Abstract
The widespread generation of, ever increasing volumes of and the sustainable management of solid wastes are global issues of great concern. Due to wide variations in composition and associated complexities, significant efforts are required for their collection, processing and environmentally safe disposal in a cost effective manner. An overview of solid wastes is presented in this article with a specific focus on municipal solid wastes and industrial waste from the iron/steelmaking and aluminium industries. Key waste issues such as its sources, compositions, volumes, the factors affecting waste generation and waste processing are first discussed, followed by a further discussion regarding recycling, resource recovery, disposal and the associated environmental impacts. In a special case study, waste generation and management in Chile is presented in greater detail. Detailed information is provided on government initiatives and legislation for integrated solid waste management and its movement towards a circular economy. Measures include regulations on waste management framework which concerns the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, persistent organic pollutants, the closure of mining activities and installations and restrictions on plastics disposal. With Chile being world’s largest producer of copper, significant efforts for mining waste management, its infrastructure and procedures are being put in place to reduce the environmental impact of the mining sector and its associated waste generation.
Highlights
Solid waste management is a global issue affecting individuals, communities and governments in most countries
We focus our attention on the leading metal processing industries, namely the iron and steelmaking sector and the aluminium industry and the associated waste management
An in-depth overview has been presented on solid waste management in relation to the global scenario, and a further special report on waste management in Chile has been presented
Summary
Solid waste management is a global issue affecting individuals, communities and governments in most countries. It has been estimated that every year, over a billion tonnes of waste are produced globally. This number continues to rise for most nations with data reported in 2018 at: East Asia and the Pacific (468 MT); Europe. Unless urgent action is taken on several waste management fronts, global waste generation rates may increase to 20 billion tonnes/year by 2050. Through a focus on solid waste generation and management, this article is organized as follows: an overview of different types of wastes is presented in Section 2 along with detailed statistics on two major solid wastes, namely, municipal solid waste and industrial waste from key metal processing industries. Chile is gradually moving to a circular economy through legislation, long-term plans and the provision of funds from public and private entities and has demonstrated a financial implementation of these objectives
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