineration, and Landilling. Source Reduction One way to manage solid waste is to reduce the waste we generate at the source. This is called “source reduction.” For manufacturers, “source reduction” means producing less waste at a manufacturing facility itself. It also means designing products that have the least amount of p
