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The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes. It aims to [..]
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The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of productive land area needed to support a nation’s consumption and waste. This indicator shows that in many countries, as well as for the planet as a [..]
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Agricultural waste consists of things like pesticide waste, discarded pesticide containers, plastics such as silage wrap, bags and sheets, packaging waste, old machinery, oil and waste veterinary [..]
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Both the volume and the level of radioactivity have to be considered – a large volume of waste with a low-level of radioactivity presents less danger than a smaller amount of
waste with a high-level [..]
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Municipal waste is everything collected and treated by municipalities. Only part of it is comes from households, the rest is generated by small businesses, commercial and other municipal activities. A [..]
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According to the Basel Convention reports, of more than 300 million tonnes of waste (including hazardous and other waste) generated worldwide in 2000, a little less that 2% was exported. However 90% [..]
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Five of the top countries consuming industrial raw materials account for roughly 10 percent of the world's population but consume up to 50 percent of more of some of the main materials. This shows a [..]
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The disposal and treatment of waste can produce emissions of several greenhouse gases (GHGs), which contribute to global climate change. The most significant GHG gas produced from waste is methane. It [..]
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The disposal and treatment of waste can produce emissions of several greenhouse gases (GHGs), which contribute to global climate change. The most significant GHG gas produced from waste is methane. It [..]
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Waste is generated in all sorts of ways. Its composition and volume largely depend on consumption patterns and the industrial and economic structures in place. Air quality, water and soil [..]
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Contaminated groundwater can adversely affect animals, plants and humans if it is removed from the ground by manmade or natural processes. Depending on the geology of the area, groundwater may rise to [..]
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Landfi ling is the most common waste management practice, and results in the release of methane from the anaerobic decomposition of organic materials. Methane is around 20 times more potent as a GHG [..]
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Pollution emitted in industrial areas represents a threat to human health and the surrounding natural resources. We have a tendency to believe that the production processes are the only source of [..]
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Radioactive waste presents a unique problem, where it has to be handled with care to prevent radiation exposure for people, wildlife and contamination. Products from nuclear activities can be [..]
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In 2000 Germany reported sending more than threehundred thousand tonnes of waste to 14 countries. All countries appeared to receive a broad combination of hazardous waste apart from China, which [..]
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Australia is not a big player in the waste trade, but a good percentage of its exports are shipped all the way to Europe. In 2000 Australia reported the export of 16 689 tonnes of waste (all classifi [..]
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Hazardous wastes can often be recycled in an environmentally sound manner. Wastes that cannot be recycled
must be treated to reduce the toxicity and the ability of the constituents to move throughout [..]
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The Ok Tedi mine is located high in the rain forest covered Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea. Prior to 1981 the local Wopkaimin people lived a subsistence existence in one of the most isolated [..]
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Hazardous waste needs to be monitored and controlled from the moment the waste is generated until its ultimate disposal. Proper hazardous waste control requires a plan to reduce the amount of waste [..]
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Economic conditions have led to the almost complete closure of old Soviet era industrial complexes. Neither the Rustavi and Zestafoni chemical and metallurgy plants or the Chiatura and Tkibuli mines [..]
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As 1.3 billion Chinese thunder into the great pleasures of consumption, municipal waste is certainly a major environmental concern. This graph shows the amount of waste from 1991 to 2003 in Hong Kong. [..]
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Pollution emitted in industrial areas represents a threat to human health and the surrounding natural resources. We have a tendency to believe that the production processes are the only source of [..]
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Human development is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives [..]
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In 2000 Australia imported 1600 tonnes of waste from New Zealand, Norway, French Antarctic and South Africa. This included mostly copper and lead compounds from New
Zealand, selenium from Norway and [..]
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In 2000 Germany reported sending 317 528 tonnes of waste to 14 countries. All countries appeared to receive a broad combination of hazardous waste apart from China, which received nearly 50 tonnes of [..]
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The high tech boom has brought with it a new type of waste – electronic waste, a category that barely existed 20 years ago. Now e-waste represents the biggest and fastest growing manufacturing waste. [..]
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As the garbage pile gets higher and the environmental conscience sharpens, it is now recognized that producing waste at this rate is no longer acceptable. Now is the time for “integrated waste [..]
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Mines use toxic chemicals including cyanide, mercury, and sulphuric acid, to separate metal from ore. The chemicals used in the processing are generally recycled, however residues may remain in the [..]
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The Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the number one environmental problem facing the mining industry. AMD occurs when sulphide-bearing minerals in rock are exposed
to air and water, changing the sulphide [..]
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Regardless of the type of raw material, its extraction always comes with an environmental cost. Most mining leaves a lasting and damaging environmental footprint. For example, during the extraction of [..]
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The Basel Convention has before it an amendment which would ban the export of hazardous waste for disposal to developing countries. Some countries (for example those in the European Union) have [..]
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In most countries in the world, organic materials and paper are the main contributors to municipal waste. In developing countries, large cities generate most of the municipal waste. Data are rarely [..]
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Municipal waste is everything collected and treated by municipalities. Only part of it is comes from households, the rest is generated by small businesses, commercial and other municipal activities. [..]
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It is estimated that there are over a billion personal computers in the world at present. In developed countries these have an average life span of only 2 years. In the United States alone there are [..]
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The Ok Tedi mine is located high in the rain forest covered Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea. Prior to 1981 the local Wopkaimin people lived a subsistence existence in one of the most isolated [..]
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The Ok Tedi mine is located high in the rain forest covered Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea. Prior to 1981 the local Wopkaimin people lived a subsistence existence in one of the most isolated [..]
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Recycling activities are economically important. Collection, sorting and reprocessing represent job
opportunities (especially in the paper recycling sector).
They also lower energy and municipal [..]
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Waste collection is a basic public service performed for everyone in OECD countries. Everyone? Well, a closer look reveals that this is not the case for a significant number of people. If these [..]
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It is estimated that there are over a billion personal computers in the world at present. In developed countries these have an average life span of only 2 years. In the United States alone there are [..]
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Mountains of obsolete pesticides are stockpiled in Africa. Problems with labelling, storage, and the supply of unsuitable products, means that they sit around unused, some for as long as 40 years. [..]
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Municipal waste is everything collected and treated by municipalities. Only part of it is comes from households, the rest is generated by small businesses, commercial and other municipal activities. [..]
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The Soviet development model for Central Asia was based on building large-scale irrigation schemes enabling the region to become a major cotton producer and expanding the mining and processing [..]
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The global consumption of key raw materials is rising fast. Over the 20-year period ending in 1994, the world population increased by 40% – in that same period, the world consumption of cement [..]
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A small minority of rich countries are responsible for a large part of the raw material consumption. All together the developed countries comprise only 22% of the world population, but they consume [..]
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The United States consumption of key raw materials is rising fast. Since 1950 some raw material consumption has increase by over 200 percent. Raw materials used for construction has risen over 400 [..]
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The priority now is to decrease the amount of waste we generate. That means changing our consumption patterns, for example by choosing products that use recyclable material, market fresh produce [..]
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When ships like oil tankers and cargo vessels pass their use by date they are broken up for scrap. Large ships are generally built by companies in countries like Japan, South Korea and Germany, but [..]
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Prior to 1970, shipbeaking was concentrated in Europe. It was a highly mechanised activity carried out at docks by skilled workers. However the increasing cost of upholding environmental health and [..]
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Contaminants in the soil can harm plants when they take up the contamination through their roots. Ingesting, inhaling, or touching contaminated soil, as well as eating plants or animals that have [..]
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Sound waste management requires a high level of technology and a signif cant budget. What Japan and Germany can
afford today, most countries will have to wait a long time for. Developed countries [..]
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According to various scenarios, the economic development (presented in this graphic as Gross Domestic Product, GDP) will most likely continue for the next decades – but at a slower pace for those [..]
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The Basel Convention has estimated the amount of hazardous and other waste generated for 2000 and 2001 at 318 and 338 millions tonnes respectively. However these figures are based on reports from only [..]
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On a global scale, calculating the amount of waste being generated presents a problem. There are a number of issues, including a lack of reporting by many countries and inconsistencies in the way [..]
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The Basel Convention has estimated the amount of hazardous and other waste generated for 2000 and 2001 at 318 and 338 millions tonnes respectively. However these figures are based on reports from only [..]
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Waste, including extremely hazardous waste like radioactive
material, toxic heavy metals and poisonous PCBs are routinely being loaded into trucks, and transported across continents. Some is loaded [..]
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The amount of waste on the move is increasing rapidly. Reports to the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal suggest that between 1993 and [..]
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The life cycle approach gives a more complete picture of the waste and energy associated with a product. Our daily choices determine the amount of waste we produce. As consumers, our relationship to a [..]
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Manufacturing waste, as you would expect from the vast range of products produced and processes involved, is a very
diverse group. The waste generated depends on the technology used, the nature of [..]
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Turning raw materials into consumer products generates waste - depending on the technology used, the nature of the raw material processed and how much of it is discarded at the end of the chain. Very [..]
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The graphic gives a general illustration of a waste generation & management scheme. Using car production as a example, the associated text includes references as follows: Raw Materials: Mining of [..]
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On average a computer is 23% plastic, 32% ferrous metals, 18% non-ferrous metals (lead, cadmium, antimony, beryllium,
chromium and mercury), 12% electronic boards (gold, palladium, silver and [..]
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The amount and composition of municipal waste depends on a variety of factors. It is related to our living standard but wealth does not explain everything. It is also correlated with levels of [..]
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As we continually update and invent new products the life of the old ones is getting shorter and shorter. Like shipbreaking, e-waste recycling involves the major producers
and users, shipping the [..]
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