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Waste management is a pretty broad field that covers everything from the collection and transportation of waste to the disposal of garbage, sewage, and various waste products.
Why is Waste Management Important?
Because waste management covers so much ground, the safe handling of waste materials, proper upkeep of junk removal vehicles, and ensuring that garbage dumps are compliant with state statues and federal environmental regulations, the field is increasingly complicated and always expanding.
When waste management is done right it helps protects human health, contributes to energy conservation and ensures resources aren’t wasted, and lowers the overall amount of waste generated by communities around the country. With all these benefits in mind, here are four tips to help you do your part and make better waste management choices:
Four Tips for Better Waste Management
Although household waste and industrial waste are handled in completely different ways, a lot of the same principles and overarching goals apply: The name of the game is keeping you and the environment safe. Just in terms of waste transportation, this means making sure your garbage winds up at landfills that fit local codes, doesn’t enter the municipal water system, and receives proper treatment.
- First Tip: Know What’s Dangerous
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regularly puts out Waste Classification Guidelines to help homeowners and businesses make informed waste management decisions. One of the things that the Waste Classification Guidelines helpfully do is differentiate hazardous waste from general solid waste, which is produced by most households.
To ensure that your garbage ends up at the right location and doesn’t threaten the environment make sure that you aren’t accidentally mixing in hazardous waste like lead-acid batteries, fertilizers or certain paints with your general trash. Anything that you throw away that might contain asbestos is categorized by the EPA as special waste, and it should be disposed of accordingly so that it doesn’t become an environment or public health concern.
- Second Tip: Separate Biodegradable from Non-Biodegradable Waste
Biodegradable waste can be broken down to methane via anaerobic digestion within a few months or even a couple of weeks. Most municipal solid waste (a.k.a., residential trash) like food and paper waste are biodegradable.
What you want to look out for is non-biodegradable waste that can’t be broken down – things like car tires or hazardous waste like batteries, motor oil, certain paints and pesticides. Learn about disposal of non-biodegradable waste in the link below.
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/disposal-nonbiodegradable-waste-79582.html
- Third Tip: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Because one of waste management’s goals is preserving our natural resources, everyone should consider reducing their carbon footprint and recycling things like aluminum cans, paper products and certain plastics.
https://www.wm.com/thinkgreen/what-can-i-recycle.jsp
Avoiding goods that are over-packaged and making more of an effort to purchase durable products can help us all reduce the amount of waste that winds up at landfills, and eventually needs to be treated; waste treatment, unfortunately, isn’t carbon neutral.
Another easy way to reduce is to bring your own cloth grocery bags to the store to avoid the waste of plastic ones.
Buying more durable products also touches on the other R – reuse – since things like ceramic mugs can be reused. You might also consider donating your outdated laptop so that it can be reused by someone less fortunate.
- Fourth Tip: Have Your Yard Waste Professionally Removed
We actually shouldn’t be including clothes, ceramic materials or yard waste in our recycling materials, according to the folks at Waste Management. To ensure that you’re not harming the environment and to clear the way for a cleaner home, contact Junk King-Marin and save big when you book online.
