problem solution essay about waste disposal

15 Waste Disposal Problems, and Solutions to Tackle Them

The world’s waste disposal problems aren’t going away, but these 15 solutions could bring them under control.

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Wherever you are in the world, waste is a consistent by-product of daily living. And the massive volumes of waste being rapidly generated at a runaway pace make it an inescapable problem that has the potential to overwhelm us all.

According to the World Bank, the 2 billion tonnes of waste that is currently being generated each year is set to increase by over 70% to 3.4 billion tonnes within the next 20 years. Worse still, at least a third of waste is disposed of in an environmentally unsafe way!

Whichever way you look at it, waste is a big problem. But hopefully, there are solutions. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at 15 waste disposal problems and solutions that could improve our environment.

Waste is a growing problem

Since the latter half of the 20th century, the rate and volume of waste generation have been accelerating. Factors that include economic growth and expanding consumerism, along with urbanization , migration, and smaller and more fragmented households have led to waste generation of at least 2 billion metric tons each year.

The immense quantities of waste that need to be processed require countries to develop expansive infrastructures for waste processing and disposal, which are often beyond the resources of less economically developed nations. Even economically advanced nations are struggling to implement strategies that would lead to adequate recycling levels and more innovative landfill management.

Key sources and types of waste

The types and sources of waste are diverse, adding to the challenge of finding effective waste processing solutions. Waste is generated by every area of a functional society including:

• Residential households
• The commercial sector
• The agricultural sector
• Construction
• Social institutions like schools, prisons, and hospitals

The waste generated can be divided into four major groups :

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

This is the everyday waste generated in residences and by commercial and institutional activity. Major components of MSW include food waste, plastic, paper, metal, glass, and rags. MSW may also include industrial waste from construction and hazardous waste like discarded batteries or medicine.

Industrial Waste 

Industrial Solid Waste is determined by the industrial activity that generates the waste. Materials in industrial waste include demolition waste, packaging, oils, sludges, abrasives, wood, plastic, glass, and solvents. Industrial waste can vary in its hazardousness and environmental toxicity.

Agricultural Waste 

The agricultural sector generates significant amounts of non-hazardous and hazardous waste, which has increased with the expansion of this sector. Waste sources include livestock waste, crop residues, and various by-products of agricultural production and food processing.

Agricultural waste includes liquid and slurry waste that can become a significant environmental pollutant if it is not properly managed.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste is generated by sources that include construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. There are hundreds of thousands of toxic chemicals in mainstream use with thousands of novel substances added each year. Hazardous waste requires the most stringent standards of storage and disposal to prevent harm to human health and the environment.

Waste disposal is an urgent issue

The acceleration of global waste generation makes waste disposal an issue that cannot be ignored. As income levels increase, so does the per capita waste volume. By 2050 high-income countries are expected to have a 19% increase in the volume of waste they generate, but low and middle-income countries are projected to generate 40% more waste as their economies advance.

This is because waste generation has a greater increase for incremental increases in income in poorer countries compared to their wealthier counterparts. The largest proportion of the world’s waste (23%) is generated by East Asia and Pacific region countries, with Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia on a course to triple their total waste generation by 2050.

Environmental impacts of waste are mounting

Waste, in its various forms, is a leading environmental pollutant and is negatively impacting human health. One of the biggest environmental issues is the open dumping of unprocessed waste, a primary form of MSW disposal in many poorer nations. Often where waste is not dumped it is inadequately burned leading to a deterioration in air quality. Here are the main types of pollution caused by waste:

• Land pollution : Land is not only affected by the physical presence of rotting waste but also substances that leach into the soil, contaminating it. If hazardous substances or agricultural waste are improperly disposed of, they can cause long-term pollution that makes the land unfit for habitation or cultivation.
• Water pollution: Run-off from agricultural slurry and other wastes can contaminate surface bodies of water like rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. This leads to problems like eutrophication and plant or wildlife die-offs. Groundwater contamination from effluents or chemicals contaminates drinking water, endangering human health. And seas and oceans are affected by the 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of waste plastic they currently contain.
• Air pollution: Up to 1 billion metric tons (41%) of waste are burned worldwide, with open burning of MSW being a significant contributor. Waste burning and the decomposition of landfill and dumped waste releases greenhouse gases and notable air pollutants like methane, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide.

Without intervention, waste becomes a major public health issue with significant loss of habitats and ecosystems. The environmental degradation caused by waste is also a driver of macroeconomic and geopolitical instability as reduced land and resource availability fuels migration and war.

Current waste treatment and disposal methods are not sustainable

Modern waste management methods are limited in their ability to deal with a burgeoning waste mountain that is constantly increasing in size. In most societies, the options for municipal waste management are limited to:

• Compositing
• Incineration
• Chemical and biological treatments

The unsustainable growth in waste, driven by global demographic changes and consumption means that these mature methods of waste treatment and disposal used in most developed nations are already being exhausted by the volumes of waste produced.

For developing countries the hurdle to developing a sustainable waste management infrastructure is even higher, competing with other necessities like clean water and energy provision. However, neglect of waste management will prove to be costly to society, as these tragic cases demonstrate:

• The Quezon City landslide (2000): The collapse of a garbage dump in Quezon City in the Philippines led to a major landslide that killed up to 1000 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.
• Major flooding in Accra, Ghana (2015):  Plastic waste blocking drains on the streets of Accra, was a major contributor to a catastrophic flood that killed 150 people.
• Pneumonic/bubonic plague-like outbreak in Surat, India (1994): Over 5000 residents became ill and 53 people died in Surat, India , because of uncollected waste becoming a breeding ground for disease vectors.

We need to do waste differently

The international community is taking a new approach to waste disposal. The perspective on waste is slowly changing from how to deal with waste after it has been discarded, to how to prevent waste from being generated in the first place. In addition, stakeholders hope that waste can be transformed into a managed resource, that could be beneficial to society.

15 waste disposal problems and solutions

Finding novel solutions to the waste disposal problem requires a shift in thinking about waste. Processing and using waste as a resource coupled with an economic model that favors repair, recycling, and reuse might just bring the runaway waste problem under control. Here are 14 waste disposal problems and solutions:

1. Combat waste plastic by building plastic roads

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, almost 36 million tons of plastic waste are generated each year, with only 5% of this amount being recycled. Plastic is a pernicious problem that has a long-lasting harmful environmental impact. 

But now several companies are offering a revolutionary solution that will not only repurpose large amounts of waste plastic but also improve road quality. Enterprising companies are using waste plastic to create a sustainable alternative to the bitumen that is routinely used for road surfacing.

Plastic road surfaces are smooth, long-lasting, and even recyclable at the end of their lifespans. Local plastic waste can be used to make local roads! These roads and car parks have already been successfully installed in New York City. Plastic road company McRebur hopes that their roads are the start of a plastic economy that can be rolled out across the world.

2. Use black soldier fly larvae to combat agricultural waste

When it comes to agricultural waste, the black soldier fly may be the sector’s secret weapon! According to sustainable poultry consultancy, The Big Book Project , black soldier fly larvae are a nutritional powerhouse for poultry, and it thrives on organic agricultural waste. 

The black soldier fly ( Hermetia illucens ), is a fly species that is found across Africa, Europe, and Australasia. Its larvae are prolific feeders of food and animal waste, including manure. Not only do the larvae grow into a protein-rich food source for poultry, but they also turn the waste into valuable compost, free of obnoxious odor.

The University of Florida found that 45,000 of these maggots can digest over 24 kg of swine manure within two weeks. Black Soldier Fly larvae are already being adopted in countries like Kenya, with studies underway for large-scale production in the U.S. and Europe.

3. Cut down on waste glass by building with it

Though it is relatively easy to recycle glass , waste glass from demolition in the construction sector often heads straight to the landfill joining the 7.6 million tons of glass that end up there each year. Dots needs to be joined up on end-of-life building glass to save on the tens of millions of tonnes of primary raw materials and energy for producing new glass.

New initiatives for the reuse of end-of-life façade glass are changing things. Building contractors can ensure that waste glass is used as the following new building materials:

• Cullet – a form of crushed waste glass that can be used as an aggregate
• Glassphalt – a novel, durable road-surfacing material
• Composite glass worktops, tiles, and splashbacks
• Glass beads
• Spun or foam glass insulation

Proactive use of waste glass in construction has the potential to create a closed loop with glass being recycled and repurposed indefinitely. Governments can support construction companies in recycling waste glass by removing onerous waste management regulations that may make it easier for contractors to dump glass.

4. Reduce unnecessary packaging through Zero Waste stores

Bags, bottle wrappers, jars, and lids are a seemingly inexhaustible source of non-recycled waste. 95% of the 51 million tons of packaging discarded by Americans in 2021 went straight to landfill.

Little is being done to persuade manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers to reduce packaging, but the Zero Waste grassroots movement is gaining traction in the war on packaging and single-use plastics and helping engaged citizens jettison them altogether.

Zero Waste started as a lifestyle movement on the West Coast of America but has since gone global with Zero Waste stores opening up in towns and cities across the world. These stores offer a novel retail experience as you have to bring your bottles and containers to fill up on goods you dispense from a bulk supply.

Zero Waste stores currently have a strong millennial appeal with stores offering self-serve quantities of pantry staples, cleaning products, toiletries, and beverages. Customers only pay for the weight of products they take, saving money on purchasing large standardized packages in conventional grocery stores.

Prefer shopping on the Internet? Check out our round-up review of the best online zero-waste stores .

5. Cut municipal solid waste by turning waste into energy

Waste is increasingly being viewed as a potential energy source and alternative to finite fossil fuel resources . A ton of MSW can contain as much as 550 kWh of energy that can be used to heat and power homes and businesses. The primary method of energy recovery from waste is incineration .

The United States has 75 facilities that combust waste for energy recovery . This waste processing strategy forms a key part of the long-term management of waste, decreasing the volume of MSW that heads to the landfill and transforming waste into a renewable energy source.

Confined and controlled burning of waste is considered a better option than landfill disposal and waste incineration facilities use a range of technologies to treat exhaust air so that pollutants are minimized. In urban environments or regions (Japan, Sweden) where landfill availability is limited, MSW combustion facilities are much more common.

6. Reuse human waste by converting it to biogas

An enterprising US wastewater company has transformed human waste into a valuable energy source that is fueling municipal vehicles, including garbage trucks. Since 2016, the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant of Colorado Grand Junction has been processing millions of gallons of the city’s human waste into a renewable natural gas (RNG) called biomethane.

The biogas is generated from sewage through the activity of anaerobic bacteria. These organisms feed on the waste, transforming it into methane-rich biogas that can fuel vehicles or generate electricity. The multimillion-dollar project pipes the generated RNG from the sewage treatment works to the city fleet’s fuelling station, where it is sold to the city at a profit.

Biogas projects like this are also underway in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Norway. Smaller-scale biogas setups using animals have been used in Southeast Asia and Africa for heating and cooking.

7. Cut down on discarded items via “reduce, re-use, recycle”

Tackling waste generation at the source requires a new approach to how products are manufactured and used. Mass-produced products which have a short life span and cannot be easily repaired end up in landfill and require new resources and energy for manufacturing replacements.

Governments are keen to encourage the adoption of a circular economy that promotes the 3 Rs of waste management – reuse, recycling, and refurbishment of items so that the production and disposal of items are greatly reduced. The promotion of a circular economy, where the longevity and repurposing of products and materials are maximized may also provide new jobs and business opportunities.

8. Reduce landfill environmental impact via sanitary landfill management

Municipal authorities are being encouraged to explore more innovative approaches to landfill use that are sanitary and minimize disturbance of the immediate environment. Sanitary landfills can be trench, area, or ramp landfills that are deliberately designed to maximize the compaction of waste and minimize leaching and gas emissions.

Sanitary landfills harness the consolidation, compaction, and decomposition of waste under pressure to minimize the amount of space used by the landfill. The volume of waste is reduced by adding layers of earth that minimize exposure of the landfill waste to air which accelerates degradation and release of harmful gasses.

Sanitary landfill sites are carefully selected with detailed soil, geological and hydrological assessments. A liner and drainage system prevents leachate from the landfill from penetrating the ground. Sanitary landfills are also smart, integrating Internet of Things technology to monitor leachate composition and gas emissions.

9. Mitigate solid waste generation by waste diversion

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is actively addressing the problem of the high volume of municipal solid waste by implementing waste diversion strategies. Waste (or landfill) diversion encompasses any techniques, policies, or technologies that divert waste generated by the Agency from landfills, including:

• Source reduction (a reduction in the volume, mass, and toxicity or waste generated)

Once waste diversion strategies have been implemented, the success of the strategies is measured by landfill size, with the expectation that landfill size will not increase significantly, over the long term.

The EPA has had some success with waste diversion, with the waste diversion rate increasing from 47.3% in 2008 to over 70% by 2021 . The EPA also found that waste diversion reduced the costs of waste disposal and eased pressure on existing landfills.

10. Eliminate discarded cigarette butts by recycling them instead

They are easy to overlook, but cigarettes are a common source of street litter that simply ends up in a landfill. The cellulose acetate fiber that makes the butts biodegrades slowly, taking up to a decade to completely break down. The wide dispersal of discarded cigarette butts leads to trillions of them polluting rivers, streams, and oceans each year.

Over the last 20 years, efforts have been made to encourage smokers to put used cigarette butts in dedicated bins, but they are not routinely recycled. However, specialist recycling companies like Terracycle have developed facilities that can recycle cigarette butts, with financial support from Tobacco companies.

Cigarette butt recycling involves a thorough cleaning of the butt’s cellulose acetate material, which is then melted and extruded into pellets. The pellets can be mixed with other plastics for manufacturing new products like gutters, pipes, plastic fencing, and window frames.

11. Turn newspaper waste into NewspaperWood

In 2013, Dutch designer Mieke Meijer developed a novel and unique material called NewspaperWood from recycled newspapers. NewspaperWood takes discarded newspapers and glues them into a laminated material that has the appearance and grain of natural wood when it is cut. NewspaperWood is also 100% recyclable when used and can be pulped to produce other paper.

This cleverly reverse-engineered material can be cut, sanded, and milled for use in projects that would use other types of wood. Though this material is not currently mass-produced, it makes a great upcycled addition to a range of interior design and construction projects including use as fire-resistant roof tiles.

12. Tackle pollution with plastic-eating bacteria

One of the big problems of MSW is the large proportion of plastic that simply does not degrade. However, a remarkable discovery by Japanese scientists of bacteria that can break down plastic could be a game-changer for tackling the world’s plastic problem. 

A special bacteria, Ideonella sakaiensis , was discovered in sludge near a bottle recycling facility in Osaka. The bacteria were able to break down the chemical bonds in PET plastic, the type milk bottles are made from.

Though the rate of plastic breakdown by these bacteria is slow, scientists are studying this organism to see if its enzymes can be extracted and used on an industrial scale to digest the surplus waste plastic that easily pollutes the environment. This would require genetic engineering and may take many years to realize.

13. Use carbon engineering to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from waste

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) makes up just 0.03% of the atmosphere. This gas is essential to life because of its use by plants in photosynthesis to create food. However, in recent times there have been concerns that this dense gas may have an insulating effect that promotes global warming, leading to efforts to reduce the amount of CO 2 that is generated by human activity.

Decomposing waste releases CO 2 and other carbon-rich gases like methane as it is degraded by bacteria. Strategies that reduce this carbon release include the introduction of technology that can capture and fix atmospheric carbon for use as a novel energy source.

This nascent technology, known as carbon engineering sucks CO 2 out of the air and sublimes it with water and other materials for long-term storage deep underground. So far, this carbon capture plan has not been realized, but it could offer mankind control over gas emissions in the future.

14. Clean up nuclear waste with fungal nuclear remediation

Nuclear waste is one of the most hazardous forms of waste and is capable of prolonged environmental contamination with serious implications for human and animal health. The dangers of radioactive waste mean that its disposal is difficult, with high transportation and storage costs.

Scientists have found a remarkable solution to cleaning radioactive waste in the form of mushroom species that can clean up this dangerous form of contamination. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011, mushrooms were planted to reduce the levels of radioactive contamination of the surrounding land.

The mushrooms hyper-accumulate radiation from the surrounding environment in their tissues. The resultant radioactive fungi can then be harvested and incinerated, with the radioactive ash carefully stored in much smaller quantities than other nuclear waste.

15. Cut down on discarded electronics via precious metal recovery

Electronic waste is a pressing waste problem as over 50 million tons of spent electronics are thrown in the trash worldwide every year. Less than 20% of the PCs, laptops, phones, and tablets that are discarded will be recycled. And the quantities are climbing, with levels of discarded electronics exceeding 74 million tons by the end of the decade.

Electronic waste is a big issue for several reasons. Not only is it often hazardous, requiring specialist disposal, but it also leads to the loss of large quantities of precious and rare earth metals that are simply discarded when a computer or phone reaches the end of its lifespan.

A broken mobile phone may not look like it is carrying gold and silver, but these rare and unique metals are essential for the precision functioning of electronic and radio frequency connectors within devices.

Several companies are now paying attention to the vast quantities of precious metals that could be recovered from electronics. Canadian company Excir has partnered with England’s Royal Mint to recover gold, silver, and platinum from old electronic equipment using proprietary methods and technologies.

This clean tech company aims to recover gold and silver from circuit boards using methods that include chemical leaching, pulverization, and smelting.

These methods were also successfully used to recover gold, silver, and bronze for the medals of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

In conclusion

It’s clear that there are many solutions that can impact the world’s waste problem. Over time, source reduction, waste diversion, inventive recovery, and repurposing of materials can gain traction in reducing solid waste levels. 

However, for lasting reductions in waste generation, significant changes in the nature and patterns of consumption may be necessary. While it is still profitable for businesses to use excessive packaging or to manufacture low-quality, short-lifespan goods that can’t be easily repaired, the landfills will continue to get larger. 

Poorer countries need to be supported in developing waste management and sanitation infrastructure that can reduce or eliminate the polluting effects of waste. Targeted investment in projects like waste incineration plants or recycling technology can improve quality of life for local populations and give their economies the momentum they need to grow.

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How to Counter Waste Disposal Challenges in Every Scale

Yes, that candy wrapper you threw on the ground the other day can have lasting effects on the environment.

Waste disposal problems have become a pressing issue for many countries, and it has become a global problem everyone needs to address. Since 2015, there are at least 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans, and these can be dangerous to the wildlife that comes across it. And did you know that the solution for many developed countries is to send their waste to developing countries ?

At this point, it’s not enough to look at waste management and disposal as a problem global leaders and local governments have to deal with. The extreme waste problem we’re facing right now started because everyday people like you and me thought one candy wrapper left on the ground or one plastic bottle left on a park bench was not going to make a dent in the amount of waste their area makes. But when hundreds of millions of people share this mindset, it becomes dangerous as the waste starts to accumulate.

Whether it is plastic, an old computer, or your worn-out shoes, you have to think about the appropriate waste management and disposal. Waste disposal is a lengthy but methodical process that includes burial, burning, recycling, discharge, and other processes.  Indeed, many organizations and localities in the world are grappling with the problem, unable to handle it completely. Here are some common  waste disposal problems in various scales and potential solutions.

Waste Management at Home

The average American tosses out at least 4.4 pounds (almost 2 kilograms) of trash every day. Try to think back yesterday to all the things you threw away. These could include food containers, single-use plastics for household items, bottles, or even food scraps. But when you consider the total population in the United States, you’re looking at at least 728,000 tons (around 660 million kilograms) per day. Just try to imagine 63,000 garbage trucks dumping a full load into a landfill – that’s roughly how much waste is made a day.

It’s going to be difficult to go from 4.4 pounds of trash per day to becoming like those eco-friendly vloggers that can fit years’ worth of waste into one regular mason jar. But you have to at least start somewhere when it comes to making your household more eco-friendly . Here are a few solutions that can help you reduce the amount of waste you put in your trash.

Turn Away from Single-Use Plastics

A few examples of these include plastic straws (there are plenty of reusable alternatives like glass and metal straws or biodegradable options like plant-based, bamboo, or paper straws), sanitary napkins (switch to reusable menstrual cups), and take-out containers (if ordering take-out, see if they provide biodegradable containers or bring your own reusable containers and ask the restaurant to put your food in there).

One good way of doing this is by shopping at bulk stores and zero-waste stores that provide products without packaging. You can opt to bring your own reusable containers or purchase reusable containers from their store.

Avoiding single-use plastic may mean having to change your lifestyle. This may include buying shampoo bars or shampoos from bulk stores to avoid buying shampoos in bottles, or shopping at a farmer’s market for produce instead of your local supermarket to avoid buying produce that’s wrapped in plastic and styrofoam.

Sort Your Garbage

Investing in more garbage containers can help you sort out your waste. There’s a general color coding for garbage containers to sort out waste easier, but if your local garbage collector doesn’t sort their trash and tosses them all in the same truck, then there really isn’t a point to following these colors. Instead, just get any trash receptacles and follow sorting procedures you and your household can follow.

In my household, for example, our local garbage collector doesn’t sort trash and just dumps it. So, what we do is we separate plastic bottles, metal waste, and fruits and vegetable scraps from our everyday waste. I’ll let you know what we do with the food scraps below, but for plastic and metal waste, we clean them and place them in separate bins. Once we’ve filled up our recyclable bins, we take them to local recycling centers.

Sort Your Scraps

You can avoid wasting your food scraps and leaving them to rot in landfills by reusing scraps. I’ve studied how to compost, so whenever I have biodegradable waste that can be used to compost, I take it and add it to my composting bin. It’s a great way to reduce the amount of waste I make in a day while finding a better use for those scraps.

Extreme & Hazardous Waste

Outside your home, however, waste poses a serious problem to your community. A problem grappling organizations is the production of too much waste. When countries are producing 220 million tons of waste annually , then you know there is a big problem. Now, imagine the amount being produced cumulatively across the globe. The consumerism shown by producers and companies is coming back to haunt us.

Waste management services are on their toes as they seek ways to take care of hazardous waste. The fact that most of the waste nowadays is toxic is posing a huge challenge, yet manufacturing companies continue to increase their production. The companies are producing products every day and there is a chance some of the toxic waste will end up in the environment.

The U.S. EPA once reported that the number of untested chemicals in homes is around 60,000. Plastic toys contain Biphenyl-A (BPA), which is a hazardous chemical. As the amount of solid waste continues to increase, we can only expect a harder challenge of dealing with toxic waste disposal.

Show Support for Eco-Friendly Movements

Support zero-waste stores and businesses like bulk stores that are centered around reducing waste. Consumer trends are changing, and now that the millennial and Gen Z age groups are poised to become one of the largest consumer groups in the next few years, making your business eco-friendly and sustainable can attract a large percent of these age groups that prefer doing business with greener small businesses.

Landfill Problems

Monitoring laxity on the side of laws and regulations is also proving to be a huge hindrance to landfill management. Toxicity increases to levels that become unmanageable for decades.

Conventional Technologies

It is becoming apparent that some technologies are no longer applicable to modern waste reduction and recycling, yet some organizations continue to rely on them. These technologies offer quick but short-term solutions, a reason they continue to be popular in some areas. However, more technology is also evolving or being created to solve waste management problems.

Technology can be used to recycle or upcycle waste, create alternatives from products that normally produce more waste, or find a way to address the ever-growing problem of waste management. Tech Insider shows plenty of these types of tech, including plastic-free shampoo pods and toothpaste pills, machines that sustainably remove waste from bodies of water, or finding ways to recycle materials like plastic.

Solutions to Waste Disposal Challenges

There are many cost-effective ways of solving the above problems, including the popular ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ approach. Local communities must be educated on this form of waste management that deals with unsustainable waste excellently. Techniques such as repairing a broken chair instead of buying a new one can go a long way in countering the problem.

Alongside responsibility, it is crucial for local authorities to embrace modern waste disposal, with gradual improvements as the catch. In line with that, control of landfilling is necessary. Items that can be reclaimed or recycled should not be allowed to stand in the landfill.

But most of all, waste management cannot be possible without the help of everyday people changing their waste management practices at home. While it’s true that corporate waste also contributes to the total waste that’s plaguing our environment, people can start to reduce their waste in the comfort of their own home. It may require making conscious changes to their lifestyle, but it’s necessary if we want to see the changes in the amount of waste the average person produces in one day.

The reality is that we can achieve proper waste disposal, but it won’t be easy. Adopting modern ways of doing things and focusing on long-term plans will eventually yield the desired results. Policy support is definitely irreplaceable in tackling the global problem of waste disposal and management.

About The Author

Alex Miller

Essay on Waste Management for Students and Teacher

500+ essay on waste management.

Essay on Waste Management -Waste management is essential in today’s society. Due to an increase in population, the generation of waste is getting doubled day by day. Moreover, the increase in waste is affecting the lives of many people.

For instance, people living in slums are very close to the waste disposal area. Therefore there are prone to various diseases. Hence, putting their lives in danger. In order to maintain a healthy life, proper hygiene and sanitation are necessary. Consequently, it is only possible with proper waste management .

The Meaning of Waste Management

Waste management is the managing of waste by disposal and recycling of it. Moreover, waste management needs proper techniques keeping in mind the environmental situations. For instance, there are various methods and techniques by which the waste is disposed of. Some of them are Landfills, Recycling , Composting, etc. Furthermore, these methods are much useful in disposing of the waste without causing any harm to the environment.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Methods for Waste Management

Recycling – Above all the most important method is the recycling of waste. This method does not need any resources. Therefore this is much useful in the management of waste . Recycling is the reusing of things that are scrapped of. Moreover, recycling is further converting waste into useful resources.

Landfills – Landfills is the most common method for waste management. The garbage gets buried in large pits in the ground and then covered by the layer of mud. As a result, the garbage gets decomposed inside the pits over the years. In conclusion, in this method elimination of the odor and area taken by the waste takes place.

Composting – Composting is the converting of organic waste into fertilizers. This method increases the fertility of the soil. As a result, it is helpful in more growth in plants. Furthermore it the useful conversion of waste management that is benefiting the environment.

Advantages of Waste Management

There are various advantages of waste management. Some of them are below:

Decrease bad odor – Waste produces a lot of bad odor which is harmful to the environment. Moreover, Bad odor is responsible for various diseases in children. As a result, it hampers their growth. So waste management eliminates all these problems in an efficient way.

Reduces pollution – Waste is the major cause of environmental degradation. For instance, the waste from industries and households pollute our rivers. Therefore waste management is essential. So that the environment may not get polluted. Furthermore, it increases the hygiene of the city so that people may get a better environment to live in.

Reduces the production of waste -Recycling of the products helps in reducing waste. Furthermore, it generates new products which are again useful. Moreover, recycling reduces the use of new products. So the companies will decrease their production rate.

It generates employment – The waste management system needs workers. These workers can do various jobs from collecting to the disposing of waste. Therefore it creates opportunities for the people that do not have any job. Furthermore, this will help them in contributing to society.

Produces Energy – Many waste products can be further used to produce energy. For instance, some products can generate heat by burning. Furthermore, some organic products are useful in fertilizers. Therefore it can increase the fertility of the soil.

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Essay on Waste Management

• Updated on  
• May 11, 2023

Every year, the amount of waste is doubling because of the increasing population around the world. The 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle should be followed to help in waste management. Waste management is the need of the hour and should be followed by individuals globally. This is also a common essay topic in the school curriculum and various academic and competitive exams like IELTS , TOEFL , SAT , UPSC , etc. In this blog, let us explore how to write an essay on Waste Management.

This Blog Includes:

Tips for writing an essay on waste management , what is the meaning of waste management, essay on waste management in 200 words, essay on waste management in 300 words .

To write an impactful and scoring essay, here are some tips on how to manage waste and write a good essay:

• The initial step is to write an introduction or background information about the topic
• You must use a formal style of writing and avoid using slang language.
• To make an essay more impactful, write dates, quotations, and names to provide a better understanding
• You can use jargon wherever it is necessary, as it sometimes makes an essay complicated
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Waste management is the management of waste by disposal and recycling of it. It requires proper techniques while keeping in mind the environmental situations. For example, there are various methods and techniques through which the waste is disposed of. Some of these are Landfills, Recycling, Composting, etc. These methods are useful in disposing of waste without causing any harm to the environment.

Sample Essays  on Waste Management

To help you write a perfect essay that would help you score well, here are some sample essays to give you an idea about the same.

One of the crucial aspects of today’s society is waste management. Due to a surge in population, the waste is generated in millions of tons day by day and affects the lives of a plethora of people across the globe. Mostly the affected people live in slums that are extremely close to the waste disposal areas; thus, they are highly prone to communicable and non-communicable diseases. These people are deprived of necessities to maintain a healthy life, including sanitation and proper hygiene. 

There are various methods and techniques for disposing of waste including Composting, Landfills, Recycling, and much more. These methods are helpful in disposing of waste without being harmful to the environment. Waste management is helpful in protecting the environment and creating safety of the surrounding environment for humans and animals. The major health issue faced by people across the world is environmental pollution and this issue can only be solved or prevented by proper waste management so that a small amount of waste is there in the environment. One of the prominent and successful waste management processes, recycling enables us not only in saving resources but also in preventing the accumulation of waste. Therefore it is very important to teach and execute waste management.

The basic mantra of waste management is” Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose, and Recycle”. Waste management is basically the collection or accumulation of waste and its disposal. This process involves the proper management of waste including recycling waste generated and even generating useful renewable energy from it. One of the most recent initiatives taken by various countries at the local, national and international levels, waste management is a way of taking care of planet earth. This responsible act helps in providing a good and stable environment for the present and future generations. In India, most animals get choked and struggle till death because they consume waste on the streets.

So far many lives are lost, not only animals but also humans due to a lack of proper waste management. There are various methods and techniques for disposing of waste including Composting, Landfills, Recycling, and much more. These methods are helpful in disposing of waste without being harmful to the environment. Waste management is helpful in protecting the environment and creating safety of the surrounding environment for humans and animals. This process of waste management evolved due to industrialization as prior to these inventions simple burying was sufficient for disposing of waste.

One of the crucial things to control waste is creating awareness among people and this can only be achieved only when the governments and stakeholders in various countries take this health issue seriously. To communicate with various communities and reach each end of the country, the message can be communicated through media and related platforms. People also need to participate in waste management procedures by getting self-motivated and taking care of activities of daily living. These steps to create consciousness about waste management are crucial to guarantee the success and welfare of the people and most importantly our planet earth.

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Solutions to Plastic Pollution: A Conceptual Framework to Tackle a Wicked Problem

• Open Access
• First Online: 10 October 2021

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• Martin Wagner 4  

Part of the book series: Environmental Contamination Remediation and Management ((ENCRMA))

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There is a broad willingness to act on global plastic pollution as well as a plethora of available technological, governance, and societal solutions. However, this solution space has not been organized in a larger conceptual framework yet. In this essay, I propose such a framework, place the available solutions in it, and use it to explore the value-laden issues that motivate the diverse problem formulations and the preferences for certain solutions by certain actors. To set the scene, I argue that plastic pollution shares the key features of wicked problems, namely, scientific, political, and societal complexity and uncertainty as well as a diversity in the views of actors. To explore the latter, plastic pollution can be framed as a waste, resource, economic, societal, or systemic problem. Doing so results in different and sometimes conflicting sets of preferred solutions, including improving waste management; recycling and reuse; implementing levies, taxes, and bans as well as ethical consumerism; raising awareness; and a transition to a circular economy. Deciding which of these solutions is desirable is, again, not a purely rational choice. Accordingly, the social deliberations on these solution sets can be organized across four scales of change. At the geographic and time scales, we need to clarify where and when we want to solve the plastic problem. On the scale of responsibility, we need to clarify who is accountable, has the means to make change, and carries the costs. At the magnitude scale, we need to discuss which level of change we desire on a spectrum of status quo to revolution. All these issues are inherently linked to value judgments and worldviews that must, therefore, be part of an open and inclusive debate to facilitate solving the wicked problem of plastic pollution.

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• Environmental issues
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• Wicked problems

11.1 Premises and Aims

The scale of plastic pollution and its impacts on nature and societies has been extensively described and discussed in the public and the scientific literature (including this book). While there is much debate on the scale of the problem, the aim of this essay is to explore the solution space for plastic pollution. Therefore, this essay is based on the premise that the case is closed, in such that there is a board consensus that we want to solve it. The relevant question then becomes how to achieve best this. There is abundant literature summarizing potential solutions for plastic pollution (Auta et al. 2017 ; Eriksen et al. 2018 ; Löhr et al. 2017 ; Prata et al. 2019 ; Sheavly and Register 2007 ; Tessnow-von Wysocki and Le Billon 2019 ; Vince and Hardesty 2018 ). However, many authors focus on specific technological, governance, or economic aspects and some organize solutions in rather arbitrary ways. Such pragmatic collections are certainly useful to get an overview of available options. Nonetheless, they may fall short in addressing the complexity of plastic pollution (e.g., when they present few, specific solutions), the diversity in the perspectives of the multiple actors involved (e.g., when they focus on technological solutions only), and the fundamental aspects driving the preferences for certain solutions. Therefore, the aim of this essay is not to present another collection of technical and policy instruments. Instead, I will first explore the wickedness of the problem because it is important to acknowledge that there is no simple solution to problems that are difficult to define and describe. Secondly, I propose a conceptual framework regarding how specific problem formulations result in diverse and sometimes conflicting sets of solutions. Clarifying distinct problem frames is an important step toward understanding the actors’ diverse preferences for solution sets. Thirdly, I lay out a framework for organizing the value judgments inherent in the plastics discourse. Since these are mostly neglected in the public and scientific debate, the aim of this piece is to bring to the surface the value-laden issues underlying the framing of the problem and the preferences for certain solutions.

11.2 Plastic Pollution as Wicked Problem

To contextualize the solutions to plastic pollution, we first need to explore its wickedness. The concept of wicked problems has been used to characterize those problems which defy conventional solutions, including climate change, displacement of people, terrorism, digital warfare, and biodiversity loss (Termeer et al. 2019 ). Originally introduced to describe “problems which are ill-formulated, where the information is confusing, where there are many clients and decision makers with conflicting values, and where the ramifications in the whole system are thoroughly confusing” (Churchman 1967 ), Rittel and Webber ( 1973 ) provided ten characteristics that define a wicked problem, some of which are shared by plastic pollution (see Table 11.1 ). Since then, the simple dichotomy of tame vs. wicked problems has evolved into a view that rather considers degrees of wickedness (Termeer et al. 2019 ). The question, therefore, is how much wickedness we assign to plastic pollution. The key features of complexity, diversity, and uncertainty (Head and Alford 2013 ) can be used to do so.

Without question, the issue of plastic pollution is complex, both from a scientific and a societal perspective (SAPEA 2019 ). The scientific complexity arises from a number of aspects. Firstly, plastic pollution comprises a diverse suite of pollutants with very heterogeneous physicochemical properties (Lambert et al. 2017 ; Rochman et al. 2019 ). Secondly, plastics have a multitude of sources, flows, and impacts in nature and societies. Thirdly, plastic pollution is ubiquitous, yet its scale varies in time and space. The combination of these aspects results in complex exposure patterns causing a complex suite of effects on biodiversity and human health, covering all levels of biological organization, as well as on the functioning of ecosystems and societies. To further complicate the matter, these effects will probably not be linear, immediate, obvious, and overt but will be heavily interconnected and aggregate over time scales that are difficult to investigate. Thus, the complexity of plastic pollution – and its underlying causes – cannot be understood with “standard science” based on disciplinary approaches and the assumption of simple cause-effect relationships.

The societal complexity of plastic pollution arises from the fact that plastics are – besides concrete, steel, and fertilizers – one of the main building blocks of modern societies (Kuijpers 2020 ). They are so closely integrated with many aspects of our lives that modern societies cannot function without plastics. Accordingly, the immense societal benefits of plastics arising from their versatility, light weight, durability, and low costs are very difficult to decouple from their negative impacts caused by just the same properties. The resulting ambiguous relationship of humanity with plastics (Freinkel 2011 ) in combination with the complex flows of plastics through societies constitutes the societal complexity of plastic pollution.

The public, political, and scientific discourses on plastic pollution are characterized by a high degree of diversity in such that actors take divergent, and sometimes conflicting, views and approaches to the problem and its solutions. Much of that diversity emerges from the fact that the discourse on plastic pollution, just like on many other environmental problems, is a value-laden issue. In such situations, actors will frame the problem and interpret the available evidence differently based on their specific believe systems, values, and agendas.

Finally, plastic pollution is characterized by a high degree of scientific, political, and societal uncertainty. This is not only true for the glaring gaps in our scientific knowledge (SAPEA 2019 ) but even more so for the nonlinearity and unpredictability of the impacts that plastic pollution (and potential solutions) may have on ecosystems, humans, and societies. As an example of scientific uncertainty, there might be tipping point at which the ecological consequences of increasing pollution might become chaotic and unpredictable. Another, very concrete example of political uncertainty is the need to balance unforeseen benefits of plastics (e.g., massive demand for personal protective gear in case of a pandemic) with the negative impacts of pollution. While continuing research efforts will eventually reduce the scientific uncertainties, “better” evidence will not necessarily reduce the political and societal uncertainty surrounding plastic pollution. This is because the diversity in actors’ views and agendas routed in their individual values is unlikely to change when new scientific evidence arrives.

Taken together, plastic pollution comprises a relatively high degree of wickedness because it features scientific and societal complexity, actors with diverse and divergent problem/solution frames and goals, and a high degree of scientific and political uncertainty. Leaving aside the aspects of complexity and uncertainty here, it is worth investigating how divergent problem formulations result in a diversity in solutions and how value judgments inherent in the discourse on solution to plastic pollution can be conceptualized.

11.3 Problem Formulations: Consensus or Dispute?

On the surface, the problem formulation for plastic pollution seems quite straightforward. The accumulation of plastics in nature is a bad thing. Despite many scientific uncertainties, such a statement receives broad support from the scientific community, the public, policymakers, and societal actors (e.g., interest groups) alike. Despite the absence of an overt and coordinated denialism, such as the one for climate change, a closer examination reveals that three aspects of plastic pollution are contested, namely, the risk paradigm, the scale, and the root causes of the problem.

There are two opposing views on what constitutes the risk of plastic pollution. The commonsense perspective is that the sheer presence of plastics in nature represents a risk. Such view is propelled by the attention economy (Backhaus and Wagner 2020 ) and the scientific uncertainties, in such that scientific ignorance (“we do not know the ecological consequences”) becomes a risk itself (Völker et al. 2020 ). Even though empirical data are absent, this conception of risk is probably very common in the public and is promoted by environmental interest groups. An opposing perspective poses that there are thresholds below which plastic pollution will not be a risk. That more expert view comes from toxicological and regulatory practices which are based on Paracelsus’ paradigm of “the dose makes the poison” and risk assessment frameworks to compare the exposure and hazards of synthetic chemicals. The main divergence between the two perspectives is that one claims that there is no “safe” threshold of plastics in nature whereas the other does. This is, in essence, a value-laden question because deciding whether we deem emitting plastics to nature acceptable is a moral, ethical, political, and societal issue rather than a purely scientific one. It may sound provocative, but on a systems level the actors benefiting from environmental action (e.g., environmental interest groups) pursue a “zero pollution” aim whereas the actors benefiting from continued emissions (e.g., plastic industry) push for a “threshold” view.

The scale of the problem of plastic pollution is also a matter of conflicting views, at least among academics and interest groups. This is best exemplified using microplastics as case. Some scientists consider the problem “superficial” (Burton Jr. 2017 ) and even “distractive” (Stafford and Jones 2019 ), whereas others consider it “significant” (Rochman et al. 2015 ) and “urgent” (Xanthos and Walker 2017 ). Without getting into the details of the different arguments, the main driver of the superficiality perspective is the assumption that environmental problems compete for limited attention and resources (Backhaus and Wagner 2020 ). Thus, we need to prioritize problems that are deemed more important (e.g., climate change). The opposing view poses that the microplastics problem is part of the larger issue of global change that cannot be viewed in isolation (Kramm et al. 2018 ) and argues that “we simply do not have the luxury of tackling environmental issues one at a time” (Avery-Gomm et al. 2019 ). Again, a value-laden question is at the heart of this dispute, namely, whether solving environmental issues is a zero-sum game that requires focusing on the few, most pressing problems or rather represents a win-win situation in which tackling multiple problems at once will yield co-benefits and synergies.

The last area of dispute is the question about the actual causes of plastic pollution. This is essentially a matter of problem framing that will have wide implications for finding solutions. For instance, framing plastic pollution predominantly as a marine litter problem will promote a completely different set of solutions (e.g., ocean cleanup activities) compared to a framing as consumerism problem that would require larger social changes. As with the two areas discussed above, individual values and belief systems will determine how one frames the causes of plastic pollution and which solutions one prefers, accordingly.

11.4 What Are We Trying to Solve?

Investigating the different conceptions of the causes of plastic pollution offers a meaningful way to organize the sets of solutions we have at hand. Importantly, that is not to say that one of the views is true or false but rather to understand why different actors prefer and promote divergent sets of solutions. To start with a commonality, the concerns about the impacts of plastic pollution on nature, human health, and societies are the drivers of all problem-solution frames. However, five different lenses can be used to focus on the problem formulation rendering plastic pollution a waste , resource, economic, societal, and systemic problem (Fig. 11.1 ).

Common drivers result in a diverse framing of the problem of plastic pollution and its causes. This determines the set of preferred solutions

Importantly, the lack of awareness about these frames can obscure the debate on plastic pollution. For instance, plastics are often used as a proxy to debate other societal issues, such as consumerism. Thus, seemingly scientific controversies become an arena to negotiate political and philosophical issues (Hicks 2017 ). This is problematic for two reasons. Firstly, scientific debates make a poor proxy for talking about value-laden problems because they are often technical and narrow and, therefore, exclude “nonexpert” opinions and economic and cultural aspects. Secondly, as Hicks puts it “talking exclusively about the science leads us to ignore – and hence fail to address – the deeper disagreement” (Hicks 2017 ). To make the debate on plastic pollution productive, all involved actors should transparently delineate how they frame the problem, be open to discuss the deeper disagreements that may be beyond the traditional scope of hard sciences, and be receptive to other arguments and viewpoints (e.g., the cultural value of an unpolluted nature).

11.5 Solving the Waste Problem

The most common approach to plastic pollution is to frame it as a waste problem. From that perspective, the main cause is our inability to effectively manage the plastic waste and prevent its emissions to nature. According to this view, plastic pollution basically becomes an engineering problem that can be fixed with a set of technological solutions.

While not preventive per se, cleanup activities on beaches, rivers, in the open ocean, etc. can be considered part of the set of solutions to the waste problem. Targeted at removing plastic debris from nature, these can range from low-tech solutions involving citizens simply cleaning up polluted places (e.g., organized by Ocean Conservancy, the Nordic Coastal Cleanup, or Fishing for Litter), to medium-tech solutions that collect debris before it enters the oceans (e.g., Mr. Trash Wheel, the Great Bubble Barrier), to high-tech solutions such as the large booms deployed by the Ocean Cleanup or remotely operated underwater vehicles (see Schmaltz et al. 2020 for a comprehensive inventory). Cleanup solutions can be criticized as ineffective and inefficient basically because they represent measures that are the furthest downstream of the sources of plastic pollution. Some technological approaches, such as the Ocean Cleanup booms, might even have negative consequences on marine biota (Clarke 2015 ). However, these activities may also have benefits that go beyond removing plastics from nature. Engaging volunteers in cleanup activities can increase their awareness of pollution and promote pro-environmental intentions (Wyles et al. 2017 , 2019 ) that may result in a more sustainable change in behaviors.

Improving waste management is at the center of the set of solutions associated with the framing as waste problem. The goal of these activities is to minimize the amount of mismanaged plastic waste “escaping” to nature. The waste management sector in the Global North faces serious challenges, such as infrastructural fragmentation, lack of capacity, and the inability to deal with increasingly complex plastics materials and waste streams (Crippa et al. 2019 ). Taking the European Union as an example, there is a need to better implement and enforce existing waste legislation, harmonize waste collection, and promote innovation regarding new business models and waste sorting technologies (Crippa et al. 2019 ). However, most of the worlds’ mismanaged plastic waste is emitted in the Global South (Jambeck et al. 2015 ) with its predominantly informal waste sector where autonomous and organized waste pickers are highly skilled participants in local circular economies. Reconciling their livelihoods with aspirations for industrial automation remains a challenge, and external intervention attempts will likely be unsuccessful without sufficient local capacity building (Velis 2017 ). The Global North can support such development by sourcing recycled plastics from the informal recycling sector, thereby gradually formalizing this sector (Crippa et al. 2019 ) and creating socioeconomic benefits for waste pickers (Gall et al. 2020 ).

Another dimension to look at plastic pollution is the global trade of plastic waste . More than half of the plastic waste intended for recycling has been exported to countries other than the ones producing the waste (Brooks et al. 2018 ). In the case of the European Union, most exports have been directed toward the Global South (Rosa 2018 ) with notable shifts since China restricted waste imports in 2017 (European Environment Agency 2019 ). The concerns over this practice arise from the fact that recipient countries often have low labor and environmental standards resulting in occupational risks and improper waste disposal or recycling (World Economic Forum 2020 ). In response, the 187 member countries amended the Basel Convention, an international treaty on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, to better control the global flows of contaminated, mixed, or unrecyclable plastics (Secretariat of the Basel Convention 2019 ). While this is promising, the Basel Convention is limited regarding its ability to enforce compliance and monitor progress (Raubenheimer and McIlgorm 2018 ).

A third approach to tackle the waste problem is to increase the production and use of compostable or biodegradable plastics. The expectation is that such materials will disintegrate on short time scales either in industrial and household settings or in the environment (Crippa et al. 2019 ; Lambert and Wagner 2017 ). Compostable and biodegradable plastics would, thus, contribute to decreasing the amount of persistent plastic waste and create biomass to amend soils. While a range of biodegradable plastics from fossil as well as renewable feedstocks is available, their market share remains low, making up less than 0.5% of the global plastic production (Crippa et al. 2019 ). This is mainly due to their high costs (compared to a limited added value) and technical challenges in scaling up production capacities. Additional challenges arise from misperceptions and misrepresentation regarding what biodegradable plastics can achieve (Crippa et al. 2019 , see also the example of oxo-degradable plastics), from a low degradability of available materials in nature, and from the lack of transferability of degradation data from laboratory to field settings (Haider et al. 2019 ).

Importantly, when choosing to frame plastic pollution as a waste problem, the principles of the waste hierarchy apply that clearly prioritizes the prevention and reuse of waste over its recycling, recovery, or disposal (European Parliament & Council of the European Union 2008 ). However, contemporary solutions to the plastic waste problem mainly focus on less preferred options, especially on recovery and recycling. As an example, the European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy (European Commission 2018 ) contains the terms “prevention” and “reuse” only 8 times, each, while it mentions “recycling” 76 times. A reason for that preference might be that the technological approaches to recycling, recovery, and disposal exist within the waste sector, whereas approaches to reduce and reuse plastics would require the inclusion of very different actors, such as social scientists and designers.

11.6 Solving the Resource Problem

Framing plastic pollution as a resource problem is based on the idea that we are losing valuable materials when using plastics in short-lived products, such as packaging and single-use items. Such framing is closely connected to the waste problem as waste management is transforming into resources management. In a broader context, however, this idea can be reformulated as a problem of extractive fossil industries in such that the cause of plastic pollution is indeed the abundance of fossil feedstocks. Both aspects of the resource framing result in divergent sets of solutions.

Approaches to solve the resource problem from a waste perspective basically cover the upper parts of the waste hierarchy, namely, recycling and reuse. The rationale is, of course, to retain the material and functional value of plastics in use and extend the lifetime of materials or products. This would, in turn, reduce waste generation and the need to produce new plastics. The different options fall on a spectrum on which reuse and mechanical recycling preserve best the value of plastics because they avoid the extra costs for breaking up the materials (Fig. 11.2 ). In contrast, chemical recycling uses chemical or thermal processes (e.g., depolymerization, pyrolysis, gasification) to create purified polymers, oligomers, or monomers which then can be reprocessed into new plastics. This has several advantages over mechanical recycling, such as the higher flexibility and the ability to deal with mixed and contaminated plastics. Nonetheless, chemical recycling currently requires significant improvement regarding their technical and economic feasibility as well as a thorough investigation of its environmental and social impacts (Crippa et al. 2019 ).

Different loops for the reuse and recycling of plastics. (Source: Crippa et al. 2019 )

In contrast to set of solutions provided by the recycling plastics, retaining plastic products in use via sharing, repairing, and reusing comes closer to a circular economy ideal. While circular business models for plastics suffer from the lack of economic incentives (see economic problem), the four current types of business models include product as a service (“pay-per-use”), circular supplies (waste of one company becomes the raw material for another), product life extensions (making products durable, repairable, upgradable), and sharing platforms (Accenture 2014 ). Such approaches face challenges not only because plastics move so fast through the value chain and are handled by multiple actors but also because they challenge the linear economy paradigm. Here, eco-design guidelines and circularity metrics can help create a more level playing field (Crippa et al. 2019 ).

A very different solution, namely, the shift to bio-based plastics, emerges when framing plastic pollution as a problem of fossil feedstocks. Here, the idea is to reduce the use of petroleum and natural gas to manufacture plastics and foster the transition to a bio-based economy. Bio-based plastics can be produced from natural polymers (e.g., starch, cellulose), by plants or microbes (e.g., PBS, PHA), and by synthesizing them from biological feedstocks (e.g., ethylene derived from fermented sugarcane) (Lambert and Wagner 2017 ). As with biodegradable plastics, the market share of bio-based material is rather low for economic reasons, but production capacities and demand are projected to increase in the future (Crippa et al. 2019 ). The main challenges of shifting to bio-based plastics are their potential environmental and social impacts associated with land and pesticide use. These can be addressed by using feedstocks derived from agricultural, forestry, and food waste as well as from algae (Lambert and Wagner 2017 ). Eventually, substituting fossil with renewable carbon sources is a laudable aim that can create many co-benefits. However, it is important to realize that this will not solve the problem of plastic pollution.

11.7 Solving the Economic Problem

A very different perspective on the discourses on plastic pollution is the framing as an economic problem. As discussed above, many solutions are not competitive in the marketplace due to their high costs. Accordingly, the low price of virgin plastics which is a result of the low oil and natural gas prices can be considered the major cause of plastic pollution. Taking such view implies that one major benefit of plastics – their low price – is driving consumption which, in turn, results in their emission to nature. It also dictates that solutions should address the economy of plastics.

The goal of economic solutions to plastic pollution is to reduce plastic consumption either directly via financial (dis)incentives or indirectly via creating a level playing field for other solutions, including alternative materials (e.g., bio-based plastics), recycling, and circular business models. The simplest and most widely adopted economic instrument is to place levies on single-use products, especially on plastic bags. For most cases, increasing the price of carrier bag reduced the consumption but the global effect of such policies remains uncertain (Nielsen et al. 2019 ). In addition, there may be unintended consequences and the ecological impacts of replacements in particular often remain neglected.

Plastic taxes follow the same logic as levies and fees but target a wider range of products. While there is no literature on the implementation of plastic taxes across countries, the European Union, for instance, plans to implement a plastic tax on non-recycled plastic packaging waste (European Council 2020 ). Similar initiatives exist in the US State of California (Simon 2020 ). In principle, such taxes can be raised at the counter to change consumer behavior and/or directed toward plastic producers (see Powell 2018 for in-depth discussion). The latter aims at internalizing the external costs of plastics in such that their negative environmental impacts are reflected in their pricing, in line with the idea of extended producer responsibility. Although the actual external costs of plastics are far from clear and depend on the specific context, ecosystems services approaches, valorizing the supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services nature provides, can be used to estimate those. According to a recent assessment, plastic pollution results in an annual loss of $500–2500 billion in marine natural capital, or $3300–33,000 per ton plastic in the ocean (Beaumont et al. 2019 ).

The benefit of taxing plastic producers would be twofold. If targeting the sale or purchase of non-recycled plastic monomers or resins, a tax would incentivize recycling. If the tax revenue would be collected in a dedicated fund, this could be used to subsidize other solutions, such as innovation in materials, products and business models, or awareness campaigns. General plastic taxes could be modeled after carbon taxation following the polluter pays principle. However, the latter requires a value judgment regarding who the polluter indeed is, and different actors would certainly disagree where to place responsibility along the life cycle of plastics. An additional challenge can be that the taxes are absorbed by the supply chain and, thus, not achieve the desired aim (Powell 2018 ).

Apart from levies and taxes on specific products, broader plastic taxation has not been implemented so far. However, the price of virgin plastics is expected to decrease further due to the oil industry shifting their production away from fuels and massively increase their capacity to produce new plastics (Pooler 2020 ). Such technology lock-in will further decrease the pricing of virgin plastics, propel plastic consumption, and render solving the plastics problem uneconomic. At the same time, the surge in production may increase the public pressure and political willingness to implement taxation that mitigates the negative impacts on recycling (Lim 2019 ) and of increasing waste exports (Tabuchi et al. 2020 ) and aggregated greenhouse gas emissions (Gardiner 2019 ).

11.8 Solving the Societal Problem

In contrast to the techno-economic problem-solution frames discussed above, a very different perspective attributes plastic pollution to a deeper-rooted cause, namely, consumerism and capitalism. Accordingly, plastic pollution is a result of humanity’s overconsumption of plastics that is, in turn, driven by our capitalist system. In this way, it becomes a societal problem. It remains unclear how pervasive such views are, but the idea that we are consuming too much is one center piece of environmentalism, arguably one of the few remaining major ideologies. The problem with this framing is that often it remains implicit in the discourse on plastic pollution. Thus, plastic becomes a proxy to debate larger, value-laden topics, such as industrialization, economic materialism and growth, globalization, and, eventually, capitalism. The set of solutions promoted by framing plastic pollution as a societal problem are manifold. Interestingly, there is a dichotomy regarding who is responsible: When viewed as a consumption problem, solutions should motivate individuals to change their behaviors. When framed as a capitalist issue, more collective and systemic change is desired.

Plastic consumption behavior is affected by a range of factors, among others, sociodemographic variables, convenience, habits, social factors, and environmental attitudes (Heidbreder et al. 2019 ). The ban of plastic products, especially of single-use items, such as carrier bags, straws, cutlery, and tableware, targets the convenience and habits of consumers simply by limiting their choice. Plastic bag bans are now implemented in more than 30 countries, and bans on other single-use products are in effect in 12 countries (Schnurr et al. 2018 ). While generally considered effective and publicly acceptable, plastic bag bans have been criticized to disproportionally affect low-income and homeless persons. The major criticism concerns the environmental impacts of replacements made of natural materials (paper, cotton, linen) due to their higher resource demand and greenhouse gas emissions (Schnurr et al. 2018 ).

Social factors, including norms and identities, are the drivers for plastic avoidance, another way to reduce plastic consumption. On the one hand, social pressure and guilt can motivate individuals to not use plastics (Heidbreder et al. 2019 ). On the other hand, a person can practice plastic avoidance, a plastic-free lifestyle being its most intense form, to affirm their identity as environmentally conscious (Cherrier 2006 ). Notably, it is exactly those social norms and identities that environmental interest groups and similarly motivated actors tap into. On the business side, the marketing of “ethical” plastic products (e.g., made from ocean plastics) applies similar mechanisms, sometimes criticized as greenwashing. Interestingly, all those solutions are based on the idea of ethical consumerism, emphasizing individual responsibility, all the while staying firmly within the realm of capitalism.

As a more collective solution, activities that raise awareness regarding plastic pollution and consumption (e.g., communication campaigns) target at changing environmental attitudes and encourage pro-environmental behaviors on a wider scale. Behavior change interventions range from policies (bans, levies, see above), information campaigns, educational programs, point-of-sale interventions (e.g., asking if customers want plastic bags rather than handing them out), and the participation in cleanup activities (Heidbreder et al. 2019 ; Pahl et al. 2020 ). Importantly, Pahl et al. ( 2020 ) note that it “is advisable [to] build on personal and social norms and values, as this could lead to spillover into other pro-environmental domains and behaviours.” This goes in line with the idea that awareness of plastic pollution is a gateway to wider pro-environmental attitudes (Ives 2017 ).

11.9 Solving the Systemic Problem

In contrast to framing plastic pollution as a waste , resource, economic, or societal problem, it can be viewed as a composite of some or all of these facets; it becomes a systemic problem. The latter view acknowledges that plastic pollution is multicausal and that the individual causes are strongly interconnected. In other words, such systems perspective takes the wickedness of plastic pollution into account. Intuitively, this seems like the most holistic approach to the problem since it is quite apparent that plastic pollution is the result of multiple failures at multiple levels of the “plastic ecosystem .”

However, the main challenge with framing this as a systemic problem is that the problem formulation becomes much less tangible compared to other perspectives. For instance, the framings as waste, resource, or economic problem are much clearer with regard to their intervention points. They also provide sets of solutions that require an engineering approach in such that technologies, processes, and functions need to be redesigned and optimized. Thus, solutions appear relatively straightforward and easy to implement. Such promises of easy wins might be one reason why the idea to engineer our way out of plastic pollution is so popular. In contrast, solutions to the systemic problem are diverse, interconnected, and at times conflicting. This makes them appear as much harder to implement. At the same time, this renders the systems view somewhat immune to criticism as individual solutions (and their limitations) will always be just a small piece of the larger approach.

Arguably, the concept of a circular economy has recently gained most momentum to tackle plastic pollution systemically. Promoted by powerful actors, including the World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, McKinsey & Company, and the European Union, the vision of a circular economy is to “increase prosperity, while reducing demands on finite raw materials and minimizing negative externalities” (World Economic Forum et al. 2016 ). While there are multiple definitions of the meaning of circular economy (Kirchherr et al. 2017 ), it is basically a reincarnation of the “3Rs principle” of reduce, reuse, recycle and of the idea of sustainable design. Accordingly, a circular economy “requires innovations in the way industries produce, consumers use and policy makers legislate” (Prieto-Sandova et al. 2018 ). Applied to plastic pollution, the circular economy concept identifies the linear economic model as root cause of the problem.

Accordingly, it promotes designing closed loop systems that prevent plastic from becoming waste as the key solution. Whereas this seems to reiterate the solution set to the waste problem, the circular economy concept integrates the solutions supported by all other problem frames. A report by the Pew Trust and SYSTEMIQ predicts that the future plastic emissions to the ocean can only be significantly reduced with systemic change (Lau et al. 2020 ; The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ 2020 ). Highlighting that there is no single solution to plastic pollution, such scenario requires the concurrent and global implementation of measures to reduce production and consumption and increase the substitution with compostable materials, recycling rates, and waste collection (The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ 2020 ). As such, the circular approach is, thus, a composite of the waste , resource, and societal framing combined with the prospect of economic co-benefits through innovation. The latter is indeed why repacking the other solution sets in a circular economy context has become so successful that it, as an example, has been rapidly adopted by the European Union (European Commission 2018 ). In addition to the economic angle, the focus on technological and societal innovation provides a powerful narrative of a better future that makes the circular economy ideology even more appealing. However, two important aspects need to be considered: Firstly, it is unclear whether a circular economy is able to deliver the promised environmental benefits (Manninen et al. 2018 ). Secondly, we need to realize that the ideology is not as radical as it claims, given that it further promotes the current model of business-led economic growth (Clube and Tennant 2020 ; Hobson and Lynch 2016 ). Thus, more radical and utopian solutions to plastic pollution remain out of sight.

11.10 The Four Scales of Solutions

Discussing and evaluating the solutions derived from the different problem frames outlined above requires value-based judgments regarding their relative importance, desirability, costs, and social consequences. These values should be made transparent and open in the discourse on plastic pollution to mitigate the proxy politics problem. This is important because making the debate about larger value-laden issues that remain implied can result in polarization and entrenchment and, in turn, would make solving the problem much harder.

While there is a multitude of dimensions to consider when evaluating solutions to plastic pollution, there are four basic scales of change that require value judgment and social deliberation. These cover the geography, time, responsibility, and magnitude of/for change desired by different actors (Fig. 11.3 ).

Conceptual framework to facilitate deliberation on the scales of changes needed to solve plastic pollution

The scales of geography and time do not appear very contentious. However, the preference for local, national, regional, or global solutions to plastic pollution very much depends on which geographic unit actors most trust for developing and implementing effective measures. Some actors might be localists valuing small- over the large-scale approaches a globalist might prefer. Whereas there seems to be consensus that plastic problem is a global problem (implying a preference for global action), very focused solutions (e.g., at emission hotspots) might be very effective in a local context and much faster to implement.

The time scales desired for implementing measures and achieving their ends depends on perception of the immediacy of the problem. While a general notion of urgency to solve plastic pollution is prevailing and requires instant action, a very different standpoint may be that there is sufficient time to better understand the problem because the negative impacts are not immanent. Such view would be supported by calls for more and better research. While part of that question can be addressed scientifically, for instance, by prospective risk assessment or modeling approaches, decisions on the urgency of action remain value laden and context dependent.

At the scale of responsibility, we need to address the question who has the agency and means to implement solutions and who has to carry the burden of costs and consequences. This is as well a matter of individual vs. collective action as of which actors across the plastic life cycle have most responsibility. Some actors, especially the plastics industry, emphasize the individual consumer’s responsibility. However, the systems view places much more focus on collective action. Others, especially environmental interest groups, want to hold the plastic industry accountable. However, one could also prefer to assign the burden of action to the retail or waste sectors, making it a matter of up- or downstream solutions. While it is very obvious that all actors in the plastic system share responsibility, the question of where to allocate how much accountability is open to debate.

The magnitude of desired changes is probably the most difficult aspect to agree upon because it touches not only on powerful economic interests but also on the fundamental question of whether one prefers to keep the status quo or wants to revolutionize individual lifestyles, economic sectors, or whole societies. It also covers preferences for very focused, pragmatic actions (e.g., easy wins that are sometimes tokenistic) or for systemic change. Such preferences are not only linked to perceptions of the urgency of the problem but depend on more fundamental worldviews. As with all other scales of changes, preferences will be driven by cultural context, social identity, and political orientations on the spectrum of conservative and progressive as well as libertarian and authoritarian.

11.11 How to Solve the Wicked Problem of Plastic Pollution?

Per definition, it is difficult or even impossible to solve wicked problems with conventional instruments and approaches. As argued above, plastic pollution is characterized by a relatively high degree of wickedness. At the same time, contemporary, mainstream solutions come from the standard toolbox, and it is rather the combination of all those instruments that is considered “transformative.” Implementing such combinatorial approach is appealing but can be complicated by the different underlying problem formulations and sometimes conflicting value judgments regarding the relative effectiveness of individual tools.

Thus, we need to organize an inclusive, open, and probably uncomfortable conversation about the scales of change we desire and the individual values that motivate those preferences. Such debate should not be reserved for the usual actors (i.e., experts, activists, and lobbyists) but must include (marginalized) groups that are most affected by plastic pollution and carry the burden of solutions (e.g., waste pickers). The debate must be open in the sense that, for instance, instead of fighting over bans of plastic straws, we should be clear on which issues these are proxies for (e.g., consumerism). Importantly, this is not to say that we need to create an all-encompassing consensus. Instead, the current plurality in problem-solution formulations is beneficial as it acknowledges that plastic pollution is multicausal, prevents a polarization and entrenchment, and enables tackling the problem from a systems perspective.

While we will have to face a multitude of technological, governance, and societal challenges on our road to solve plastic pollution, there are some conditions that will facilitate that journey. This includes robust evidence from the natural and social sciences regarding the effectiveness of different solutions, a broad willingness to solve the problem, and an acceptance of shared responsibility.

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M.W. acknowledges the support by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (02WRS1378I, 01UU1603), the Norwegian Research Council (301157), and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme (860720).

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Wagner, M. (2022). Solutions to Plastic Pollution: A Conceptual Framework to Tackle a Wicked Problem. In: Bank, M.S. (eds) Microplastic in the Environment: Pattern and Process. Environmental Contamination Remediation and Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78627-4_11

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IELTS Writing Task 2: how to write a problem-solution essay on increase of waste; with effective mind mapping technique and model answer

This IELTS Writing Task 2 post offers insights into writing a great answer to a problem-solution topic. This problem-solution topic asks the candidates to provide some reasons for the increasing waste around the world and suggest some practical solutions . In this post, you will find a plan that can help you to write this problem-solution essay  effectively along with a mind-map or brainstorming idea.  You will also find a great model answer which can help you build your own answers for other problem-solution essays.

Let’s take a close look at the question first:

What kind of essay structure should you follow.

In most IELTS Writing Task 2 essays, a 4-paragraph structure is followed. For this specific problem-solution essay, we should also follow a 4-paragraph essay structure.

Paragraph 1: Introduction (Introduce the topic with some background information in 40/45 words)

Paragraph 2: (Explain 2/3 reasons with examples in around 100 words)

Paragraph 3: (Suggest 2/3 best solutions with examples in around 100 words)

Paragraph 4: (Conclude the essay with a positive tone and what might happen if the solutions are not adopted.)

How to plan for your answer to a problem-solution topic:

When you start writing your task 2 answers, what strategies do you follow? Do you have a plan that you arrange beforehand and apply it accordingly?

It is always a very good idea to plan before you write something; even it takes 5/7 minutes of your time. A good plan reduces the pressure of real-time thinking and writing together. It also improves your power of thinking and arranging ideas. So, utilize the opportunity of thinking beforehand and taking some necessary notes that can help you to present your thoughts in an organized way.

For this problem-solution topic, we need to analyze the question and try to understand what the task requirements are. Let’s look at this question again and find out what they want us to write:

At present, we are producing more and more garbage.

Why do you think this is happening?

What can governments do to help reduce the amount of garbage produced?

As you can see, there are two questions on this topic and we should answer them effectively . We should also remember to write a minimum of 250 words to illustrate our ideas, thoughts, suggestions etc.

So, here is a plan that I’ve made to establish my ideas, thoughts, and suggestions. You can do the same by doing some brainstorming and taking some notes. You need not be accurate to do this, just put down your thoughts and do some regular practice.

Now, let’s have a look at the plan:

Now let’s have a look at the model answer and find out whether the mind mapping has helped in writing the answer.

Model answer:

With the ongoing development in the world, different sorts of problems are arising and the massive surge of garbage is one of those concerning issues . This essay will talk about the major causes of the issue and then submit some viable solutions like recycling which can be adopted by governments to minimize the problem.

Primarily , the population of the world has been escalating rapidly due to the high rate of births. The high population increases the consumption of different products which in return produces more waste. The massive amount of plastic bottles found in different islands is ocular evidence of this. Likewise, the demand for different products has been augmented by the materialistic insight and constant eye-catching advertisements of luxurious life. Recently, a great increase has been observed in the use of metals and plastics in my hometown due to changes in lifestyle and this is producing rubbish dramatically in city landfills . Besides, advancements of new technology with no suitable know-how of disposal are another reason and most of the mills and factories in developing and undeveloped nations are strong evidence of this.

The most effective step to solve this issue is a quick approach toward recycling programs by governments. Some countries in the Middle East have already adopted such a program where factories are bound to follow special protocols so that the waste can be stored for recycling, and the result has been brilliant. A secondary solution can be an awareness building program where mass people will practically observe the bad effects of increasing waste through statistical and other visual presentations. This has been done in my hometown and positive outcomes have been reported.

In fine, the huge increase in waste products is one of the foremost challenges that we are facing at present. It is high time to take a combined approach toward reducing it quickly and it can only be done by adopting solutions such as recycling and building awareness among people. Otherwise, it will ultimately lead to a global catastrophe .

(325 words)

Comments on the writing sample answer:

After analyzing the answer, it is clear that the essay has a clear 4-paragraph structure.

The mind map also has a positive correlation with the answer.

All the examples provided are logical and realistic. 

We can see some excellent use of important vocabulary and connecting words or linkers. This gives the writer extra benefits in earning a good band score. 

There is also good use of different sentence pa tterns.

Important vocabularies:

arise:  to begin to occur or to exist, to originate from a source

surge:  to rise suddenly to an excessive or abnormal value

concerning issues: problems that create worries

viable:  capable of working, functioning, or developing adequately

adopted:  used or chosen in place of or in preference to an original

primarily: chiefly, mainly, originally,

escalate:  to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope

consumption:  the act or process of taking, eating or using something

in return: as a result

massive: huge, big,

ocular evidence: a proof based on what has been seen

likewise: similarly, in addition,

augmented:  made greater, larger, bigger

materialistic insight: an act or result that is overly concerned or preoccupied with material possessions rather than with intellectual or spiritual things

eye-catching:  something that arrests the eye, attractive,

luxurious:  of the finest and richest kind

dramatically: rapidly, sharply

landfill: an area where a large heap of waste is buried

know-how: knowledge of how to do something smoothly and efficiently

disposal:  the systematic destruction

approach:  to make advances to especially in order to create the desired result

special protocol:  a detailed plan of a scientific or medical experiment, treatment, or procedure

practically: almost, nearly

statistical:  of, relating to, based on, or employing the principles of statistics

outcomes: results, consequences

foremost challenges: the main problems

combined: joint, together

global catastrophe: worldwide disaster

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Plastic factories like this one in China are increasing production of virgin plastic, even as plastic pollution sweeps into the oceans in record volumes.

Plastic pollution is a huge problem—and it’s not too late to fix it

Correcting our plastic waste problem requires a fundamental change in thinking about how plastics are made, used, and discarded, two new studies say.

The global campaign to gain control of plastic waste is one of the fastest-growing environmental causes ever mounted. Yet it hasn’t been enough to make a dent in the growing tonnage of discarded plastic that ends up in the seas.

In the next 10 years, the waste that slides into waterways, and ultimately the oceans , will reach 22 million tons and possibly as much as 58 million tons a year. And that’s the “good” news—because that estimate takes into account thousands of ambitious commitments by government and industry to reduce plastic pollution.

Without those pledges, a business-as-usual scenario would be almost twice as bad. With no improvements to managing waste beyond what’s already in place today, 99 million tons of uncontrolled plastic waste would end up in the environment by 2030.

These two scenarios, the result of new research by an international team of scientists, are a far cry from the first global tally published in 2015, which estimated that an average of 8.8 million tons flow into the oceans annually. That was a figure so startling to the world when it was published five years ago, it helped invigorate the plastic trash movement.

Jenna Jambeck, the University of Georgia engineering professor who calculated that number, also came up with a vivid analogy to put it in context. It would be the equivalent of one dump truck tipping a load of plastic into the ocean every minute every day for a year. Jambeck is also part of the team that came up with the new calculations. But coming up with a new way to visualize 22 to 58 million tons proved a challenge.

“I don’t know. We’re getting into the realm of what’s incomprehensible,” she says. “How about a football stadium filled with plastic every day? Or enough plastic to cover Rhode Island or the country of Luxembourg ankle deep?”

Neither of these new analogies, while accurate, capture the magnitude of what’s at stake. (More: We're drowning in plastic—find out why. )

Like climate change, a lot rides on how the global community responds in the next couple of decades. And, though the parallels between the problem of plastic waste and climate change are obvious—both are rooted in oil, the basic ingredient to make plastics, they are dissimilar in one key way: plastic’s persistence. While there is some possibility, however remote, that technology and restoration of natural ecosystems could remove CO 2 from the atmosphere, there is no such analog for plastic. Virtually indestructible, it doesn’t disappear.

“For me, the biggest issue is the question of permanence,” says George Leonard , the Ocean Conservancy’s chief scientist and a member of the team that produced this newest forecast. “If we don’t get the plastic pollution problem in the ocean under control, we threaten contaminating the entire marine food web, from phytoplankton to whales. And by the time the science catches up to this, perhaps definitively concluding that this is problematic, it will be too late. We will not be able to go back. That massive amount of plastic will be embedded in the ocean’s wildlife essentially forever.”

The power of two

Royal Dutch Shell will produce plastic pellets like these at its new plant in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The plant will create more than a million tons of the tiny pellets. Many in the Pittsburgh area see it as an economic engine, but others worry about the long-term environmental harm.

The analysis is the second in recent weeks to look ahead to the future of the plastic economy and conclude that correcting the waste problem—40 percent of plastic manufactured today is disposable packaging—requires a fundamental change in thinking about how plastics are made, used, and discarded.

The new findings were made by a team of scientists funded by the National Science Foundation through the University of Maryland’s National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center ( SESYNC ). The other project, which looks ahead to 2040, was led by the Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ, a London-based environmental advisory and investment firm, and was first made public in July. Both studies were published together in the journal Science in September.

What’s unusual is that two independent scientific working groups, using differing methodologies and timelines, reached the same broad conclusions. Both laid blame for the rising tonnage of plastic in the seas on the growth of plastic production that is outpacing the world’s ability to keep up with collecting plastic trash. They also agreed that reducing surging waste requires reducing surging production of virgin plastic.

“The magnitude of the problem is the same. The difference is in methodology,” says Stephanie Borrelle, a marine biologist in New Zealand and lead author of the SESYNC study. “We have to do something about this and do it soon. Our annual count of leakage doesn’t account for what’s already in the oceans.”

Both projects also concluded that plastic waste could be significantly reduced, though not eliminated, using existing technologies. That includes improving waste collection and recycling, redesigning products to eliminate packaging made from unrecyclable plastics, expanding refillables, and in some cases substituting other materials. But solutions such as recycling, now globally hovering around 12 percent, would also require a massive scaling-up with many additional recycling facilities that don’t exist.

The SESYNC project also calls for cleaning up plastic waste from shorelines, where possible. To give an idea of the scale involved in achieving that goal, it would require a billion people to participate in the Ocean Conservancy’s annual beach cleanup that now attracts about one million volunteers.

“The inconvenient truth now is that this business-as-usual growth in production of new plastics is not compatible with ending plastics in nature,” says Ben Dixon, a former sustainability manager at Royal Dutch Shell and partner at SYSTEMIQ. “That’s the inconvenient truth both studies get to the heart of. We may see more pressures from investors, customers, and a changing of the world underneath the feet of these companies.”

Both projects captured the attention of the plastics industry, which was quick to praise the research, but dismissed the idea of reducing production of virgin plastic as “highly counterproductive and impractical,” in the words of the American Chemistry Council, a trade group for the petrochemical industry. In emailed responses, ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical, two of the world’s leading manufacturers of polyethylene, agreed.

“Reducing production to solve the waste problem will, in turn, aggravate the carbon and climate problem as alternative materials have higher emissions,” Dow said.

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The manufacturing of plastic emits less CO2 and uses less water than for glass or aluminum. Some argue that such accounting doesn’t always factor in all the costs, such as environmental cleanup and weight. Glass manufacturing emits less CO2 per gram, but glass bottles are heavier. And, in the marine world, they say, it’s beside the point: Turtles eat plastic bags, not glass bottles and aluminum cans.

Todd Spitler, an Exxon spokesman, said the company’s focus will be on “increasing plastic recyclability, supporting improvements in plastic waste recovery and minimizing plastic pellet loss from our operations."

The SESYNC study calls for setting global limits on the production of virgin plastic, a recommendation unlikely to be realized. At the last United Nations Environmental Program meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2019, negotiations to pass a resolution calling for phasing out single-use plastic by 2025 and to draft a legally binding treaty on plastic debris ended in a stalemate.

The Pew/SYSTEMIQ study calls for reducing virgin production by 11 percent, arguing there is enough waste plastic that could be recycled and remade into new plastic to satisfy demand. The problem is that virgin plastic—new resin created from natural gas or oil—is so cheap to make that it undermines the economics of the recycling market. It is simply less expensive to manufacture new plastic than to collect, sort, and process disposable plastic into new feedstock. Especially now, with the collapse of oil prices. (Read more on the SYSTEMIQ study here.)

Plastic production to increase by 2050

In fact, production is forecast to more than double by 2050—increasing to 756 million tons anticipated in 2050 from 308 million tons produced in 2018, according to a report published by the American Chemistry Council in 2019. In the United States, $203 billion has been invested in 343 new or expanded chemical plants to produce plastics, according to ACC figures published last February. Production capacity for ethylene and propylene is projected to increase by 33 to 36 percent, according to an estimate by the Center for International Environmental Law.

Keith Christman , the ACC’s managing director of plastics markets, says the demand for plastic products, such as lightweight automobile parts and materials used in home construction, including insulation and water piping, is only going to grow.

“New technologies is the direction that we see the industry going,” he says.

Historically, plastic production has increased almost continuously since the 1950s, from 1.8 million tons in 1950 to 465 million tons in 2018. As of 2017, 7 billion of the 8.8 billion tons produced globally over that whole period have become waste.

The industry attributes future growth to two factors: the increasing global population and demands for more plastic consumer goods, fueled by the increasing buying power of a growing middle class. The UN projects that the world’s population, now about 7.8 billion, will add about two billion more by 2050, primarily in Asia and Africa. Globally, the middle class is anticipated to expand by 400 million households by 2039—and that is where the plastics market growth will occur.

Africa, to cite one example, shows the complications that lie ahead for gaining control of plastic waste in the coming decades. The continent today generates waste at a low rate by global standards, according to a UN report published last year. It also has limited environmental regulations, weak enforcement, and inadequate systems in place to manage waste. But as its population explodes and becomes more urban, and as buying habits change with higher standards of living, sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to become the dominant region producing municipal waste.

“Everyone is going to need to play a role along the whole value chain,” says Guy Bailey , a leading plastics analyst at Wood Mackenzie, a consulting firm specializing in energy, chemicals, mining and other research.

“If you are a recycler, it is difficult to make an investment when oil prices completely destroy the economics of your business. If you are a packing company, you are faced with so many choices of materials, it’s hard to know which to pick. If you are a chemical company, you clearly can see the reputational challenge. They risk losing their social license to operate if things go too far. They want to address those challenges.”

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, founded last year by 50 industry titans, committed to investing $1.5 billion in creating solutions to improve methods for collecting plastic waste and recycling into new products. So far, it has launched 14 projects, many in Southeast Asia and Africa, including in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Ghana.

Jacob Duer, president and CEO, said the new report “reiterates the necessity and the urgency in addressing the issue and underlines the importance of a paradigm shift.”

As the organization, based in Singapore, matures, he says the number of projects and capital investment will grow. But it opposes reducing virgin plastic production.

Both Duer and Martyn Ticknet, head of the Alliance’s project development, see similarities between tackling plastic waste and global efforts to close the hole in the ozone layer that began in the 1970s. Last year the hole had shrunk to its smallest size on record since its discovery.

“We’ve solved major crises before,” Ticknet says. “It takes some time to get going.”

Related Topics

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• PLASTIC WASTE

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How to reduce waste to help solve waste pollution

•       Use what you already have; donate things you do not need; dispose items that cannot be repurposed. •       Educate others to follow simple and cost-efficient initiatives such as bringing food, water, and eco-bag whenever they go out of the house. •       Refrain from buying things with excessive packaging. •       Read product labels carefully to be more mindful of your carbon footprint.

There are many ways to practice a sustainable lifestyle – from avoiding the use of plastic items to recycling food and stuff, or to following the disciplined path to zero-waste living.

Zero Waste is a movement that promotes the creation and management of products that reduce the volume of trash. It is an advocacy that EcoWaste Coalition (EWC).

In 2020, the Philippines’ annual waste was projected at 18 million tons, as per the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Solid Waste Management Status Report 2008-2018. In 2019, the DENR said that 40,000 tons of garbage is generated by each household every day in the Philippines, and each person living in the urban areas produces about half a kilo of garbage daily.

Although there are no figures yet for 2021, those figures already are alarming. It also reminds us to be responsible citizens and do our share in solving the waste pollution problem.

Jove Benosa of the Zero Waste movement shares a few things we can do.

The first rule is to use what you already have; donate things you do not need; dispose items that cannot be repurposed, he said.

Benosa said that growing up in a poor household in Bicol has helped him unconsciously practice sustainable living. “I have learned to value each little thing as a resource by reusing them, mending them in case they need repair. I also take care of every new item I receive, so it becomes more durable,” Benosa, who has been with the EWC since July 2019, shared in an online interview with Manila Bulletin.

Living in a typhoon-prone region had also taught him to be resilient. He buys durable housing materials and patronizes local products and essentials.

He said that those thinking of disposing stuff could also expect cash from what should be trash. Junk shops buy recyclable and scrap materials per kilo—a kilo of paper costs around P6, boxes are about P6, plastic containers, P16, GI corrugated sheets (yero) are about P11, and metal scraps, P15 per kilo, he said.

The second rule is about mindset. Be mindful of what you consume, and buy local products. Benosa said he practices these rules by assessing his needs and wants.

“I patronize local, clean, quality-made products and refrain from buying plastics with excessive packaging. I read product labels carefully to be more mindful of my carbon footprint and save on other essential resources like energy, water, money, and time,” he said.

His next rule is practical – educate others to follow simple and cost-efficient initiatives such as bringing food, water, and eco-bag whenever they go out of the house.

The 55-year-old Zero Waste enthusiast said he always encourages friends and relatives to live a “simple, thrifty, and mindful lifestyle.”

He has been with EWC for almost three years now with a full-time job under the Marisla Project Foundation — an organization that has supported EWC for 20 years.

“I believe that enjoining producers about extended producers’ responsibility (EPR), and the making of clean and non-toxic products, and also, lawmakers about their responsibility to implement the essence of RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act) are equally important in this lifetime goal of making this planet clean, safe, and more protected,” Benosa said.

How Can We Reduce Plastic Pollution?

Plastic is incredibly useful in modern life, but its widespread use may impair human sustainability. The production and disposal of plastic generates greenhouse gases and hazardous waste. Plastic and the chemicals it emits are building up on land and in oceans, lakes, rivers, ice, and air, and the resulting damage to human and ecological health is currently poorly understood. Most plastic is not recyclable and the vast majority does not biodegrade. Further, plastic products often break down into very small fragments called microplastics that can pollute ecosystems and harm organisms.

Why Plastic Pollution Is a Problem

Plastic is everywhere, from bags and single-use bottles and packages to car parts, pipes, and siding. Likewise, plastic waste is ubiquitous . It has been found, for example, in Arctic sea ice , beer , farm soil , trout and other wild freshwater fish , shrimp and other shellfish , songbirds and seabirds , human placentas , the Great Pacific Garbage Patch , midoceanic atolls , sea caves , the air and rain , and national parks and wilderness areas . While the impact of plastic pollution on sea life is well documented, scientists are just beginning to measure plastic's effects on humans and human fertility , land ecosystems , and crops and other plants .

The United States alone generated 35.7 million tons of plastic waste in 2018. Of that, 27 million tons was landfilled, 5.6 million tons incinerated, and three million tons, or 8.7 percent may have been recycled. (Some reports suggest that plastic scrap shipped abroad for recycling may instead end up in landfills and waterways.)

Researchers estimate that nearly 7,000 million tons of virgin plastic have been manufactured around the world as of 2015. Of that, 9 percent may have been recycled, 12 percent has been incinerated, and the rest is in landfills, still in use, or in our environment. Globally, about one fourth of plastic waste is never collected . In less wealthy countries, waste plastic is sometimes burned in the open, releasing toxic chemicals into the air.

What is plastic made of?

The main ingredients in plastic come from oil and natural gas processing . Different molecules are used to make different types of plastic, giving them distinctive properties and chemical structures. Manufacturers also mix in additives to give specific products their desired qualities. These chemicals, such as colorants, plasticizers, flame-retardants, stabilizers, fillers, reinforcing fibers, and biocides sometimes contain hazardous substances, including lead, arsenic, and cadmium compounds, as well as BPA .

Caltech chemists and their colleagues are designing molecules and nanoscale catalytic devices that may make it possible to produce plastic from chemicals derived from carbon dioxide rather than fossil fuels, with the goal of reducing the climate impact of plastic manufacturing .

What types of plastic can be recycled?

Many consumer plastic products are imprinted with triangular recyclable symbols . But only two kinds of plastic commonly end up recycled : #1, PET or polyethylene terephthalate, and #2, HDPE or high-density polyethylene, and within those, usually only bottles, tubs, and jugs (generally not, for example, salad containers, berry boxes, or clamshell packages). Together, these account for a small fraction of all plastic waste .

Plastics that are recyclable are typically downcycled rather than fully recycled. This means that they are turned into products of lesser value that often cannot be recycled again. When plastic waste is turned into a more valuable product, such as clothing or shoes, that is called upcycling.

Recycling results in a product of equivalent value that can be recycled multiple times. However, the number of times a plastic can be effectively recycled is currently limited.

Recycling Innovation

Chemical recycling is an emerging method that chemists are trying to develop. It would break plastics down into their basic, raw materials, sometimes through the use of customized enzymes , so that they can be remade and recycled an infinite number of times. Using similar approaches, polymers that are more difficult to recycle could potentially be turned into biodegradable compounds and used in cleaning products.

Because different types of plastics have varying properties, plastic products need to be sorted before they can be recycled. Some packaging, usually used to keep food fresh, cannot be sorted or recycled because it is made from layers of different types of plastic. Scientists are working on solvents that could separate multilayer packaging into its component polymers, which could then be used instead of new plastic. Others are making molecules that would allow multiple types of polymers to mix and still create viable recycled materials.

Dive Deeper

Garbage Problem In Community

Gaseous waste is normally vented to the atmosphere, either with or without treatment depending on composition and the specific regulations of the country involved. Liquid wastes are commonly discharged into sewers or rivers, which in many countries is subject to legislation governing treatment before discharge. Historically, the amount of waste generated by humans was insignificant due to low population density and natural resources. Common waste produced during early human history was mainly ashes and human biodegradable waste, and these were released back into the ground coolly, with minimum environmental impact.

This uncontrollable problem is due to stubbornness of the people in the world. II-The Problem

Essay Example on Root Cause Of Improper Waste Disposal

What is the problem.

The problem is the improper waste disposal in Button City. It is the problem wherein the garbage are not placed and manage well by the society. That problem could cause big problem in the society. Such as falsehood that can harm everybody and can also be a cause of death.

What interventions done to address the problem?

Waste management is introduced to the community. It is the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring f waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Separation of recyclable, biodegradable and non-biodegradable is also imposed. The local government unit of the city also increased the number of the street sweepers to maintain the cleanliness of the surroundings.

Proficient in: Pollution

“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”

The status of the problem

Until this day, the whole country and even the world is suffering from the effects of the improper waste disposal. The world is still crying and hoping to overcome this situation from now and then. But, the government is still looking for right, exact and appropriate thing or solution to do to erase this problem from the long lists of problems to be solved.

Recommendations

The government or even the lowest officer in a barraging should show their selves as an example. Think, the government can conduct seminar or training to teach housewives how to make money out from recyclable items. In this way they can help not just their selves but also the environment.

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Garbage Problem In Community. (2019, Nov 27). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/paper-on-community-based-problem-improper-waste-disposal/

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PaperAp.com. (2019). Garbage Problem In Community . [Online]. Available at: https://paperap.com/paper-on-community-based-problem-improper-waste-disposal/ [Accessed: 18-Aug-2024]

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Problems of Household Waste Disposal Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Problems associated with large amount of household waste, solutions to reduce large household waste problems, reference list.

Household waste products lie in the category of the non-hazardous waste, which includes food products, product containers, fruit peels, wrapping papers, plastic shopping bags, and other wastes that can be recycled.

The term non-hazardous refers to the household wastes that do not meet certain set measures and levels of causing harm to the environment, health and life in the surroundings.

However, these household wastes have negative effects on the environment, health, and cause negative impacts to any living organisms in the surrounding.

Since these organic wastes will nevertheless, decay and decompose, the decomposing mass becomes good breeding grounds for most bacteria and fungi, which poses a serious health threat to human life. Environmentally, rotting food products changes the ecosystem by affecting the eating habits of the surrounding animals.

Large amounts of household wastes pose major problems especially when they have accumulated to high levels and the systems of waste management are poor.

The type of waste disposal adapted for the household waste disposal determines whether the problems occurring from the accumulation of the waste continues or not. According to Lewis, “…poorly designed or poorly managed landfills create a number of adverse environmental impacts including windblown litter and attraction of vermin” (2007, p.36).

This problem is mainly experienced in the urban settings especially in developing countries where plastic shopping bags and wrapping papers are highly used.

Winds blowing normally carry the light papers from the dump pits and litter the surrounding. On the other hand, the attraction of vermin such as mice and rats becomes evident in the dumpsites from where they get food and shelter consequently becoming their breeding grounds.

With organic wastes especially from the kitchen, decaying is inevitable and the decay results from anaerobic breakdown of the organic waste releasing methane and carbon dioxide.

Knox observes that, “…common by-product of landfills is a gas composed of methane and carbon dioxide produced by organic waste break down an aerobically” (2005, p.112).

These gases cause a major odour problem, air pollution, health problems and can destroy surface vegetation. Health wise, these gases cause respiratory problems, which are expensive to treat.

Large amounts of garbage also cause damage to the infrastructure especially roads in areas where heavy trucks are used to collect and transport the waste to the dumpsites.

According to, Vesiland and Worrell, “fatal accidents and infrastructure damage on the access roads leading to the landfill are common in developing countries” (2002, p.234).

The fatal accidents here involve scavengers buried in the waste piles. Damage to these infrastructures together with the landfill operations poses environmental noise pollution to both animals and human beings living in the surroundings. Moreover, due to the decay and decomposition of the organic waste in these landfills there is a problem of contamination of the underground water and aquifer through leeching.

Even though landfill remains the most common and affordable household waste disposal method, it has adverse health implications. Watts observes that, “decaying organic waste harbours bacteria and fungi and other disease causing vectors, e.g. rat, flies and cockroaches…” (1998, p.345).

For people living close to these dumpsites, they frequently suffer from diseases such as cholera due to contamination of both water and food by dirt from the rotting garbage.

Burning of plastics in the dump sites also contribute to health problems in that, smoke causes respiratory problems especially to small children.

Large household waste being a major problem in most developing countries on both the environment and health of the people, proper waste management policies and mitigation procedures have been set in place to curb these problems.

Effective household waste management will involve reducing the amount of waste generated in a single house, reusing the reusable materials and recycling. As Karlberg and Norin say, “…the 3R’s, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle refers to waste hierarchy as a strategy in waste minimization” (1999 p.567).

The application of these 3R’s strategy can minimize the amount of waste by half, which on the other hand would reduce the problems significantly. Reusing shopping bags instead of buying new ones every time one goes shopping, item repairing other than buying new ones, and removing food and liquid remaining in cans, are some of the ways to reduce to minimum levels household wastes.

Application of penalties also applies in waste management and as LaGrega and Buckingham puts it, “the polluter pays principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused in the environment” (2001, p.69).

Instead of generating waste disposed on the environment to cause problems, every household pays fees equivalent to the waste generated, which caters for proper and descent disposal of that waste. In this case, the fees levied on this waste help to regulate the amount of waste generated per household because the higher the waste the higher the fees.

Educational awareness of the waste implication on the environment and the intensive campaign on environmental conservation and proper waste disposal have also helped largely to reduce on garbage generation and consequently reduced the problems caused by large household waste accumulation.

Large household wastes involve wastes from the kitchen in most cases package in plastic bags. Accumulation of these waste pose a series of problems to the environment, health, and life of many living organisms in the affected areas.

To the environment, the wastes cause pollution of the air due to emission of gases such as methane, causes pollution of the soil and contamination of the underground water coupled with noise pollution especially the operations in the dumpsites.

Moreover, decomposition of the organic waste generates greenhouse gases like methane, which cause respiratory problems when inhaled on top of being a contributor of global warming. Moreover, dumpsites harbour bacteria and fungi, which cause diseases. Minimizing these problems involves the application of the 3R’s principle, which advocates for reducing garbage generation, reuse and recycling.

Karlberg, T., & Norin, E., 1999. Food Waste Disposers – Effects on Wastewater Treatment Plants. A Study from the Town of Surahammar. VA: Forsk Rapport.

Knox, A., 2005. An overview of incineration and EFW technology as applied to the Management of municipal solid waste. Canada: University of Ontario.

LaGrega, M., & Buckingham, P., 2001. Environmental resources management Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Lewis, H., 2007. Centenary history waste and waste management in London . New York: Wiley & sons.

Vesiland, A., & Worrell, W., 2002. Solid waste engineering . Australia: Brooks/Cole.

Watts, R., 1998. Non-hazardous waste: source, pathway, Receptors . New York: John Wiley &sons

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IvyPanda. (2019, March 22). Problems of Household Waste Disposal. https://ivypanda.com/essays/problems-associated-with-large-amounts-of-household-waste/

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IvyPanda . (2019) 'Problems of Household Waste Disposal'. 22 March.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Problems of Household Waste Disposal." March 22, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/problems-associated-with-large-amounts-of-household-waste/.

1. IvyPanda . "Problems of Household Waste Disposal." March 22, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/problems-associated-with-large-amounts-of-household-waste/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Problems of Household Waste Disposal." March 22, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/problems-associated-with-large-amounts-of-household-waste/.

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Ielts writing task 2 sample 273 - waste disposal problems are increasing specially in urban areas, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, waste disposal problems are increasing especially in urban areas. suggest what government and individuals should do to help reduce the amount of rubbish production and disposal of it..

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The problem of solid waste: origins, composition, disposal, recycling, and reusing

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Essay - The Problem of Garbage Pollution

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Essay on Barangay Problems And Solutions

Students are often asked to write an essay on Barangay Problems And Solutions in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Barangay Problems And Solutions

Introduction.

Barangays, the smallest administrative divisions in the Philippines, face several problems. These issues range from lack of basic facilities, to environmental concerns and social issues. Finding solutions to these problems is vital for the progress of the community.

Problem: Lack of Basic Facilities

Many barangays lack basic facilities like clean water, electricity, and healthcare. This makes life tough for the residents. Solution: The government should invest in infrastructure development. Non-governmental organizations and private businesses can also help in providing these facilities.

Problem: Environmental Issues

Barangays often face environmental problems like pollution and improper waste disposal. Solution: Environmental education is key. Teaching residents about the importance of a clean environment and proper waste management can help in solving this problem.

Problem: Social Issues

Social issues like crime, drug abuse, and unemployment are common in many barangays. Solution: Community policing, drug awareness programs, and job creation initiatives can help in tackling these issues.

250 Words Essay on Barangay Problems And Solutions

A barangay is the smallest administrative unit in the Philippines. It’s like a small village. Like all communities, barangays face many problems. In this essay, we will talk about some of these problems and possible solutions.

Problem: Poor Waste Management

One big problem in many barangays is poor waste management. People throw garbage anywhere, causing pollution. This also attracts pests like rats and flies, which can spread diseases.

Solution: The barangay can organize regular clean-up drives. They can also teach residents about proper waste disposal and recycling. This will help keep the barangay clean and healthy.

Problem: Lack of Basic Services

Some barangays lack basic services like clean water, electricity, and healthcare. This makes life difficult for the residents.

Solution: The government can invest more in these barangays. They can build health centers, install water and electricity lines, and train local health workers.

Problem: Unemployment

Solution: The government can create job programs. They can also provide skills training to help people find better jobs.

Barangays face many problems, but there are also many solutions. It’s important for everyone – the government, the barangay leaders, and the residents – to work together. This way, they can make their barangay a better place to live.

500 Words Essay on Barangay Problems And Solutions

Introduction to barangay problems, poor sanitation.

One of the main problems in many barangays is poor sanitation. This means that waste is not properly managed. This can lead to health problems for the people living in the barangay. It can also harm the environment.

Solution: To solve this problem, barangays can start by educating people about the importance of proper waste disposal. They can also provide trash bins in public areas and encourage people to use them. Regular clean-up drives can also help keep the barangay clean.

Lack of Funds for Community Projects

Solution: To solve this problem, barangays can seek help from the local government. They can also organize fundraising activities. The residents of the barangay can also donate money or materials for these projects.

Poor Infrastructure

Poor infrastructure is another problem in many barangays. This means that roads, bridges, and other structures are not in good condition. This can make it difficult for people to travel or transport goods.

Solution: To solve this problem, barangays can ask for help from the local government to repair or build new infrastructure. They can also encourage residents to help in these projects.

Lack of Education

Lack of education is also a problem in some barangays. This means that many people do not have the chance to go to school and learn.

Solution: To solve this problem, barangays can build schools or learning centers. They can also provide scholarships to help students pay for their education.

Barangays, like any other community, face many problems. But with the right solutions and the help of everyone in the community, these problems can be solved. It is important for everyone in the barangay to work together and help each other to make their community a better place to live.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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