Introduction – Waste Minimisation and Management
“The waste minimisation policy of reduce,
reuse and recycle underpins the operation of the product.”
(Ecotourism Australia EcoCertification)
Australia is one of the highest producers of waste per head of
population in the world. In 1999 Australia ranked second, behind
the USA, in terms of domestic waste generation. In most urban societies
around the world, the cost of landfill (large areas of land to dump
rubbish) is skyrocketing. Yet landfill fees only cover a small part
of the cost. The true costs of landfill, when all burial, amenity,
administration, security, replacement and on-costs are included,
are in most cases at least three times the cost charged ‘at
the gate’. The benefits to minimising waste are significant:
it conserves valuable natural resources; it saves money through
less disposal costs and more efficient practices, and; it reduces
our impact on the environment.
To achieve sustainability and beyond waste management the new paradigm
design should be net positive: design that reverses impacts, eliminates
externalities and increases natural capital by supporting the biophysical
functions provided for by nature to restore the health of the soil,
air, water, biota and ecosystems. Taking the built environment as
an example – to generate an increase in environmental health
and natural capital, the built environment must (a) not only be
retrofitted on the model of a living landscape to restore and detoxify
the natural environment but (b) enable the natural environment to
increase the essential life support functions that are currently
undermined by status quo development.
Case study – An example of what is possible
The M&M/Mars candy factory in Waco, Texas was burdened with
high off-site disposal fees and risks associated with the removal
of their by-products (sludge). Looking for the most cost effective
solution, the company decided to install an Eco-Machine Vertical
Flow Reed Bed to de-water and compost the waste water bio-sludge
on site. A Vertical Flow Reed comprises a layer of gravel as base,
followed by planted reeds in a deep layer of sand. The resulting
Vertical Reed Bed system (treating 70,000 litres of bio-solids per
month) provided an effective way of reducing sludge and eliminated
US$31,500 per year of disposal fees – at a capital cost of
US$50,000 and low maintenance costs, the system will pay for itself
in under two years.
References: AUSTRALIA State of
the Environment Committee 2001, Australia State of the Environment
2001 – Independent Report to the Commonwealth Minister for
the Environment and Heritage, CSIRO Publishing.
Sustainability Victoria (n.d.)
Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle Fact Sheet. Downloadable from http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/Info3
The 3Rs.doc
John Todd Ecological Design,
Vertical Flow Reed Bed Technology www.jtecodesign.com/files/reedbedCS
1.pdf
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