 Solid
Waste Management
What
is the issue?
Solid waste is the term
used to describe refuse from domestic, industrial,
commercial or institutional sources, produced
as a result of human activity. In general use
it excludes wastes that are hazardous, radioactive
or liquid.
Solid waste management
is concerned with the creation, avoidance, reduction,
collection, transport, processing and/or disposal
of waste materials. Properly done, it will ensure
that: there are minimal negative effects on human
health; any effect on the environment is manageable;
natural resources are maintained; and, the aesthetic
and socio-economic values of affected communities
are not degraded.
Why is this
an important issue for engineers?
Professional engineers
have a thorough understanding of solid waste management
issues as demonstrated through the design and
development of innovative solutions to solid waste
management challenges. Professional engineers
have been at the forefront of promoting elimination
of waste generation, reuse of waste materials,
recycling of waste materials into secondary products,
use of thermal technologies (such as energy-from-waste)
for disposal of solid waste, engineered landfill
technologies, and advanced organics processing.
In order to determine
the most appropriate solution, professional engineers
follow a process that begins with defining the
solid waste management challenge to be resolved,
identifying regulatory and other compliance requirements,
and then evaluating the technical feasibility,
costs, and potential environmental and socio-economic
impacts of appropriate options to assist decision-makers
to determine the preferred alternative.
Professional engineers
have a clearly defined legal duty to society,
to complete their work with full regard for the
public’s safety. Further, professional engineers
have a legal and moral requirement to perform
only those services they are competent to provide.
Ontario Regulation 941 cites the requirements
with which professional engineers practicing in
Ontario must comply. These requirements provide
all stakeholders – including decision-makers
and the public – with the assurance that
solid waste management proposals put forward by
professional engineers, are based on sound technical,
environmental and economic realities of the situation,
so that his/her evaluations are made on an objective
merit basis.
OSPE’s
position
The Ontario Society
of Professional Engineers believes that the following
hierarchy for the management of solid wastes be
used. The residual waste still remaining following
each stage of the hierarchy would be considered
for treatment in the next or succeeding stage.
1. Prevent waste generation
where possible;
2. Reuse waste for other purposes;
3. Recycle waste through the creation of other
useful products;
4. Compost the organic fraction of the waste stream
and use the resulting composting material;
5. Anaerobically bio-degrade the organic fraction
of the waste stream to recover methane for energy
and use the resulting biodegraded material;
6. Incinerate, change the form, and reduce the
volume of the combustible fraction of the waste
stream and recover the energy while safely disposing
or using the products of combustion;
7. Landfill waste in a safe location and utilize
methane and other gases as a source of energy.
Printable
version of the policy statement >>>
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