Waste management collection systems

Disposal The final func tional element in the sohd-waste-management system is disposal. Disposal is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes, whether they are wastes collected and transported direc tly to a landfQl site, semisolid wastes (sludge) from industrial treatment plants and air-pollution-control devices, incinerator residue, compost, or other substances from various solid-waste processing plants that are of no further use. 

The handling, storage, and processing of sohd wastes at the source before they are collected is tne second of the six functional elements in the sohd-waste-management system. 

National capacity variance When developing a treatment standard, U.S. EPA examines the available treatment capacity to determine whether it is sufficient to handle current and future waste management needs. If U.S. EPA determines that nationally there is not enough capacity to treat a waste, it can automatically extend the effective date of the waste s treatment standard. Such an extension to the effective date is intended to give the waste treatment industry more time to develop the capacity to handle the waste. Wastes under a national capacity variance can be disposed of, without meeting the treatment standards, in landfills and surface impoundments that meet minimum technical requirements (e.g., liners, leachate collection and removal systems, and leak detection systems). 

The European Union and Japan have been leaders in formulating and then implementing e-waste regulations. The Swiss are credited with establishing the first comprehensive e-waste management system, covering collection to disposal. 

Analyses of developed countries e-waste management shows Japan to have perhaps the best-functioning system, in terms of scope and compliance levels. Korea, Canada, and Australia have well-advanced systems as well. Switzerland s system is seen as a model of comprehensive management, and the Swiss, Norway, Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands have all exceeded minimum EU e-waste directives collection and recycling targets. 

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