Q.
(i) Landfill
A landfill site (also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump or dumping ground and historically as a midden[1]) is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment (although the burial part is modern; historically, refuse was just left in piles or thrown into pits). Historically, landfills have been the most common method of organized waste disposal and remain so in many places around the world.
Some landfills are also used for waste management purposes, such as the temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or processing of waste material (sorting, treatment, or recycling).
A landfill also may refer to ground that has been filled in with rocks instead of waste materials, so that it can be used for a specific purpose, such as for building houses. Unless they are stabilized, these areas may experience severe shaking or liquefaction of the ground during a large earthquake.
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Using Orgreave as a landfill site is a cheap waste disposal option for the local council.
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The site will look ugly whilst it is being used for landfill.
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Jobs will be created for local people.
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Dangerous gases are given off from landfill sites that cause local air pollution and contribute to global warming.
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Lots of different types of waste can be disposed of by landfill in comparison to other waste disposal methods.
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Local streams could become polluted with toxins seeping through the ground from the landfill site.
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The site could be re-landscaped and built on once it has been filled. This has happened nearby in Handsworth.
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Once the site has been filled it might not be able to be used for redevelopment as it might be too polluted.
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The gases given off by the landfill site could be collected and used for heating.
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The jobs created in the local area are likely to be low paid jobs.
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Waste transport costs will be reduced, as our waste will only have to travel a short distance to landfill. This will also reduce the amount of pollution caused by transporting the rubbish.
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The trucks delivering the waste to the site are very big and noisy. They will spoil the peace and quiet in the area and could also contribute to traffic congestion (traffic jams) in the local area.
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Local rubbish will be dealt with locally instead of shifting the problem to another area or country e.g. China.
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The gases given off from the site as the waste begins to decompose (break down) will cause the air in the local area to be smelly.
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(ii) Incinerator
A good source on this is about the KL waste disposal site called Tagar Sanitary Landfill, the largest sanitary landfill in Malaysia located at Batang Berjuntai, 70km away from the KL city centre. MalaysiaKini has a must read article on this here.
The Advantages of Incineration
There are a number of advantages to using incineration as a waste management method. Two of the primary advantages of incineration are that waste volumes are reduced by an estimated of 80-95%, and the need for land and landfill space is greatly reduced². For urban areas, this can be especially important, as urban land is often at a premium.
Waste incineration plants can be located near where waste is generated, which decreases the costs and energy associated with transporting waste³. Through Waste-to-Energy processes, incineration can be used to produce electricity and heat that can be used to power and heat nearby buildings, and the ash produced can be used by the construction industry⁴. Incineration also eliminates the problem of leachate that is produced by landfills.
The Disadvantages of Incineration
Incineration facilities are expensive to build, operate, and maintain⁵. The high costs associated with this method of waste disposal may encourage waste generators to seek other alternatives for dealing with their waste. These facilities also require skilled staff to run and maintain them.
Smoke and ash emitted by the chimneys of incinerators include acid gases, nitrogen oxide, heavy metals, particulates, and dioxin, which is a carcinogen⁵,⁶. While incineration pollution control technology is evolving to reduce these pollutants, it has been found that even with controls in place, some remaining dioxin still enters the atmosphere⁷.
Some critics of incineration claim that incineration ultimately encourages more waste production because incinerators require large volumes of waste to keep the fires burning, and local authorities may opt for incineration over recycling and waste reduction programs⁵. It is has been estimated that recycling conserves 3-5 times more energy than Waste-to-Energy generates because the energy required to make products derived from recycled materials is significantly less than the energy used to produce them from virgin raw materials⁸.
In developing countries, waste incineration is likely not as practical as in developed countries, since a high proportion of waste in developing countries is composed of kitchen scraps. Such organic waste is composed of higher moisture content (40-70%) than waste in industrialized countries (20-40%), making it more difficult to burn³.
Ref:
WASTE INCINERATION: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES, Greentumble, available at
(iii) Recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into reusable objects to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, energy usage, air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by decreasing the need for "conventional" waste disposal and lowering greenhouse gas emissions compared to plastic production.[1][2] Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce,Reuse and Recycle" waste hierarchy.
Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, tires, textiles and electronics. The composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste—such as food or garden waste—is also considered recycling.[2] Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection centre or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned and reprocessed into new materials destined for manufacturing.
In the strictest sense, recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material—for example, used office paper would be converted into new office paper, or used polystyrene foam into new polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so "recycling" of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (for example, paperboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their intrinsic value (such as lead from car batteries, or gold from circuit boards), or due to their hazardous nature (e.g., removal and reuse of mercury from thermometers and thermostats).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Recycling
Many of us feel overwhelmed by the tern ‘recycling’. Recycling is nothing but process of using old or waste products into new products. It makes us feel proud of taking an important step towards reducing pollution and recycling is a fun activity especially when done in groups. Surprisingly, recycling process may not always be beneficial and has shocking effects, unknown to most of us.
Recycling helps to reduce energy usage, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce air pollution and water pollution (from land filling) by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal and also reduces greenhouse gases emissions. Before taking the bold step of recycling, it is crucial to understand the good and bad involved in this process.
Advantages of Recycling
1. Protects Environment: The foremost benefit or recycling is that it helps in protecting the environment in the most balanced manner. While many trees are cut down continually, recycled paper made from certain trees is re-used repeatedly to minimize felling/ deforestation. With re-cycled paper as an outstanding example, a number of other natural resources can be reused this way.
2. Reduces Energy Consumption: A large amount of energy is consumed by processing raw materials at the time of manufacture. Recycling helps to minimize energy consumption, which is crucial for massive production, such mining or refining. This also makes the production process very cost-effective and beneficial for manufacturers.
3. Reduces Pollution: Industrial waste today is the main source of all types of pollution. Recycling of industrial products such as cans, chemical, plastics helps to cut down pollution levels considerably, as these materials are re-used, instead of throwing them away irresponsibly.
4: Reduces Global Warming: Recycling helps to alleviate global warming and its ill effects. Massive waste is burned in heaps which produces large amount of greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2 and CFC’s. Recycling ensure that the burning process is minimized and any waste is re-generated as a useful product with no or minimal harmful impact on the environment. Recycling produces less greenhouse gases as industries burn fewer fossil fuels for eco-friendly products.
5. Judicious and Sustainable use of Resources: Recycling promotes judicial and sustainable use of resources. This process ensures that there is no discriminate use of any material when available in plenty in the present. Recycling is encouraged at all levels, starting from school to corporate offices and at international levels. This means we can preserve all precious resources for our future generation, without any compromise in the present.
6. Conserves Natural Resources: If old and used materials are not recycled, the new products are made from extracting fresh raw materials from beneath the earth through mining and extraction. Recycling helps in conserving important raw materials and protects natural habitats for the future. Conserving natural resources such as wood, water and minerals ensures its optimum use.
7. Reduces Amount of Waste to Landfills: Recycling old and waste products into new products reduces the amount of waste that go to landfills. This helps in reducing water and land pollution as landfills are a major source in contributing to destruction of natural environment. Recycling programs keep 70 tons of waste from being deposited into landfills every year.
8. Create Green Jobs: Recycling is good for the environment and apart from that it also creates green jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, green goods and services accounted for 3.1 million jobs in the United States by 2010.
Disadvantages of Recycling
1. Not always Cost Effective: Recycling is not always cost-effective. Sometimes, there may be a need to establish separate factories to process reusable products. This may create more pollution as they would go under the process of cleaning, storage and transportation.
2. Recycled Products May not Last for Long: Recycled products are always not of durable quality. Such items are mostly made of trashed waste, picked up from heaps other waste products which are of fragile or overly used. For this reason, recycled products are cheap and last for a shorter period.
3. Unsafe and Unhygienic Recycling Sites: Recycling sites are often unsafe and unhygienic. Places where all sorts of waste is dumped are conducive for debris formation and spread of disease and other dangers caused by harmful chemicals and waste. This not only causes widespread pollution but is harmful for dedicated people who recycle such products. Such waste if mixed with water, leads to leach ate formation and leads to toxification of water bodies including drinking water.
4. Not widespread on Large Scale: Although recycling is an important step to minimizepollution, unfortunately this process is just a small part of long-term success. Recycling often occurs at a small scale- homes or schools and has failed to be useful at a large level such as at industries or holistically at a global stage. Saving paper at schools cannot be compared to oil spills or massive tree felling at at industrial level.
5. High Initial Cost: Setting up new recycling unit involves high cost. This huge cost can come up as a part of acquiring different utility vehicles, upgrading the processing facility, educating residents by organizing seminars and other programs, disposing of existing waste and chemicals etc.
After weighing, the pros and cons of recycling, one can wisely take crucial steps involved in this process. Understanding the impact of recycling is essential on a large-scale which if done effectively can bring in massive positive results, beneficial to mutual existence of human beings and environment.
Ref:
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Summary on advantages and disadvantages of solid waste disposal methods.
Ref:
The Global Development Research Centre, available at
http://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/disposal.html