Material Detail

The safety and acceptability of many widely used solid waste management practices are of serious concern from the public health point of view. Such concern stems from both distrust of policies and solutions proposed by all tiers of government for the management of solid waste and a perception that many solid waste management facilities use poor operating procedures. Waste management practice that currently encompasses disposal, treatment, reduction, recycling, segregation and modification has developed over the past 150 years. Before that and in numerous more recent situations, all wastes produced were handled by their producers using simple disposal methods, including terrestrial dumping, dumping into both fresh and marine waters and uncontrolled burning. In spite of ever-increasing industrialisation and urbanisation, the dumping of solid waste, particularly in landfills, remains a prominent means of disposal and implied treatment.

Disciplines:

• Health Sciences  / Environmental Health