ECONOMICS CONSIDERATIONS MODULATING WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

摘要

Divers and varying sources of the waste streams makes a rigid pattern of management difficult and the potential for environmental contamination significant. Options for protection the public from any chemical or biological injurious contaminants, especially ground-water protection, can be costly. The dollar costs of collection, any waste sorting, and final transport to the disposal/destruction site are an important parts of the cost analysis. Further complications arise in assuring recovery of investment costs with a waste stream of unstable composition and volume over time, and variable prices for any recovered resources, including energy. The potential changes in the community habits and whims over the long term represent unknowns in waste management. Historical reasons and local regulations divisively consider waste as belonging to specific categories ( domestic, industrial, medical, and now electronic and automobile streams) with different charges are made for disposal of each, and on occasions for different disposal obligations. Basic economic and efficiency include manpower needed, collection arrangements, transport modalities, recycling/resource recovery and ultimate disposal of residuum. Economic aspects of waste stream management scenarios with recycling/reuse as a priority goal and developing an integrated waste stream management program will be discussed including reduction of waste generation ( less packing etc) and designs to facilitate resource recovery.