Numbers will show you how much the world has gone to the dumps. An average American would have about .75 tons of trash every year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most of the world’s waste came from industrialized countries. These countries have waste management laws, especially for hazardous wastes, but still experience problems with dumpsites and waste disposal.

Solving waste management problems do not have to take you anywhere else, you could start solving trash problems at home. Small contributions like this could go a long way. About 25 percent of our wastes are yard trimmings or food scraps. Although, a lot of people are learning to recycle and reuse plastic, metal, glass and other similar items, biodegradable stuff are nearly not recycled at all.

A great way to recycle food scrap is having a compost bin or by vermicomposting. Vermicomposting is another way of composting. Worms are used in the process to produce vermicompost, a rich soil which is a great way to fertilize a garden. There are different kinds of worms used in vermicomposting, like the red worms, white worms, and earthworms. These worms would produce vermicast which are worm castings or worm humus. Worms used in vermicomposting can be available from vermicompost enthusiasts or from a supplier.

Worms can be eat a lot of your food scraps and wastes, like vegetables, fruits, coffee grounds, tea, and even eggshells. However, avoid feeding them with bones, dairy products, spicy food, oily food and animal manure. Beddings for vermicompost bins can also be made out of household materials like newspaper and cardboard.

Different type of containers could work, as long as they would protect the worms from too warm or cold weather conditions. Worms are comfortable in temperatures ranging from 55 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Most commonly used bins are those made of wood or plastic. A 12-inch deep compost bin can accommodate about a pound or 1,000 worms. Odour does not have to be a problem. A vermicompost bin which is done properly will not give out any smell.

There are many benefits associated with vermicompost. The vermicast is 10 to 20 higher in nutrients compared with other organic material used to enrich soil. It can also improve the soil’s water holding capacity. Enriching the soil could enhance plant growth and the crops yielded. If you have a vegetable patch, this would be a great way to reduce food waste and increase productivity from your patch using chemical-free fertilizers.

In the United States, there are states like Illinois, who are banning landscape waste in landfills. Vermicomposting is a great way to address disposal of these kinds of waste. Aside from that, there are some who would use vermicomposting as another source of income. They would sell vermicast, it is often times called “Black Gold” because of its high nutrient content. Others would supply worms to fishermen or become a local supplier.

Using vermicomposting as a waste management method for food scraps and other biodegradable materials at home is surely a win-win solution. You get to reduce waste and benefit from it, whether it is short term or in the long run.

The numbers are increasing. The United Nations Development Programme estimates that there are five million people who die each year because of diseases related to inappropriate waste disposal. It is the developed countries who are generating more wastes. About .75 tons of trash is being produced annually by an individual in the United States, that is according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency or US EPA. It can be reduced through waste management.

Home waste management is not just about less trash, it is about protecting and saving the environment. You could start by monitoring what you actually throw and how much waste is hauled from your home. Monitoring what you dispose would help you deal with them using other methods. Waste management could be summed in three important words: reduce, reuse, recycle.

- Reducing wastes. Buying food in packs will add to your waste, try buying food loose like vegetables and fruits. You could also get your home appliances regularly maintained or repaired. This would give your appliances longer life and avoid throwing away equipments.

- Reusing items. Appliances or home equipment that are not being used can be donated to charity. You could also use a cotton bag for shopping, this would reduce paper or plastic bags that you will be taking home. There are different methods on how you can reuse or repurpose old items in the house. There are different websites that can give you different ideas. Also buy reusable items rather than disposable items. You could get water bottles or a coffee mug instead of frequently buying plastic water bottles or disposable coffee cups.

- Recycling. You could start having a composting bed at home. This would be great for the environment and for your garden, too. Vermiculture or worm farming is also another way to recycle your waste and even earn extra income. Look for recycling centers near your home to bring items that you would like be recycled.

Another source of household wastes is food waste. How do you reduce your food wastes? Then start by buying food that you would really consume and need. There are studies showing that about 74% of people will be making purchase decisions after entering the grocery store, which is why you need a shopping list.

But before you start shopping, check your household supplies first and identify which food should be consumed immediately. Be a smart shopper, think about what will happen to the food, its containers and packages before you go ahead and buy. Food could be stored in the refrigerator for longer life and fruit and vegetable peelings could go to your compost bin.

Another waste management concern is about hazardous materials found in our home. The United States government categorized about 500 hazardous wastes and how it should be disposed. These hazardous materials are very much present in our home like house cleaners, paint and pesticides. And hazardous wastes are not disposed just like any other trash. We could start using organic and chemical free cleaners. For paints, make sure that we are buying enough and not too much. For example, in Minnesota hazardous waste sites, in 1998, about 4 million pounds of excess paint was collected.

You are not only saving the environment, you are also making your home safer for your children.

Archeological evidence said that humans had a way of managing their waste even before landfills and incinerators were developed. In many archeological sites, dumping pits were discovered where early people were believed to throw in their waste. In the course of history, waste regulations were enacted. This suggests that waste management is not a modern principle but in fact a natural response to existence.

Humans naturally know what to do with their waste as evidenced by the instituted waste management systems in the pre-modern and modern forms. However, along with global industrialization and population explosion, waste production blew out of proportion, endangering the environment and threatening humans and other living things. With the environmental issues raised here and there, there seems to be a need to remind humans of the importance of waste management.

Education and awareness campaigns play a great part here. Not all people after all are aware that the one piece of waste material they are sending to landfills or incinerators constitutes a greater threat to the environment. Presently, calls to recycle and waste reduction are widely active. And various projects and campaigns are launched everyday, adding more noise to the earlier advocacies on proper waste management.

The good news is that a good number of the population is increasingly becoming aware of the importance of waste management and is getting involved. However, more need to be tapped. There are still who remain passive. This segment of the population probably knows that proper waste management benefits the Earth and consequently everyone and everything living in it. But only vaguely. The finer and more intricate details are probably not known to them.

Waste does a lot of things. When brought to the landfills, they emit greenhouse gas in the form of methane. Although methane can be used to make energy, it is generally hazardous to health. Wastes buried in landfills also tend to leach chemicals that can contaminate groundwater. Wastes can be incinerated, though. The problem with incinerators, however, is that they also produce greenhouse gas and other forms of toxin such as dioxin. Dioxin is found to cause cancer. Whether waste is brought to a landfill or incinerator, it seems like it is a potential source of pollution and threat to health.

Although indirectly, waste causes resource depletion. This is due to the common buying pattern: buy, throw, and then buy again. As the waste piles up high, the demand for more products also rises, almost exhausting the natural resources. This has a spiral effect, mainly involving threats to biodiversity, deforestation, pollution, and other environmental problems.

Waste management can be part of the solution in two ways: one is through waste reduction, and two through recycling. Consistent waste reduction and recycling activities mean there will be less waste materials to be sent to landfills and incinerators. As such, the emission of greenhouse gas and other forms of pollutant will be reduced by a large percentage. Reusing and recycling of used items will also result in less production of new products. And this helps in the conservation of natural resources.

There is a great need in understanding the importance of waste management because unless it is acknowledged by all people, waste management efforts will not progress to further heights.

There is the white-collar sector, and then there is also the blue-collar. With the growing concern over the environment, there rose another sector: the green-collar industry. An official definition of green-collar is yet to be established, but the various definitions formed by different organizations and individuals share a common explanation, that green-collar jobs are those that contribute to the upkeep of the environment by addressing issues that include but are not limited to conservation, global warming, pollution, and waste disposal. While this definition may constitute green building architects, engineers, and other professionals, green-collar industry also includes people assuming waste management jobs.

Waste management has itself become a successful industry. Presently, waste management agencies and firms are proliferating, whose services primarily focus on collection, transportation, and disposal of residential and industrial waste, and are providing decent jobs to a lot of people. There are various jobs available in the waste management industry, which are all important in keeping the environment clean and orderly. Following are some of them.

1. Garbage Collectors. The most visible and perhaps the most popular of all waste management workers, garbage collectors are responsible for picking waste at a predetermined route and schedule. Although there is no required special education for garbage collectors, they have to be physically fit since they need to drag and carry loaded containers. In cases when they use automated trucks, meaning the vehicles can haul and lift the garbage into the truck, garbage collectors, also called trash collectors, can work alone and drive their own truck. This, therefore, means they should be licensed and skilled drivers.

2. Service Drivers. They work as the garbage collectors’ partners, driving the service truck to the designated area. While the garbage collector does the entire picking job, the service driver is responsible for transporting the waste to the destination safely and securely.

3. Street Sweepers. Their main job is to keep the streets and roads clean. They traditionally use brooms and dustbins, although it is more common to see them working with sweeping machines, which help them complete their job faster and more efficiently.

4. Truck Mechanics. They work behind the limelight, leaving the garbage collectors and drivers at the forefront. However, their work is very important since they make sure that every truck used for collecting and transporting waste is functioning properly. Their job includes repair, inspection, and maintenance.

5. Sales and Marketing Staff. They may not take part in the actual handling of waste and may work in offices, but their job is equally important. These people are responsible to bring the services of waste management firms and agencies to the attention of individuals and businesses. The sales and marketing team come up with advertising and marketing strategies to generate more clients.

6. Analysts and Researchers. Their job is more inclined to the science of waste management. They may be more involved in recycling methods, waste classification, studies on conservation and waste treatment, among other things. Because of the nature of these waste management jobs, they are required to have special education.

When you look under your kitchen sink, in your cupboard, or out in your garage, there are products that will end up as hazardous waste once you get rid of them. Some of them are hazardous in nature such as pesticide, cleaner, thinner, and paint. Others, however, take on a relatively safe form such as battery and fluorescent light. Household hazardous waste (HHW) is that which is corrosive, toxic, reactive, and flammable that if not disposed of properly can create havoc in human health and the environment in general.

Pour it down the drain, and you risk contaminating the groundwater. If you let it sit in the common trash can, you allow its ingredient particles to float in the air. You also put to risk the safety and health of sanitation workers who will deal with your HHW as soon as you dispose of it. Because of these risks, effective household hazardous waste management has been established.

Household hazardous waste management is nothing more than a set of practices in the proper handling of HHW. Done regularly, and you protect human health and promote the cleanliness and wellness of the environment. Here’s what you can do:

1. Use up the products. When you use them up, you don’t have anything to throw away. And that means you decrease the amount of HHW to dispose of in your own little way. Around the world, tons of HHW are produced each year. In the United States alone, an average household generates around 100 pounds of HHW, eventually contributing to the 1.6 million tons the country produces every year.

2. Share the leftover products with someone you think might need them. Or find charities or groups that accept donations. You can also swap the excess products or sell them if you want.

3. Never mix HHW with another HHW. Some of these products may react, explode, or ignite if mixed. Store them in their original containers, with the labels still attached, and place in areas where children can’t reach them.

4. Find out if your community has HHW collection programs. Every year, many communities run a collection program where HHW are picked up from households. Collection days are set early on, and some cities provide kits where bags, labels, and instructions are included.

5. Hand your HHW to local business collection groups if your community doesn’t host a collection program. For instance, you can give your discarded batteries to battery collection agencies for recycling. Some battery retailers, in fact, participate in battery recycling programs and accept used batteries. The same is true with fluorescent light retailers.

6. Check your medicine cabinet and see if there are old, used, and expired medications. Although some medications are not necessarily hazardous, careful disposal is necessary since they may have health-threatening ingredients and properties. For pills, you can crush and mix them with coffee grounds or kitty litter and thrown them in the trash can. Liquid medications, on the other hand, should be absorbed by rags or paper towels before throwing in the trash can. Sharps and needles should be disposed of as regular HHW. Some cities accept expired medications during their HHW collection, so this service should be taken advantage of.

Household hazardous waste management is largely directed toward disposing of HHW, but the part of it that deals with waste reduction should not be ignored. To reduce the amount of HHW produced every year, it would help to use products with organic or non-toxic materials. Look for these products the next time you head to the supermarket.

There are too many wastes being disposed every year, an average American would generate about .75 tonnes of wastes annually. However, disposing wastes is never easy. The government has implemented stricter regulations that will limit the wastes being disposed and eventually encourage individuals and homeowners to come up with better waste management systems in their homes, like recycling or waste reduction.

A waste management business has the responsibility of helping companies address waste collection, disposal and recycling of disposed items. Why is there a need for this kind? For example, there are legislations and regulations stating that manufacturers of waste electrical and electronic materials are responsible for the collection and recycling of old products. With this kind of rule, manufacturers would often look for waste specialists that would handle waste control for them.

Starting a waste management business will help you address the demands of waste disposal. But it is important to identify it there is indeed a need in the area for a business in this nature. If there is indeed a need, then you should also know if there is competition and if you would be able to compete with them. Waste management and collection industry is a competitive field.

Starting a business would always require sufficient market research. However, waste management business is not about doing research on the needs and competition. You would also have to put a lot of time researching and studying local, federal, state and environmental regulations.

Also, just choose a subsection of waste management. It is difficult to have a company that would deal will all kinds of waste. You could just choose one field, like disposal of waste electrical and electronic materials.

You would also need a solid waste management business plan. A good waste management business plan would be able to help you set goals, gather all your bright business ideas, map out the future of your business and at the same time sets realistic and achievable goals. A waste management business plan would ensure that you are communicating your business goals to your business partners, clients and employees. This would help you create a business strategy, like marketing strategies and methods that would help you monitor your business development.

Just like in making any other business plan, having the objectives, mission and vision of important. When writing a waste management business plan you would also need to develop marketing, pricing, promotion and distribution strategies. Having a solid waste management business plan would also help you get company clients.

If you are not confident with your writing skill, then there are certain websites that offer softwares in helping you write business plans. While there are other online sites that offer pre-written business plans and documents.

Before you go ahead and look for clients, you should start working on the getting permits and license for your operation. There are different and quite a number of agencies that you are required to acquire approval and permit. So know the process. You could ask the local waste management officer or department to assist with this.

Even if waste management business deals with trash, it is still a profitable and beneficial endeavour. As a business owner, ensure that you are abreast about different environmental legislation and issues. You do not want to get entangled with the law.

Health care wastes are among the most important waste management programs that state or city government should pay attention to. Health care wastes or HCW are objects both sharp and non-sharp, body parts, chemicals, drugs, medical devices and radioactive materials that health care institution dispose. In the United States about 7000 tons of waste everyday or 2 million tons annually is collected from hospitals and health clinics.

Hospital wastes are mainly solid wastes. There are bio-hazardous materials, flammable and toxic materials. There are also radioactive or isotopes which very dangerous to handle. Medical wastes would also include batteries, fluorescent lamps, e-wastes like computers, and corrosive dangerous items like those drugs used in anaesthesiology.

Hospital or health care wastes are divided into categories. This would help in properly using waste disposal methods based on the nature of the waste materials. There is the general trash which refers to recyclable materials. Regulated medical wastes are also referred to as infectious waste since they are capable of causing infectious disease. While hazardous wastes may pose serious problems to human health and environment. There are specific disposal regulations that each category should follow, specially hazardous waste.

Any health care institution generates this kind of medicate waste. Other institutions that produce medical wastes are laboratories, blood banks, morgues and funeral parlors, medical schools and even research institutions. It is important for each of this institution to have and implement a waste management plan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides programme activities that would help hospital and health care institutions develop programs and technical materials for assessing their wastes, creating action plans, and developing management guidelines for medical institutions.

Hospitals should have waste management teams that would enhance or develop waste management plan. Most of the times, the waste management team is comprised of the hospital staff, like the head of hospital and the hospital departments, pharmacists, infection control officer, and hospital manager or administrator. Normally, there would be a waste management officer that would oversee the implementation of the plan on daily operation.

When making a waste management plan (WMP), the waste management should be prepared to address different issues like the existing waste disposal practices and the quantity of waste being disposed. The WMP should be able to come up with different plans and strategies that could minimize waste through recycling and reusing. It should also cover training health care professionals, staff about waste disposal.

Forming a waste management team and drafting a waste management plan is not the last step. The waste management plan should go through evaluation and maybe some changes depending on the result of the evaluation. Updating the system may be needed especially when the institution is undergoing some major changes or renovation in their system. There are also national government agencies requiring hospitals and medical institution to submit records of their waste management and disposal methods.

Health care institutions are not only responsible in making people in communities get the proper health care. They are also responsible for ensuring that the community is safe from materials that would be detrimental to the health of the people. Having a waste management plan would surely help in ensuring that health care institutions would make the community safe.

Because incinerators are perilous to the environment and human health, and landfills are becoming scarce, expensive, and in the same way an environmental threat, different efforts in reducing the amount of waste are in place today. Such efforts include composting, a process by which organic waste is made into a soil resource. Organic waste, which includes kitchen and yard garbage, makes up 30% of household waste and if composted would contain the necessary nutrients, microbes, and substances to enrich the soil and benefit the plants. Composting then was only known as a gardening practice, but ever since people became aware of waste and environmental issues, it has become a way of managing organic waste.

There are existing composting efforts on both large and small scales. Many communities, for instance, are running local composting projects using collected organic waste from households. On a smaller scale, many individuals make their own compost at home using different techniques. Regardless of the size of the project, composting should be well-managed in order to produce effective compost.

Making compost relies mainly on organic waste. Not all organic waste, however, can qualify as material for compost. Diseased plants shouldn’t be piled for compost as they may infect other plants. Although a hot temperature can kill the disease organisms, it is best not to take chances. Unless weeds and grasses, the kinds that tend to stubbornly re-sprout and re-grow, are dead and dry, never add them to the pile. Cat and dog feces are also not best for composting because they may contain disease organisms that are harmful to human health. Pest-attracting kitchen waste, such as meat scraps and bones, shouldn’t as well be included in the compost.

Which organic waste then is a good compost ingredient? Here is a list.

1. Fruit and vegetable peels and other debris are best for composting. Because they are high in nitrogen, they are classified as “green” compost ingredients. Eggshells, tea bags, and other food and kitchen scraps can also be added to the compost pile, providing they won’t attract too many pests.

2. Sawdust is a “brown” compost ingredient, which means it is low in nitrogen. Sawdusts decay in varied speed. Depending on the wood, some sawdusts tend to decay more quickly than the others. When using sawdust as a compost ingredient, make sure it does not come from a chemically-treated wood. If it does, it can potentially contaminate the entire compost, soil, and eventually plants.

3. Leaves are common compost ingredients. Whether dead and dry (“brown”) or living (“green”), leaves are ideal for composting. Actually, forest trees usually thrive on the dead and decaying leaves on forest floors, which cumulatively act as compost. Lawn clippings are also great for composting.

When making compost, it is very important to thoroughly mix all the organic waste so there won’t be clumps that prevent aeration. Brown ingredients are normally best to mix with green ingredients to speed up decay. Other ingredients are also best to use in thin layers.

If every household in every community is managing organic waste by way of composting, the volume of waste will be reduced by 30%. And in a world that is literally threatened by massive waste production, that is a significant number.

Households contribute a lot to the volume of waste produced every year. Fact is a big percentage of this household waste should not have been sent to landfills and incinerators in the first place. The problem is that many people fail to manage household waste and unnecessarily throw things away only to buy something new. The harrowing effect is more waste materials in landfills and incinerators.

Recycling efforts are in place to deal with existing waste, but to solve the problem with future waste, what needs to be done is to hit the core of the problem: waste reduction. In the household setting, there are a lot of ways you can contribute to waste reduction—from as simple as sorting waste to as habit-forming as changing shopping activities. In the long run, waste reduction is not only beneficial to the environment, it also favors your pockets.

“How can I reduce waste?”
Reducing waste should be a lifetime habit, and a good way to start is finding out how much waste your household produces. This can help you measure your progress and perhaps bring closer to home the reality of massive waste production. You might be surprised by your findings, but they should give you the motivation to reduce waste.

The next thing you should do is get to the actual waste reduction. And here’s a few of what you can do.

1. Repair instead of throwing stuff away. If you go and look into your trash bin, could you identify how much of your waste could actually be fixed and still be useful? The sad thing is that many people have this habit of getting rid of things even if they are repairable. The next time you have a damaged item, think first if it deserves to be in the trash bin or in the hands of a repairman.

2. Buy only what is necessary. This way you can avoid keeping things that in the end will only graduate into waste. When shopping, you can also purchase products, such as detergent and soap, in bulk sizes, so you need to dispose of just a few containers or packaging. If you don’t want to bring home any plastic or packaging at all, bring your own containers to supermarkets and grocery stores.

3. Use a reusable shopping bag. Plastic bags constitute a large percentage of household waste and take a lot of years to decompose. Although you can take advantage of the for-life shopping bags offered by many retailers, you can look through your own things and find if there is something you can use as a shopping bag. Now that’s recycling.

4. Avoid using disposable items. You can use washable cups instead of their plastic counterparts and rags in place of paper towels. You can also use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones. Look around your house. Do you keep disposable items that you can replace with better alternatives?

5. Limit your purchase of packaged foods. By doing so, you can reduce your waste by a great percentage as packaging and wrappers make up a bulk of household waste. Buy fresh products instead. Not only can you manage household waste effectively, you can also eat healthy.

Waste management and disposal issues are not just problem of a certain country or a continent. It is a global issue which should be addressed immediately. Countries and governments are expressing concern over problems with their waste disposal. According to the United Nations, there are about 60% of countries worldwide expressed their concern about disposing solid wastes and other environmental concerns in the 1992 Earth Summit.

Waste management is important since it has a major impact of human and community health. There could be chemical spills which could pose danger to water supplies. Poor landfills and incinerators could release cancerous carcinogen in the air and other pollutants. They could also be causes of pests, vermin, flies and other similar carriers of communicable diseases.

People would often associate that implementing waste management plans and policies is about protecting human health and the environment. Other than that, waste disposal could also have an impact on different environmental aspects such as climate change. Waste disposal can also be attributed in producing more greenhouse gases that makes the Earth’s climate warmer. Landfills in Asia, Latin America and Africa are to blame for about 40 % of methane emissions every year. That 40 % is equal to about 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Experts approximate that developed and industrialized nations produce more waste compared to developing countries. In the United States, each American will produce an average of .75 tons of trash every year. Those in Europe are estimated to accumulate almost half a ton of trash annually. In Asia, an average person would produce .2 tons of trash annually.

Although, Asia has the lowest waste average, it does not mean that they have better waste management system. There are studies and surveys conducted in Asia about waste disposal procedure. According to World Bank, China’s whopping 190 million tons of waste every year is not totally properly disposed. Only less than 50 % of China’s solid waste are treated properly, whether it is through landfill or incineration. China is not alone. Other Asian countries, like India, Indonesia and the Philippines also have poor waste disposal methods.

Regardless of territories and boundaries, pollution affects everybody. Environmental problems in Asia could still affect North America, Europe and Africa. This is why there are efforts among different countries in helping each other resolve environmental and waste problems.

An example would be the efforts between European and Asian countries. Europe is leading in environmental technologies, about 60 % of environmental discoveries and technologies came from them. They would play a major role in helping Asian countries become aware of different environmental damage happening in their nations. Asian countries mostly would have to deal with issues of water and air pollution, waste management for both households and industries, deforestation and loss of biodiversity.

Countries, like the United States and Canada, are encouraging more individuals to go back to the basics of waste reduction: reduce, reuse and recycle. The government are passing laws, state regulations about trash disposal that would help homeowners to start smart and proper waste management at home.

Environmental issues are not just an issue of a specified country. We should be more away that by starting waste management in our homes, workplace or school, we get to reduce the impact of pollution and climate change.