Topic 8: Human Systems and Resource Use

Topic 8.3: Solid Domestic

Waste
Starter: The
USA produced
3.5kg of SDW
per capita per
day, in the EU
it is 1.4kg.
LEDCs tend to
have much
lower values,
why is this?
What is SDW?
• Also known as MDW (municipal solid waste)
• What we commonly call rubbish.
• Paper, packaging, organic materials (food), glass,
dust, metals, plastic, textiles, paint, batteries,
electronic waste etc.
When is something
waste?
• One man’s rubbish is another man's
treasure
• Waste is material that has no value
to its producer.
• In LEDCs there are whole industries
set up to collect SDW. “Useful” stuff
is taken from bins and landfills.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=ZNSC1bF6-pg
 The problem with plastic
Plastic is not biodegradable (doesn’t rot)

• This has lead to hundreds of environmental issues:

• Landfill space
• Building up in ocean filter feeders
• Birds mistaking it for food
• Toxins released during production
• Made from fossil fuels
• Many more

• This is an environmental issue where individual behavioural

change can make a real difference: you can make a change
Changes are happening
• 5¢ bag charge – our culture is changing.
• France has banned disposable plastic cutlery, cups
and plates.
• A report on recycling plastic over producing new
plastic found the following:
• Reduction of energy consumption by 66%
• Produces half the NOx and a third of the SOx.
• 90% less water used
• Reduces CO2 production by two and half times.
Linear vs Circular Economy
Linear economy – “take, make, dump”
1. Natural capital is obtained.
2. Goods are produced from this, which required
energy.
3. Redundant or broken goods are discarded.

• Our current global economy has been build on this

unsustainable premise.
Circular economy – sustainable
alternative
• Instead of wasting goods they are
recycled.
Aims:
1. Restore the environment
2. Use renewable energy
3. Eliminate toxic waste
4. Eradicate waste through careful
design

• Producers never loose ownership of

products. Take products back once
consumer has finished using them.
• Image every company kind of acts like https://storyofstuff.org/
its own CEX/mazuma mobile. movies/story-of-stuff/
 Applying the principles of a circular economy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd_isKtGaf8

Principle Circular Economy Practice

Design out waste Recycle plastics/metals
Build for resilience through diversity Build for connections and reuse of
components

Use renewable energy sources Shift taxation away from labour to non-
renewable energy

Think in systems Increase effectiveness and

interconnectedness in manufacturing

Think in cascades Do not produce waste. Use it to produce

more products
Managing SDW
• We have a choice:
minimising waste
or dispose of it
responsibly.
• Minimising waste
is the best option.
Reduce
• Maintain possessions so they last
longer.
• Buy things that will last
• Less packaging
• Buy recycled products
• Choose energy efficient products
• Avoid imported goods
• Be aware of “unseen” resources:
energy, water etc.
Reuse
• Bottles can be reused personally, or returned to the
company for refilling.
• Compost food waste
• Use old clothes for rags
• E-books
Recycle
• Most people in Canada have personal recycling bins.
• Street bins are heading in the right direction too.
• Charge/fine people for not recycling?
• In China/India there is very little food waste, used for
composting or fed to animals.
• In MEDCs up to 50% is food waste!

• Economics of recycling varies:

• If goods are cheap to make little incentive.
• If recycling is cheaper than extraction of raw material then high
incentive e.g. aluminium cans.
 Use The Following Scale To Rank Yourself On
The “Rs” Of Sustainable Living

Reduce 1 2 3 4 5
I could do better Hardly Sometimes Frequently Always

Reuse 1 2 3 4 5
I could do better Hardly Sometimes Frequently Always

Recycle 1 2 3 4 5
I could do better Hardly Sometimes Frequently Always

Repair 1 2 3 4 5
I could do better Hardly Sometimes Frequently Always

Rebuy 1 2 3 4 5
I could do better Hardly Sometimes Frequently Always

Repurpose 1 2 3 4 5
I could do better Hardly Sometimes Frequently Always