Waste Management

Solid waste: You probably know what this is, but remember the synonyms garbage and trash. Incinerate: to destroy by burning Air pollution: a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air Dumpsite: a piece of land where waste materials are dumped Dispose of: to get rid of, to throw away Landfill: a place to leave waste material and cover it with soil DISCUSSION Solid waste management mostly deals with municipal solid waste, which is the majority of waste that is created by households, industry, and commerce. Waste management is very expensive for municipalities. In most developed economies, garbage trucks collect solid waste left outside of homes and businesses. That waste is often incinerated, which means that the waste is burned at high temperatures, sometimes in special plants which produce electricity. When you incinerate waste, you can reduce the volume from 80 to 95 percent. Not all countries manage their waste disposal well. Some researchers estimate that worldwide approximately 25% of all the municipal solid waste is not collected at all, and a further 25% is mismanaged after collection, which means that it is often burned in open and uncontrolled fires–– creating terrible air pollution––or it can be dumped at informal dumpsites, instead of being disposed at formal, managed landfills.