The most efficient , the cheapest and the most enduring .
There can be several ways as below:
1.) segregating the organic and inorganic waste at the source (household)
2.) using the waste water of wash basin for flushing off the toilets.
3.) using the waste water from the water purification system (e.g. RO) for washing clothes/cars/other cleaning purposes.
4.) using dry leaves and other garden waste as a manure after decomposing it in a pit made in backyard.
5.) installing rain water harvesting system in houses/apartments etc. and later on using the same water for gardening purposes.
and many more..
with regards
Ashu
Hiram, your question is not clear enough. Is it the generation of waste? Generation of waste is inevitable but its sustainable management is essential to take care or reduce likely associated problems.
In the 3R Waste Management Strategy (reduce, reuse, recycle), "reduce" is considered the best way of waste management. Then, what is the best and most effective way in reducing waste, especially in the urban area?
From my point of view, the best and often the easiest way to reduce the amount of waste is to take steps to generate less waste in the first place. Very small and simple changes in the way of living can have dramatic effects on how much waste to be generated. We, as a consumer and urban dweller, have considerable power to reduce the amount of waste going to land fill by choosing to buy products that use less packaging or are packaged in recyclable materials.
It is also worth remembering that although recycling an item of waste is better than disposing of it in the normal trash, a lot of energy is consumed for both the recycling process and the transportation of the waste to and from the recycling center. Any steps you make that reduce or eliminate the use of an item you would normally recycle or throw away will have a significant positive impact on the environment. Choosing products that are reusable and long lasting instead of single-use disposable products will save a lot of waste and also save money over the long term.
About a decade back we in India used reusable cloth carry bags, used paper bags, gave vegetable peel (waste) to grazing animals, used construction waste to form base of new roads, and most glass plastics were completely recycled. Things are different today. What we need is reusable materials and least packaging of goods to reduce urban waste.
Dear Hiram the 3R´s is actually updated and nowadays the hierarchy is the following: avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, treat and finallay dispose; being the last one the least preferable. And there is no cheapest alternative; first there must be policies and laws to promote reducing waste generation in your country; then the regulations for separating in source or strategies to create different waste streams (organic, hazardous and inorganic) and so on; but the most important part is participation from citizens and local authorities.
This may be useful for you
You´re welcome
Regards
http://www.iea-biogas.net/files/daten-redaktion/download/Technical%20Brochures/source_separation_web.pdf
humbly, I think the best way is betting on the green.
-organic gardens, using waste
-Manufacture of composting
-construction with recycled material, eg EcoARK in Taiwan.
Waste is valuable, there is always a productive way to reuse.
The best practice would be from the cradle to grave have the habit of 3Rs. Specific to urban scapes, we find in India large mounts in a hill form on thr otskirts of a city. These waste mounts serve as indicators in all directions adjacent to highways..giving out stench bad odour etc.. un sanitised land fills.. All this is bad scene with adverse effects
. Can some urban planners innovate .. As we have lorry and train loads of veggies and provisions for citizen sustenance come to markets.. even by air cargo. We ought to transfer the waste loads outward from cities to barren lands. deserts. and others and in a few years. this would transform into agri-farms etc
Ajit Seshadri ..
Waste has two contrasting realities that frequently clash with each other, yet must coexist. We have industries that involves producing commodities that leads to generation of waste. We need these industries because of increase in urbanization happening within our cities to sustain the livelihood of the residents. If we don’t have these industries then the economy remains standstill and ultimately will not be able to sustain the increase of population.
My worry is if you are saying avoid or reduce how are we going to sustain the wellbeing of the people. I would like to think depending at what level your country is in terms of development the solution varies in developing countries we rather focus on management of waste.
As to reduce urban waste, it is better to use grinding technology. This may be economical, quick and have no impact on ecology. Lots of published work already available.
I would say this...regarding urban waste. Urban waste can be divided broadly into two; wastewater and solid wastes and for these two categories, management measures and technology differ. In terms of reduction, reducing urban wastes whether water or solid would mean recycling most of the waste back into usage. Like for water, the waste can be treated by physical, biological and chemical means and reused for activities such as watering lawns, flashing toilets, washing cars and even epiculture, aquaculture and irrigated agriculture
I would say first 3R principle. Then afterwards separation of Biodegradable and Non-biodegradable. Biodegradable goes to composting, biogas production but the condition should be no industrial, hospital waste. Non biodegradable waste should go to landfill. but even better if it goes to incineration plan first to recover energy and reduce volume and then goes to landfill. hospital and industrial waste are mostly hazardous and should be stored underground but some of them can be treated but in general should be stored underground but the condition should be there is no water around the storage place for example old salt mines is an ideal place to put these hazardous waste.
To reduce the impact of urban waste there are two main ways:
- To choose and produce materials that (after use) can be easier degraded;
- Reuse as much as possible
In particular, the reuse of wastewater can be made as irrigation. The soil-plant-atmosphere is an efficient tool to eliminate the wastewater and (eventually) to get some economic revenue…
reduce production waste
introduce legal restrictions and taxes
pay for what you throw waste
Recycling and education for the people about this options.
Promote education to reduce waste production, with changes in consumer habits; reuse of solid waste such as glass, plastic, paper, electronic, etc .; liquid waste recycling to reduce consumption of potable water and water bodies through appropriate priority natural treatment methods; recycle solid waste, promoting the creation of community micro-enterprises that contribute to entrepreneurship of people unemployed or vulnerability.
Environmental education is an effective way of reducing the negative effects of wastes on the people and the environment why adoption of appropriate TECHNOLOGY will go in no small way to REDUCE THE GENERATION OF WASTES. Therefore, we need to get the basis of the QUESTION RIGHT. Generation of wastes in terms of QUANTITY is different from reducing the NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF WASTES. Like urbanization which is INEVITABLE but we can have A PLANNED URBANIZATION but we cannot completely AVOID URBANIZATION. In the like, generation of wastes can be reduced through the ADOPTION OF APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY; and coupled with environmental education the negative effects of wastes would be reduced significantly.
Certainly Che Hung Foo has it right, what is described in his discussion fits in to the waste hierarchy - a decision making tool that outlines the level of priority each action item should command (i.e. the three R's and the priority it should command in any program etc.).
On the flip side, it is nearly impossible to implement this thinking if you don't have the buy in from waste generators, so this includes house holds, industry, and state owned entities like power generators (Eskom in our case or even the independent power producers), mining sector etc. So Julius Olujimi is also correct, there is need for education both for the masses and also industry!
see also waste hierarchy in the link
https://www.environment.gov.za/sites/default/files/docs/nationalwaste_management_strategy.pdf
I agree with everybody who says that the way to reduce urban wastes include recycling wastes for reuse. Talking about solid wastes like plastics which are a major pollutant in many cities, these can be recycled to make other plastics for usage. Although many argue that this is costly and not sustainable but I also know that there are countries where this is practiced and it successful. Other countries like Rwanda completely banned the usage of plastics. In Kenya, I recently heard on our local news channels of a person who is recycling used plastics to make diesel. I am still trying to find out how this is done. But many will still argue that this is not environmentally friendly because diesel is still a fossil fuel and its like solving one problem by creating another problem...what we need is 'clean energy'. Its a big debate. Currently, myself I am trying out bio-degradation of plastics using extremophiles and their extremozymes but I still cant say much about this. I am still in the preliminary stages of this research...perhaps I can find some novel bacteria that can contribute to solving the problem.......
But waste also include sewage water and this can also be treated and re-used for purposes such as irrigation, watering lawns, washing cars or flushing toilets.
Reduce,recycle, reuse, are the main think and public awareness, Cleaner production strategy , restrictions and taxes control the urban waste. Cheers
Well there are many ways to reduce urban waste the best is still use less materials like plastic, paper, board, disposables. Let us restrict their use.
I think these articles may be helpful for your question.
Article Assessment of a Planned Municipal Solid Waste Management Sys...
Article SWOT ANALYSIS OF URBAN WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF BAL...
First of all, waste reduce and reuse strategy should be set up with appropriate fees, responsibilities and all activities should be followed by an adequate education and public awareness.
With a few changes in our office and home, we can reduce the amount of garbage in landfills and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere. For example: buy in bulk, look for durable products, use bags or containers instead plastics bags and cups, set up a backyard compost, start an office paper reduction campaign, etc.
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