Waste Management

In the world of waste hierarchy, the order of priority of actions to reduce the waste that is generated on daily basis and to improve the processes and programs by which this will be managed, there are 3 R’s; reduce , reuse and recycle. These are very easy to implement principles that will have a lasting impression on the landfill that can reduce your carbon footprint. #3R approach, is fundamentally an approach that requires efficient use of resources from the point of extraction up to their final disposal, could make a significant contribution in reducing #greenhousegas emissions from the entire life‐cycle of resources and products. In this commercial world, consumption is the main goal and abundance is a figure, but if we become a little more aware and responsible, we can reduce the production and thereby the consumption, and positively affect the waste hierarchy. Less waste means, there shall be less need to reuse and recycle. But. most times, it is difficult to assess what we can do without. So, the below three simple steps will help in reduction.

Reuse

One of the best examples for how this is being done today is the modular construction of homes and office buildings that is being created out of discarded shipping containers. These large, semi-truck sized metal containers represent a huge waste problem. Repurposing them as homes and offices saves them from the landfills and doesn’t require the additional expenditure of nature resources to melt down and reconfigure the metals used to create them.

Recycle

This is the obvious last stage of the waste hierarchy. To #recycle is to transform it to a new item, to be used. Most stuff can be recycled. There should be an initiative to raise awareness against plastic usage, recycling and reducing plastic pollution, which can be supported by organizations which get these recyclables plastics converted back into a raw form to be used to create new different products. When a recycled material, rather than a raw material, is used to make a new product, natural resources and #energy are conserved. This is because recycled materials have already been refined and processed once.

Reducing

The water industry has to educate people on the needs of our water systems, water sheds, reduce, reuse and recover. The multi-stakeholder partnerships among governments, civil society, and the private sector in raising public awareness and advancing the 3Rs, #sustainableconsumption and #production, and #resourceefficiency should be strengthen to check proper #wastewatermanagement.

Leak Detection

Leak detection is another area of opportunity to conserve water. Water dripping out of a pipe or a faulty tap is a usual sight in developing countries. Leaks within the distribution system often goes unnoticed for many months and years. Advanced distribution will not only identify the leaks, and help lower operation and maintenance cost.