Waste management is one of the most significant challenges of the 21 st century due to the large quantity and variety of wastes generated by humans today. Virtually every human activity produces some form of waste, from daily living activities such as eating and cleaning to economic activities such as framing and power generation. Some common forms of waste include municipal solid waste, radioactive waste, and hazardous waste. All these wastes are nuisances, but municipal waste is the worst.
Municipal waste is the worst of the three types of wasters because it is common and is generated by everyone. Radioactive waste and hazardous waste are dangerous (World Nuclear Association, 2017). However, since they are produced under specific circumstances, there are not as common and as widespread as Municipal waste. Despite the danger arising from radioactive waste, and hazardous waste, the commonality of municipal waste makes it more impactful that than the two. Everyone generates municipal wastes contributing to a lot of waste in residential areas and towns, which due to poor waste disposal mechanism accumulates thus destroying the scenic beauty and providing germs and vectors with a breeding ground (EPA, 2016). On the other hand, generators of, radioactive waste, and hazardous waste are usually required to provide elaborate waste disposal plans before being licensed to undertake their activities which makes these wastes less of a menace (EPA).
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I contribute to municipal solid waste on a daily basis through the food remains that I throw away, food wrappings, papers and old items. My household waste ends up as municipal solid waste.
The municipal solid waste can be reduced through two basic ways. Recycling and reusing. Recycling is achieved through reprocessing which involve using simple industrial to convert waste into usable products. For instance, old papers may be recycled to produce new papers. Reusing involves putting into a new use, or its previous use. Bottles may be reused to package other products and beverages. Leftover food may be decomposed to create organic manure. To achieve these processes, it is usually advised to collect different refuse separately. For instance, organic waste should be separated frog, glass, plastics and metallic wastes.
In a nutshell, all wastes can the minimized, and this requires enormous input from the generators of the wastes. Municipal solid waste is a nuisance since it is produced every human are present and if poorly manages can accumulate rapidly, resulting in the land, and air pollution as well as encourage diseases.
References
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2017). Learn the Basics of Hazardous Waste . Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/hw/learn-basics-hazardous-waste
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2016). Municipal Solid Waste . Retrieved from https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/web/html/
World Nuclear Association. (2017). Radioactive Waste Management . Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-waste-management.aspx
