How Waste Management is Contributing to Conservation Efforts?

Today, waste is in all forms, and it affects both nature and people. When you have non-degradable waste entering the food chain, it will potentially lead to death and disease. Organic waste can cause pest outbreaks, contaminate water and soil. Toxic waste, on the other hand, is harmful too in the same regard. When you have poor waste management, it harms biodiversity directly and indirectly. It can become a potential contributor to greenhouse gases, consequently leading to global warming. Waste also directly affects our health, particularly in developing countries where people depend on a healthy and functioning environment to survive. But waste isn’t managed well because these countries lack technology and resources.

Processing is mainly reusing, recycling and then generating energy along with other valuable products from the waste. An excellent example of this is developing and then using composters at a small scale to generate energy from biodegradable waste. Often this will involve developing recycling facilities for the waste. In far-flung areas, a process called ‘precycling,’ the act of not using or buying items that can’t be easily recycled. Businesses can have ‘buy back’ or take-back schemes for their products like batteries and other items. Locals can be paid to sort or pre-sort the waste. The broader challenge is for countries to develop regional waste management strategies which can be used as part of local processes. However, this requires education and raising awareness amongst the local communities. Once local communities understand the positive effects waste management can have on their livelihood, health and the environment, spreading the word to other communities becomes exponentially easier.