The problem of waste disposal in the modern world. Non-replaceable waste containers

As the world's population grows, the level of consumption inevitably rises. Every day new products, technologies appear, production facilities open. All this leads to an increase in the mass of waste produced by civilization: there are so many of them that the problem of garbage, in particular its disposal, has become one of the most important for the world community.

The concept of recycling includes the entire list of actions necessary for the most environmentally friendly release from waste from human life and the production sector:

collection, sorting and removal from places of residence and work activities of a person;
storage in landfills or burial in quarries, special landfills, as well as in insulators and underground storage facilities;
physical destruction with the help of modern technologies;
recycling salvage in order to obtain new useful to man products and goods.

Popular methods of waste disposal are conventional incineration under different thermal conditions and pyrolysis technology, when the decomposition of the mass of raw materials occurs under the influence of very high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment.

Of course, the best way out for humanity is the recycling of waste materials, but, unfortunately, today only a small part of it is exposed to it.

Types of waste and disposal problems

Garbage to be disposed of is divided into household - MSW (municipal solid waste) - and industrial.

Containers for the collection of solid waste are located in the courtyard of each residential building. Their main subgroups are:

paper;
glass products;
remnants of food and products;
plastic and all kinds of plastic.

Industrial waste is divided into:

Biological. This, for example, includes the remains of tissues, organs of people and animals: animal corpses, waste from the production of meat products, as well as biomaterials from the work of hospital departments, microbiological laboratories and veterinary institutions.
. These are objects, liquids or gases containing radioactive substances in quantities above established norms security.
Construction. They appear as a result of the construction of houses and other structures, repairs and decoration, as well as during the production of building materials.
. All sorts of garbage from the activities of medical institutions.
Transport complex waste. They arise as a result of the work of motor transport enterprises, as well as places of repair, maintenance and long-term parking of automotive equipment.

Of course, only the main types of waste from economic and industrial activities are listed, but their complete classification is much more extensive.

The main problem of recycling is the need for impressive primary financing for organizing the production of destruction or processing of waste materials that meets modern environmental requirements.

For example, conventional incineration of many types of waste results in the release of highly toxic substances into the atmosphere and is therefore prohibited. Due to the lack of funds and qualified personnel, there are not enough processing (utilization) enterprises or resources to create industries that independently carry out the secondary processing of waste materials produced.

What is the danger to the Earth is the waste?

Ecologists around the world have been sounding the alarm for a long time: our planet is dying from poisonous garbage that has flooded it and emissions of harmful substances into the biological environment.

Note! As a natural part of the ecosystem, humans are already getting the negative results of polluting the planet with waste. The list of allergic, endocrine, viral and infectious diseases is growing every year.

Waste disposal in Russia

Unfortunately, the problem of environmentally friendly and legal disposal in our country is still acute, as violations of the current legislation by enterprises and an irresponsible attitude towards this problem on the part of ordinary citizens flourish.
For example, a system of separate waste collection from the population is being introduced. For this, sites near residential buildings are supplied with special containers with the appropriate marks: “glass”, “plastic”, “paper”, etc. For violations of the principles of such sorting, in Europe, for example, the perpetrator will have to pay an impressive fine. In our country, it is not uncommon for residents to ignore these rules with impunity, or the contents of all containers are unloaded by the same machine, and all the efforts of citizens come to naught.

The official statistics read:

Up to four billion tons of waste is generated in Russia annually, of which: more than two and a half billion are the remains of industrial activities, seven hundred million are manure, dung from poultry and livestock complexes, up to forty million are solid waste, about thirty million are waste water and three million tons of salvage from medical institutions.
The country has accumulated more than eighty billion tons of waste (of which at least one and a half billion are classified as especially dangerous, as they are toxic).

Today, huge areas are allocated for landfills and for waste disposal. And at the same time, hundreds of unauthorized dumps and "burial grounds" operate in Russia, illegal emissions of harmful substances into the air and water are made, soils are polluted, as a result of which the animal and plant world is dying.

Waste management experience abroad

In the modern world community, there are many examples of a decent level of waste management, including recycling, which can and should be equaled.

In the EU countries put on stream separate collection waste from the population (paper, glass, plastic, etc. are separated), for violation of the rules when throwing garbage into sorting containers, an impressive fine threatens.

In European stores selling household goods, there are collection points where you can turn in your old and obsolete household appliances(from a battery to a large refrigerator), while receiving an impressive discount on the purchase of a new one.

For example, Sweden recycles up to 80% household waste, about 18% is disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. And only a small residue is taken out for burial outside the country.

All Swedish recycling companies, in accordance with the law, are equipped with special alarm sensors that monitor the level of concentration of harmful substances. In case of violation allowable rate the signal goes directly to the regulatory authorities, and the violator faces a fine and administrative sanctions.

The Swedish television journalists talk about the unprecedented recycling of waste in Sweden in the following video.

From the countries of the East good example Waste management is demonstrated by Japan. According to statistics, almost half of all generated waste materials are recycled here, more than thirty-five percent are recycled, and only a fifth end up in landfills and landfills. And the authorities are constantly concerned about how to reduce this part to a minimum, because the country's territory is too small to load it with landfills.

Back in the late 20th century, Japan passed a law on the mandatory recycling of all types of packaging and cans for drinks and food, which is respectfully observed by both businesses and ordinary citizens. As a result, Japan is rightfully considered a highly cultured and very “clean” country.

Of course, the situation is by no means so optimistic everywhere. Unfortunately, countries with high levels of pollution natural environment, and, accordingly, the level of disease and mortality of people, there are much more in the world than "islands of civilization". Today, among the most "dirty" places on the planet are India, China, Egypt, Iraq, etc.

Of course, the cleanliness movement natural resources does not stand still. In Russia and the world, state and regional waste disposal programs are being developed and implemented. New production facilities for the processing of waste materials are being opened, as well as points for receiving them from the population.

However, the solution to the problem of waste management is possible only through the joint efforts of state control bodies, and each individual citizen of the country and the world community.

The need for destruction or recycling of garbage

Today it is not difficult to calculate how much garbage creates modern man. First of all, he throws out about one garbage bag every day, which is filled with household waste. Then periodically he does general cleaning or renovations to your home. Each of these processes also creates mountains of debris. In some countries, especially states Western Europe and the United States, they know how to deal with this problem. However, in our country there is a certain unresolved problem. In particular, garbage hides a huge potential, which is to obtain raw materials for future production after its processing. But instead in our country useful waste rot in a landfill, or worse, get burned. The population breathes poisonous substances. It is proved that if you burn plastic, then a person can get poisoned if he is nearby. This is because synthetic substances emit carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in terrifying amounts.

Destruction of organic materials

That is why the removal of construction waste is so necessary. It needs to be planned and organized, as well as the removal of solid waste at the level of municipal authorities. In order to qualitatively destroy waste, they need to be classified. Organic types of garbage are the most useful. These initially include former food products and their remains, animal corpses, wood and natural Construction Materials. All organic matter can simply be burned. In fact, all this can become part of an effective fertilizer. Tons are purchased annually in the world food waste. As for the small tree, energy is obtained from it. So sawdust, straw, wood, shavings are burned to further generate heat. Wood is an excellent material for mineral fertilizers.

Destruction of inorganics

The main problem is the destruction of inorganics. This is because plastic and similar materials take a long time to decompose. Their decay period is at least a century. There is no way to fight this. You can only reduce the amount of synthetic materials consumed. It is recommended to burn plastic far from populated areas so that there are no people within a radius of five kilometers. Today it is a luxury for municipal services. Therefore, synthetics slowly and surely decompose, poisoning the soil, water, and air.

Have you ever thought about where all the garbage goes? Of course, the topic is not the most interesting, but the problem of recycling is very important. More precisely, not the processing itself, but its absence.

If you believe the numbers, everything is very bad: processing in Russian Federation exposed to only 4% waste. Where does all the rest of the garbage go, what happens to it, and how does it affect ecological situation countries? Our article will answer these and other questions.

Why is there a problem of waste recycling in Russia?

How can our country get rid of garbage? There is not one way. There are several. The first two - burial and burning - have been known for a very long time. So why can't we afford to continue using proven methods? It's very simple: the population of Russia is growing every year. The area of cities is increasing, albeit insignificant, but there is growth. The amount of food consumed is also growing. We buy more, we throw away more. This means that the area of landfills will increase over time.

It doesn’t sound very scary, but there is one “but”: the total area of all Russian landfills is more than four million hectares. The annual increase is almost 10% of this value, approximately 0.4 million hectares. Just think, this is the total area of Moscow and St. Petersburg!

Every year, every Russian has more than 400 kg of waste. More than 70 million tons are collected in the country per year household waste, almost all of which settle on .

And everything would be fine, but not only organic matter ends up in landfills. organic matter decompose in a very short period of time. As a rule, no more than a year. And everything ends up in landfills.

Here is another blunder: culture is not instilled in Russia. This is one of the first and most important steps towards waste recycling, without which the problem of garbage in the Russian Federation cannot be solved!

As a way of destroying waste, incineration is the most environmentally hazardous. Landfills are very bad for the environment, but their area is still limited, as is the impact on nature. And everything around suffers. In fact, it is a process of transformation solid waste into the smoke. One problem: all harmful substances enter the atmosphere. This is incredibly harmful to the human body, including. Severe illnesses are a matter of a specific case, so it is not entirely correct to say that pollution from incinerators provokes cancer.

This is most clearly and reliably manifested in the general condition of the body. Reduced immunity provokes a multiple increase in the number of colds. According to studies conducted in France, toxic emissions from incinerators affect the frequency of allergic diseases. And, of course, the general condition of the body: rarely anyone pays attention to weakness, as well as poor appetite, especially if this is a permanent state of the body.

What is the situation with waste incineration in Russia? Fortunately, there are only 6 large plants so far. The total share in waste disposal is only 2%, which is good. Organizations such as Greenpeace constantly carry out awareness campaigns and actions against the construction of new factories. And it works. Still, garbage disposal brings less harm. But the problem of waste disposal still exists. Natural resources our country is almost unlimited. It's just stupid to pollute nature like that.

The problem of waste disposal

One of global problems of humanity is the production of waste, which is growing all over the world at a pace that outpaces their processing, neutralization and disposal.

More than 7 billion tons of household, agricultural, industrial and other types of waste are generated annually in the Russian Federation. The volume of generation of municipal solid waste (hereinafter referred to as MSW) in settlements Russian Federation is 150 million m3 (30 million tons) per year. The main part of MSW is stored in landfills various types and numerous landfills. About 85% of the waste ends up in landfills, only 5% of the waste is recycled, and about 10% of the waste is lost during transportation. The accumulation of waste brings enormous environmental, economic and social damage.

The negative effects of waste are also manifested in an increase in the incidence of people, deterioration in their living conditions, and a decrease in the productivity of natural resources. Increasingly, situations arise when symptoms of specific pathologies are detected, caused by the chronic action of low concentrations of technogenic pollutants. This action is associated with the transfer of harmful substances from external environment(waste dumps) into the internal environment of the body, followed by a more or less long-term retention of some of these substances and their gradual accumulation.

In this regard, the problem of waste disposal is relevant in order to prevent negative impact on the environment, economy and social sphere region.

Waste types

Waste from natural materials :

Food (rotting) waste.

· Waste of medical, medical, research organizations, including surgery, dentistry and medical veterinary institutions.

Industrial waste:

· Metal waste.

· Waste of spent chemical current sources.

Breakage of glass and glassware.

· Waste polymeric materials of synthetic chemistry, including rubber and Rubber products and all wrapping materials and polymer containers made from synthetic chemicals.

· Radioactive waste.

Garbage disposal methods:

Removal and disposal of waste

Thermal destruction of waste

The first SME designed for the destruction of household waste was built in the UK in 1876.

Collection and disposal of waste

Waste disposal at landfills and landfills is the most used method in our country, but, alas, not the most appropriate to use.

International experience in solving the garbage problem

AT general view pollution is the presence of environment harmful substances that disrupt the functioning of ecological systems or their individual elements and reduce the quality of the environment in terms of human habitation or economic activity

Waste disposal is one of the most important problems of modern civilization. It is especially difficult to dispose of unorganized garbage. So far, mankind has come up with three fundamentally different ways of waste disposal:

landfill organization

waste recycling

waste incineration

However, none of them can be considered absolutely acceptable.

Recycling of waste is the most resource-saving way, but not always profitable both economically and in terms of environmental plan. There are a number of problems here.

The first problem is that before the garbage can be used, it must be sorted. Paper, iron, broken glass - should be kept separately. Obviously, it is practically impossible to sort the garbage that has already arrived at the landfill - there are no such machines, and people work very slowly, and this is harmful to their health. Therefore, it is necessary to sort the garbage at the moment when it is thrown away. This means that each person should have separate buckets for food waste, paper, plastic, etc. This approach takes root in the villages, but in cities it is difficult to implement such ideas. Although in many foreign countries separate containers for different types of garbage have already appeared on the streets

Separate collection of different categories of waste determines the efficiency and cost of disposal of individual components. The most inconvenient for disposal is mixed waste containing a mixture of biodegradable wet food waste, plastics, metals, glass, etc. Components.

The second problem is the delivery of garbage to the place of processing. If there are a lot of garbage and consumers of the products of its processing, then many plants capable of processing this type of waste can be built. Then, for example, broken glass collected from nearby landfills will be processed at numerous glass factories. And what about electric light bulbs? Each light bulb contains several tens of milligrams of molybdenum and tungsten - rare and valuable metals. The recycling of these metals requires high temperatures. To maintain high temperatures, a large volume reactor is needed. Therefore, in every city a plant producing electric light bulbs, and, accordingly, processing molybdenum and tungsten, cannot be built. Thus, in order to recycle molybdenum and tungsten, it is necessary to go around all the garbage dumps, collect several discarded light bulbs on each and take them to distant lands. So it turns out that the recycling of light bulbs, for all its apparent attractiveness, is an overhead business. For the same reason, you should not organize a centralized garbage collection for reuse in villages and villages.

The third problem is that garbage is a fundamentally non-standard raw material. Each new batch of garbage received for processing will differ markedly from the previous one in a number of ways. Therefore, waste cannot be used as a raw material for the production of high-quality products.

The fourth problem - Waste disposal to a landfill is the cheapest, but at the same time short-sighted way of its disposal. It is short-sighted in the first place because garbage remains garbage. Landfills around cities occupy huge areas. Poisonous substances that end up in landfills penetrate into The groundwater which are often used as sources drinking water, are dispersed by the winds in the surroundings and thereby cause damage to the environment. In addition, as a result of decay processes without air access, various gases are formed, which also do not refresh the atmosphere around the landfill. Some decay products can spontaneously ignite, so fires regularly occur in landfills, in which soot, phenol, benzapyrene and other toxic substances are released into the atmosphere.

Recycling - reuse or return to circulation of production waste or garbage. The most common is secondary, tertiary, etc. recycling on one scale or another of materials such as glass, paper, aluminium, iron, textiles and different kinds plastic. Also used since antiquity in agriculture organic agricultural and household waste.

Most metals are expediently recycled. Unnecessary or damaged items, the so-called scrap metal, are handed over to recycling centers for subsequent remelting. The processing of non-ferrous metals, common technical alloys and some ferrous metals is especially beneficial.