Your browser (Internet Explorer 7 or lower) is out of date. It has known security flaws and may not display all features of this and other websites. Learn how to update your browser.

X

Navigate / search

Waste

 

What is Sustainable Waste?

The efficient use of material resources to help cut down on the amount of waste produced, and how to effectively deal with waste in a way that best contributes to the economic, social and environmental goals of sustainable development.

  

Types of Waste

  • Solid Waste – The term solid waste means, material such as your average household garbage (recycling materials included), food wastes, construction debris,  household appliances, furniture, scrap metal, machinery and also car parts.
  • Liquid Waste - Liquid waste can be defined fluids such as wastewater, fats, oils or grease, used oil, and hazardous household liquids(Bleach, Antifreeze, Rat Poison, Laundry detergent).
  • Hazardous Wastes – Hazardous waste is classified as a waste that can potentially threaten or harm public health. Such as flammable products (can easily catch fire), reactive (can easily explode), Corrosive (can eat through tough materials such as metals), and toxic materials (poisonous to humans and animals).
  • Organic Wastes – organic wastes are materials that come from plant or animal sources. Commonly they include food wastes, fruit and vegetable peels, flower and grass trimmings. This type of waste is biodegradable which means that it is easy to be broken down by other organisms over time.

 

 Sustainable waste

 

The 3R’s are a simple guide to help everyone minimise waste at home, school and work.

Reduce:

to live more carefully so that way you have less rubbish to get rid of.

Reuse:

use the same item more than once, preferably many times, rather than throwing it out after one use. It saves us money, energy and resources that would have been used to make a new product and that the product does not go to landfill.

Recycling:

return a waste product to a factory where it is remade either into the same product or something a bit different. Recycling saves the landfill space, rescues the resources that went into the original item and saves energy.