Garbage disposal problem. Recyclable materials - saving natural resources Recyclable waste

Separate waste disposal has long been practiced abroad: containers with compartments for plastic, waste paper, food and toxic waste are installed not only local authorities, but the townspeople themselves are at home. Eco-responsibility is developing slowly in Russia and Ukraine. And in St. Petersburg, they recently began to completely eliminate containers for separate collection, installed several years ago: management companies did not come for them for months, and residents reluctantly used. The correspondent of The Village in St. Petersburg spoke with a man who sorts garbage in his apartment and found out what is needed for separate collection at home.

Where to begin

When my girlfriend and I started sorting garbage at home, we immediately made one big mistake - we didn't think about what to do with it next. Just started putting away waste paper, plastic and glass bottles in separate boxes and bags. When, after a few weeks, a whole mountain had accumulated, I realized that I had absolutely no idea where to put all this. Remembering my school experience, I thought that it would not be difficult to hand over the waste paper or bottles. I conducted monitoring in my district - Primorsky - and realized that it is impossible to do everything in one place.

Each type of waste has its own collection points, and waste paper is collected only on weekdays from 12:00 to 14:00, which is very inconvenient. Bottles are also different: one type or color in one area, another in another, plastic bottles were not taken anywhere at all. As a result, I had a whole mountain of bottles and I didn't know what to do with them. Then I found out about the monthly action "Thank you for the trees", where you could immediately hand over everything that you have. Now it is no longer held, but there are many one-time actions.

Sorting mechanism

Now we are doing the simplest sorting: there are containers for plastic, glass, waste paper and, of course, food waste. They do not take up much space, it is enough to select a small corner. True, it was not possible to teach all six tenants of the apartment to throw everything into different containers. I started alone, and six months ago my sister joined me. At first, everyone doubted the rationality of our actions, but there was more talk about sorting in the media, and the neighbors showed more understanding.

If you have a lot of energy and are ready to spend a little more time on it, you can separately collect paper and cardboard, divide glass by color, save metal separately, remove paper clips from tea bags or magazines. This, of course, will facilitate the work of recycling enterprises or even increase the earnings of those involved in recycling, but only if everyone else does it. When one person is doing this in the city, there is not much benefit.

We dispose of food waste in a regular trash bin. Some people use so-called vermicomposters at home - these are boxes in which the worms process the food waste thrown there: there is no smell, and the fertilizer is ready. The worms do not run away anywhere, everything is neat. There are other examples: one retired woman working on the Roof Garden Project decided to create a continuous cycle of consumption and recycling on the roof of her apartment building. She put compost bins there, where the whole house dumps its food waste. The processed recyclable materials are subsequently used to fertilize the land in the garden.

Where to take

To start For those wishing to sort waste, I recommend finding out the location of collection points for glass, paper, food and hazardous waste near your home. I am an environmental engineer by education, and I didn’t even know that. Once you get past this stage, separate disposal no longer seems so problematic.

The easiest thing now is with paper or waste paper: there are many points and private companies that are ready to come and pick up all waste paper from your office or home weighing 200 kilograms or more. It's difficult within an apartment. But one friend of mine made an agreement with the management company, and now they collect cardboard and paper with the whole house, which they then take out. special services... The management company spends the profit from the disposal on the improvement of the local area and on technical needs.

I throw metal waste like tin cans into a separate bag, and then take it to the common trash bin in the yard, from where it is almost instantly taken away.

The situation with hazardous waste, especially with batteries, is also gradually improving: they were allowed to be collected by any company or anyone in general. I can walk around the city with a box and collect them to hand over. Many gas stations and shopping malls have special containers for collecting batteries, mercury lamps and medical waste. As an eco-car, only stationary.

Now there are a lot of waste disposal points in the city, they can be found on the Recyclemap.ru site map. There, collection points for glass, paper, hazardous waste and even clothing are proposed for each area. For me, the most convenient action is "Separate collection". Recently, they began to operate - this Saturday they will go through the city for the second time to collect recyclables. There is one more way for the laziest or the busiest - ecotaxi, which is planned to be launched soon. Judging by the reviews on social networks, many liked the idea. If they do not overstate the price, then for 200-300 rubles it will be an excellent alternative to "Separate collection".

Processing

Most often, waste is immediately sent to a waste disposal site, bypassing storage facilities. There are two waste sorting stations in St. Petersburg, where workers select useful fractions from the general waste heap. The percentage of recyclable materials recovery there is very low: from 3 to 15% maximum. Abroad, up to 90% of garbage is sent for recycling.

You need to understand: whatever one may say, preliminary sorting is necessary and very important. If the city does not do this, then we can do it. In any case, food waste needs to be separated from everything else: it stains, decays and spoils everything around. The same plastic bag can no longer be processed if it is covered in banana and the rest of the vinaigrette. Imagine how people are trying to pull out a cardboard box from all our compressed waste on a conveyor belt or plastic bottle... This is unrealistic and no one will do it.

Greenpeace.org
Greenpeace.org
Greenpeace.org
Greenpeace.org
Greenpeace.org

Education

The officials and the administration have their own opinion on this matter: they argue that no one uses garbage containers for separate disposal and that is why they are being dismantled. And residents say that they are ready to use it if the infrastructure is created for them and the garbage will be removed on time, and the lids of the tanks will not be locked. I heard somewhere that if at least 4% of the townspeople begin to do something, the rest will begin to catch up with them. This will set the trend - such a marketing rule.

There is an opinion: "Here I am alone, what's the point then?" But if a person even rinses the bottle and hands it in for a promotion or at a collection point, it will already be a huge step. If only because it will attract the attention of other people. I went to school on extracurricular lesson ecology and told children about separate disposal and how to make the planet cleaner. Children of the fourth and fifth grades already understand well the meaning of separate waste collection and recycling. It became incomprehensible to me: if children understand, then why don't adults do it? Maybe such an irresponsible generation that should be replaced by growing up eco-activists? We asked them why then people do not do this, and the schoolchildren confirmed our theory: people are either lazy or simply don’t know where to donate their garbage.

The authorities can influence the consciousness of citizens and their desire to properly dispose of waste. This cannot rest on activists alone: ​​they simply do not have the ability to oversee an entire city. In European countries, campaigns have been held for a long time to inform the population about how to use cisterns, how to sort garbage correctly. And then they just put it on and that's it. Russia will come to this one way or another, but without the initiative of the state it will take much longer.

Removal, processing and disposal of waste from 1 to 5 hazard class

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What is waste disposal? Waste disposal is the primary task of all mankind.

Along with the growth of the population of the planet and the level of consumption, the number of household waste in Russia. In the near future, it may reach alarming proportions. There is an obvious question of disposal, and ideally subsequent recycling (reuse). But this is affected by the lack of organizations that are engaged in the export, disposal of household and industrial waste.

Naturally, this problem of household waste disposal cannot be solved on local level, overcoming them is feasible from the establishment of clear norms and rules, strict control of their implementation on state level... The legislation regulates the export of household waste, but does not clearly track it. Therefore, it is not known whether they are disposed of or simply disposed of in landfills, polluting the surrounding lands and residential areas.

Stages of household waste disposal

Before the final elimination of unnecessary residues of human activity, you should clearly know the action plan and imagine the sequence of their implementation.

1. Collection and removal of household waste. You can't just collect and incinerate all garbage without sorting. It should first be sorted by type; for this, containers with the name of the garbage corresponding to them are located near most residential areas. For each such container, there must be an appropriate machine for loading and transporting the contents. Separate collection and disposal of garbage is effective way collection. How it actually happens can be observed from the side. Often, all containers are cleared by the same machine, and the efforts of citizens are reduced to zero. After all, surely arriving at the landfill, everything is unloaded in one heap and, at best, sorted on the spot. And should be sent to the appropriate places for the disposal or recycling of previously separately collected garbage. Therefore, it is so important to develop legal documents, which will stipulate the nuances and offer solutions that provide for separate removal and collection of household waste.
2. Garbage storage. There are special landfills or landfills for the accumulation of garbage; according to city norms, the terms of its content, volumes and the area allotted for them are provided. Naturally, the faster it will be disposed of, the less land will be used for it.
3. Waste transportation from landfills. Loading mechanisms and vehicles are needed to deliver garbage to certain places and to enterprises for disposal.
4. Disposal. It is implemented differently in each region, based on the firms available and the resources to implement. V developed countries there are many ways to dispose of household and industrial waste. Based on the results they have obtained, and adopting their experience, it is possible to find the optimal solution to the environmental problem that has arisen. In the meantime, the most common types are: incineration, burial and briquetting. Each of them has its negative and positive aspects. To understand the reasons for this, it is necessary to consider each of the methods separately.

Waste disposal methods

Before using them, you should clearly understand the scale of various garbage, first stored in a single apartment, and then in a district, city and in the whole country. It immediately becomes clear that it is necessary to create and master alternative methods for processing this recyclable material, starting with the establishment of sorting and ensuring the correct disposal of waste.

Burning

It is a cheap and widespread disposal option. It can be produced in several ways:

• Chamber
• Layer
• In a fluidized bed

The application of this method consists in the thermal elimination of industrial waste with a very high temperatures, which will ensure the incineration of industrial waste without residue and partially absorb toxic substances.

The problem with disposal in this way is that the residues of the substances have a detrimental effect on the air in the vicinity of this place. Modern industrial incinerators are equipped with cleaning systems, power generators. As a rule, ash left over from incineration industrial raw materials, is subject to further removal and burial.

The advantages of the method:

1. Low financial costs
2. The released heat is used to generate electricity or for heating
3. Significant reduction in mining volume

The main and probably the only drawback is toxicity, so incineration is unsafe for the environment. To eliminate this disadvantage, it is necessary to use systems for cleaning gases released during waste incineration.

Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of garbage without air, this method helps to reduce the damage to the environment.

Burial

The essence of the procedure is the usual burial of waste in the ground. This is done at special landfills, the requirements for which are stipulated in the relevant documents. Landfills provide environmental protection. These areas are subject to special requirements such as compliance sanitary regulations, as well as SNiP.

Placement of polygons is allowed:

• Outside the living area
• Medical institutions
• Recreational areas
• Water protection zones
• Recreation areas

Radioactive, toxic waste is not suitable for disposal at landfills, as well as suitable for recycling... As a result of the decomposition of burial sites, harmful gases and vapors are formed. Due to their composition, these formations harm the soil, ground and surface waters, air and human life.

There is a risk of fires, explosions and, less dangerous, odor spreading. Based on the above, it is clear that landfill gas also requires collection and disposal, which is what is practiced at landfills.

Currently, there are cases of garbage removal and disposal at unauthorized landfills, which is prosecuted by law. It is for this legislation that the requirements for landfills are clearly regulated.

This method is cheap, but requires land plots, which subsequently cannot be used for household works... To restore them will take much more money and time than when they are dirty.

Composting

The process of decomposition of the organic part of consumption waste by microorganisms occurs in two ways:

• Aerobic - in the presence of oxygen
• Anaerobic - in the absence of oxygen

Compost is formed at the exit - organic fertilizer, there is also an allocation carbon dioxide... The composting site must be sufficiently moist and shady, and the soil must be drained, i.e. moisture removal.

Advantages:

• An easy-to-implement way
• Low-cost
• Subsequent use of raw materials
• The number of beneficial microorganisms in the soil increases

Flaws:

Briquetting

This new way means first sorting waste, then putting it into briquettes. And then their storage at designated sites. So far, its feasibility has not been fully proven. It serves as the next step before processing and possibly further industrial use, or is sent for export and disposal.

Advantages of the method:

1. Reduced waste volume
2. Reducing the likelihood of fire
3. Reducing harm to the environment
4. Convenient further removal and storage at landfills

Removal and disposal of household waste requires due attention. With the help of their correct organization, you can not only significantly speed up the process of waste disposal, but also protect environment as well as reduce the use of natural resources... Currently, this problem is urgent.

Removal, processing and disposal of waste from 1 to 5 hazard class

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By looking at almost any non-hazardous waste, one can see the recyclable raw materials used to make new products, and it is humanity's challenge to get the most out of the waste. The planet's resources are limited and are not replenished at the rate with which humanity is wasting them. Some types of resources are not renewable at all, so they need to be saved. But this is not the only reason why waste raw materials are recycled.

In order to avoid littering of territories with garbage, it must be recycled. In addition, further processing of secondary raw materials will allow solving the problem of pollution with garbage: air, soil, ground and surface waters and the spread of infection in the environment.

Kinds

One of the main goals of waste recycling is to improve the environmental situation. V modern times the market for waste disposal and recycling is underdeveloped. This is caused not by the lack of technologies for processing recyclable materials, but by the low profitability of this activity, in connection with which, to recycle secondary waste it becomes simply unprofitable.

However, the use of household waste becomes a good basis for the production of recyclable materials, which can be reused into production circulation, sorted by type using the recycling sign. The use of secondary raw materials, including household waste, allows the manufacture of many products, such as paper products, glass containers, various metal and plastic products.

Valuable waste components are:

• Ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal
• Plastics: PET, HDPE, LDPE, PVC
• Glass containers and cullet
• Waste paper: paper, cardboard, newspapers and textiles
• Rubber
• Wood
• Electronics: circuit boards, batteries, wire, mercury lamps
• Petroleum products, asphalt, bitumen, oils

In the process of recycling, the waste is obtained various materials, in particular, it is Construction Materials, organic fertilizers, thermal energy.

Metal

When recycling waste, the appropriate technology is used for each type of waste. Mixed household waste is separated using different types separation. For example, metal waste is separated by magnetic separation, and then pressed, packaged and sent to foundries for subsequent remelting.

Recycling of scrap metal contributes to significant savings in natural resources and environmental protection.

Glass

Glass waste is processed into technical glass, which is subsequently used in construction. The glass processing process includes the following stages:

• Sorting glass debris according to the sign of processing when using separation equipment.
• Its cleaning followed by drying
• Shredding
• Preparation of raw materials and heating using special equipment.

Recycling production waste in the form of glass has significant advantages. For example, this process qualitatively affects the unloading of landfills for waste collection, saving raw materials and energy resources for glass production.

Waste paper

Just like recycling other types of recyclable materials, recycling paper helps to reduce environmental pollution. The production of paper releases highly toxic substances into the environment, and when using recycled paper, fewer chemicals are used. hazardous substances... Also, when reused waste paper part of the wood resources is saved.

With regard to the process of recycling paper waste, consider the main stages:

1. After collecting, first of all, the raw materials are sorted in accordance with special sign processing.
2. Further, the waste paper is obtained and cleaned.
3. In the future, if necessary, the mass is subjected to discoloration and sent to the production of paper.

New paper is produced using recycled and virgin raw materials. In Russia, most of the waste paper is among household waste, which makes it unavailable for further use. In this case, it is necessary to stop the simultaneous collection of construction, paper and household waste. Separate waste collection is the best way out of the critical environmental situation in the Russian Federation.

Polymers

Reusing waste from polymers is quite difficult due to the degree of contamination and inadequacy secondary polymers the quality of raw materials. This type of activity is very costly and less profitable than the production of polymer raw materials from the latest materials.

However, the processing of recyclable polymers is beneficial if they are further used in the production of various concrete products and wood-polymer boards. It is done only if cleaning and sorting is not particularly important for the production of polymer products.

Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which has been used in beverage bottles, is used to produce polyester fiber insulation for jackets.

After recycling, it is used to make:

• Carpets
• Containers
• Pallets
• Non food trays
• Door panels
• Grilles and bumpers for cars

The cost of polymer recyclable materials is much lower than the original one, which attracts large suppliers, so re-processing of raw materials can be quite beneficial for a recycling plant.

Wood

Wood and waste paper are in great demand in construction and pulp and paper industry, and their secondary use will allow enterprises to significantly save on production costs. In addition, reuse of waste will save the life of many trees and will have a beneficial effect on the environment.

Rubber

Recycling of used car tires and rubber will clear large areas of landfills from this type of waste, avoid the release of harmful carcinogenic substances into the atmosphere that are formed during combustion, and eliminate the risk of spreading infection.

Rubber and car tires are usually crushed into crumbs in specialized factories and then used in many industries. The recycled rubber is then used to produce new car tires and rubber shoes. Recycled rubber is also widely used in construction.

Petroleum products

Today, for the processing of oil waste are used modern technologies... As a result of this process, one obtains, for example, motor oil... This makes it possible to significantly reduce the volume of emissions of harmful vapors into the atmosphere, and to reduce soil and water pollution. Taken together, to a lesser extent endanger the environment.

Electronics

Electronic waste can produce various chemical elements including precious metals... When recycling used electronic boards, you can get gold, silver, palladium, as well as nickel, iron, copper, glass and polymers. The sorted metal is then sent to the smelting furnace, the remainder of the waste is pyrolyzed.

Mercury

Disposal of mercury lamps largely eliminates the environmental threat of mercury pollution. Mercury from these products is neutralized using the demercurization method.

When recyclable materials are processed, a sorbent is formed, from which environmentally friendly paving slabs are then made. The glass bulbs of used mercury lamps are subsequently used in the manufacture of new lamps. Some aluminum and phosphor are also formed.

Recycling sign

Each type of raw material has a sign of recycling, this sign means what material the product is made of, to simplify future sorting. According to the recommendations of the developers, the marks applied to the packaging should be large enough. The mark was first coined in 1988 for identification. Raw materials to be marked: paper, plastic, metal, glass.

Outcome

Currently, household waste is used not only as recyclable materials for the production of new products. They are also used for aesthetic purposes.

Various exhibitions are periodically opened around the world, competitions are held for the manufacture of all kinds of objects, sculptures, interior items from household waste. People started using trash (cans, bottles, old videotapes, pipes, and more) to make them. Such events are aimed at drawing the attention of the whole world to the problem of disposal and recycling of all types of waste.

Primary production and recycling of waste subsequently allows many pressing environmental issues and make a huge contribution to caring for the environment. This kind economic activity must certainly acquire a rapid development, as the amount of garbage in landfills is steadily growing.

The whole Last year I live in the most natural bearish corner - by at least, this is exactly the impression one gets after a dozen shops within walking distance, a stack of shopping centers and other "benefits of civilization", which are extremely rare, but still had to be visited. Now this is not the case - the nearest store is a couple of kilometers from home, bus stop, school and pharmacy - even further.

It is not difficult to overcome this distance lightly, with two small children it is already more difficult, but this is not about that, but about the fact that garbage containers are also somewhere on the horizon.

The city is small, and there is no talk of any sort of waste sorting, and it will not help: there are no waste processing plants in my area. However, this is the case almost throughout the country, with very rare exceptions. In supermarkets, a huge row is occupied by plastic disposable tableware intended for picnics, on which, in most cases, it remains. And in the European Union, which is usually accepted to scold, they want to approve a directive on the fight against plastic waste. They are going to completely abandon disposable items, the manufacture of which consumes plastic. According to statistics provided by the EU, more than 70% of all waste generated is plastic. The European Union plans to ban as many as ten categories of goods (yes, this is a drop in the ocean in general abundance, but Moscow was not built right away), including sticks for balloons, cotton swabs, cocktail tubes, and so on in the same spirit. For these things, it is easy to find analogs made from natural materials, or at least those that have a more gentle impact on the environment. The same European Union sets itself a goal: by 2025 to find a way of recycling and subsequent use for 95% of all plastic produced. What about now?

Of the total amount of resources extracted by mankind, only 10% of them make products that we really need and benefit from, and another 90% is future waste. I remember a phrase from a speech by Mikhail Zadornov - "We missed not the quality, but the bright cover, the packaging!" Apparently, the statistics are right, and in some cases, a frankly lousy quality is forgiven for a beautiful box. And God would be with her, with that packaging, if there were, where to put it, but there is nowhere! MSW, they are also solid household waste, tend to accumulate. Competent disposal and recycling are still at the level of exceptions rather than rules, although it should be quite the opposite.

In many European countries, there is interesting system: instead of outweighing the headache of waste disposal on the municipal authorities, the legislation decided once and for all - the manufacturer himself is responsible for the recycling of the packaging of his goods. A consumer can come to any supermarket and hand over absolutely any container that will be sent back for further processing back to the manufacturer, and the store is obliged to accept it and issue a certain pretty penny at the checkout. The logic is outrageously simple: if you have to spend resources on recycling the containers you have made, then you will try to use packaging materials as economically as possible. Even if the cost of processing is invested in the price of the product, this stage still cannot be avoided. And here are the consequences: in Russia, municipal enterprises are responsible for the removal and disposal of waste, not business. There is no need to talk about the cleanliness of cities in Europe and in Russia. I really want to stay in rose-colored glasses - for the time being I believe that the whole point is in the problem of garbage disposal, and not the ability to calmly wind up on the street / in nature and go on about your business.

Whatever it was, but the disposal of waste, whether it be raw materials from enterprises or residential areas, is a very painful issue for Russia. Garbage processing plants are not in every city: in some places there are, of course, but mostly these are enterprises that can offer only banal waste incineration, and not its full-fledged recycling. All manipulations with waste at such enterprises are most often carried out manually, which increases the labor intensity and duration of the process. And the West for the most part has abandoned this method - environmentalists have long ago proved that when waste is incinerated, no less (or even more) is thrown into the environment. harmful substances than due to the work of any industrial enterprise. The path of simplification is not always the most correct, but for some reason it is along this path that Russian utilities are jumping, and I mean not simple hard workers, but a higher stratum. Where is the garbage usually taken out? To the nearest landfill. Cities are overgrown with such dumps, which from time to time are covered with a thick layer of clay and earth to give them a more or less decent look. But you can't constantly build up a dump in height, right? AND free places, on which it is possible to place the next landfill, every day there are fewer, especially around megalopolises. But the garbage is not getting smaller, rather, the opposite is true. Local administrators cannot, or do not want to solve this problem, so it came to a question for the president during hotline... The question was asked last year and the dump in Balashikha was closed. But, probably, it would be more correct to say that it was simply moved from Balashikha.

And here's what's interesting. If in European countries they are concerned about what to do with the accumulating waste, how to recycle it, and how not to harm the environment, then some Asian and European states do exactly the opposite: for them, garbage, even if it is their own or someone else's, is a way of earning money. In pursuit of replenishment of the treasury, they buy up waste in neighboring countries to dispose of them on site. For example, the capital of Ghana, Accra - one of the districts of the city is a natural cemetery of electronic waste. Failed electronic devices, worn out batteries, computers - almost 215 thousand tons of this stuff is imported annually to Ghana from Western Europe to rest in a "personal" dump. Add here almost 130 thousand more tons of your "good", and do not forget to take into account that local waste processing enterprises are very far from the level of modern and environmentally friendly plants. Yes, some of the waste is recycled, receiving the status of recyclable materials, but the lion's share is simply buried in the ground. And let it be buried, be it paper or food waste, but no - for the most part it is plastic of all stripes, and heavy metals. By burying this "wealth" over and over again, Ghana is gradually acquiring the status of an ecological time bomb.

Using the Chitarum River in Indonesia as an example, one can talk about a situation that has long ceased to be something terrifying for a number of countries, and, so to speak, has become a habit with them, becoming something commonplace. So, Chitarum is a full-flowing stream running past Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, towards the Java Sea. It is very important not only for the five million people permanently living in its basin, but for the whole of West Java as a whole - the water from Chitarum is used in agriculture, the organization of the water supply industry, and much more. But, as it usually happens, on the banks of this river, several dozen textile enterprises are lined up, which "give" Chitarum waste in the form of dyes and other chemicals. If this could be done, then the trouble is not great: treatment facilities could at least slightly solve this problem. The fact is that the river is very difficult to see, and not to be confused with another landfill: its surface is completely covered with various debris, most which is represented by the same plastic. In 2008, the Asian Development Bank allocated half a billion dollars in loans to clean up the river: Chitarum was named the most dirty river the world. The subsidy went as intended, but things are still there. While those in power were deciding what to do with the river, the people are so accustomed to throwing everything unnecessary into it that the proverb about the humpbacked and the grave comes to mind. Moreover, the fishermen who were left out of business due to the pollution of Chitarum (the fish that managed to survive and adapt to the living conditions in such a cesspool is simply dangerous to eat), have found a new way of earning: they collect plastic waste from the surface of the river and they are handed over to recycling centers, where they are paid a small penny for it. So everyone is happy - some have "laundered" the money, the second continue to earn, the third do not bother with the place where you can throw garbage. The fish is just unhappy. But she is silent, so everything is in order.

She is silent and in Pacific where a real island was formed from plastic debris. I have already mentioned it on this resource, I will give a link at the end of this article. Here, too, dozens of "entrepreneurs" gather every day, collecting everything of value from the rubbish spot. It's a shame that for many of them this way of earning money is the only one.

All over the world researchers of this problem unanimously repeat: you need to be more economical, this is the only solution to the "garbage question". Instead of throwing a tin can or shampoo bottle in a landfill, where it is rolled into the ground and left to decompose for years, you can recycle it into something useful. This option is especially respected in the West, because recycling means that you can earn / save on conventional waste again, or even more than one.

In Russia, South America, In Africa and Asia, people have not yet worked out a rule for themselves - to sort garbage. Despite the fact that this is outrageously simple, we still throw everything in one container - construction waste and waste after cooking, read newspapers, glass bottles, and so on, so on, so on. We do not yet have containers in public areas with the words "For glass", "For food waste", "For plastic", and so on - what kind of "specialized" containers can we talk about, if ordinary ones cannot be found everywhere , as now in my place of residence. V Western Europe and North America They have been practicing this method for a long time, because they realized that it is easier and more economical to sort waste immediately in residential areas, and the resources that are freed up at enterprises freed from sorting can be sent for recycling.

An interesting system exists in Germany. In addition to the usual separate collection of garbage, there is also Duales System Deutschland GmbH - in fact, a legally established requirement according to which any manufacturer is obliged not only to reduce the amount of material consumed for packaging goods, but also to develop it either rapidly decomposing in the natural environment or not delivering special hassle when processing at the appropriate facility. We wish we had such a law! But while a similar level is only in Germany, even the rest have not caught up with it. European countries- theoretically, the Germans can even dispose of garbage from other countries, not only their own.

Not bad "garbage question" is solved in Australia: quarterly in each locality allocated up to 350 Australian dollars, intended specifically for the removal of waste and their processing. Yes, landfills exist, but rather as a temporary storage facility, such transshipment base: waste sorting also takes place here, but in a more global sense. Construction garbage taken in one direction, waste products from livestock farms - in the other. Each landfill has its own purpose, and each type of waste has its own way of processing and options for further use.

However, as the most original way garbage disposal, I would like to highlight Semakau - one of several dozen Singaporean islands. The reason for the allocation is simple: the fact is that this piece of solid earth is not at all earth, or rather, it is far from all of it. Semakau is an artificial island, construction of which began in 1999, and its completion is only planned for 2035. Since Singapore is a multitude of islands, it is simply not possible to organize a landfill in the literal sense of the word, but this garbage does not diminish. The islanders have found an interesting solution: about 38% of the generated waste can be burned, another 60% is sent for recycling, and the remaining 2% of waste that cannot be burned or somehow usefully disposed of is sent to Semakau. Now its area is 350 hectares, and it continues to grow. The construction of Semakau took 63 million cubic meters of waste: before being sent to the "construction site", they were filled in strong plastic blocks, subsequently securely tightened with an impermeable fabric membrane. The blocks are poured into a closed "bay", fenced off by a kind of dam, preventing their spread over the ocean. The resulting surface is fastened, covered with a hefty layer fertile soil, is planted with trees and turns into another several hundred square meters of completely habitable, beautiful area... The water quality in the water area around Semakau is continuously monitored: it has not suffered over the years, so the local ecological situation is quite inspiring - you can swim here, and fish caught in the vicinity of the "garbage island" can be eaten.

Recycling and reuse raw materials are more relevant today than ever. A properly organized waste disposal and recycling process is a huge step towards improving the environment.

For large enterprises, the concept of waste generation standard is not an empty phrase. Environmental specialists develop project documentation and are required to monitor the implementation of regulatory indicators.

But besides waste industrial enterprises there is also household waste. What happens to the garbage that each of us throws into the trash can every day?

Disposal options in modern world there are only three:

• The least environmentally friendly option is burial. Only organic waste can completely decompose, and there are not so many of them. Burial of inorganic waste leads to the formation of highly toxic infiltration waters and the release of methane into the environment.
• Incineration of municipal solid waste achieves two goals: to reduce its volume and to obtain a certain amount of energy that can be used. These are the advantages of this method. But there is also a significant disadvantage - in the process of combustion, the formation of toxic compounds that pollute the atmosphere occurs. And the ash remaining after processing waste is toxic enough and requires further burial in special storage facilities.
• Sorting waste with the possibility of subsequent recycling of paper, glass, plastic is the most environmentally friendly method of waste disposal.

What wastes are subject to further processing

Paper, plastic and glass are the leaders among the recyclable waste.

The modern level of recycling of paper waste makes it possible to save thousands of hectares of forest annually from deforestation. As a result of recycling, not only paper and cardboard are produced. Modern equipment makes it possible to produce environmentally friendly heat-insulating materials on the basis of paper waste, used in cold period years for warming the premises.

As a result of processing polymer waste you can get polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and polyamide. The materials obtained are widely used. They are used to produce sewer pipes and containers for technical fluids, waterproofing and furniture fittings, many household products (scoops, basins, buckets).

Recycling glass allows you to create virtually waste-free production... And the material obtained in the process of processing is in no way inferior in quality to new glass.

How it works - Recycling garbage, see the video: