A-Level Geography - Human - Urban Waste
- Created by: Noah_S
- Created on: 14-02-22 16:40
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- Urban Waste
- Factors
- Lifestyles
- Amount & type of waste depends on where people live
- Rural areas produce more organic waste & urban areas produce more manufactured waste
- Facilities available to people affect the waste streams they used
- People are more likely to recycle if facilities are available to them
- Diet affects waste components and streams
- Producing processed food creates waste & products come in packaging
- Fruit & Veg produce more compostable waste and less packaging
- Amount & type of waste depends on where people live
- Attitudes
- HICs have a throw-away culture, producing more waste
- Much of this waste is non-recyclable / have long waste streams
- Concerns about health may make people dispose food near or past its sell-by date
- People more concerned for the environment will try to recycle/reuse more
- HICs have a throw-away culture, producing more waste
- Economic Characteristics
- On average, HICs produce 2.1kg a day of waste per person, compared to 0.6kg a day from LICs
- Components of waste in HICs are 31% paper, 28% organic material & 11% plastic
- Components of waste in LICs are 64% organic compounds, 8% plastic & 5% paper
- No link between waste streams & wealth
- Austria recycles 63% of its waste compared to 21% in Japan
- Lifestyles
- Case Study - Singapore
- Problems
- Waste produced increase from 1260 tonnes a day (1970) to 8400 tonnes (2015)
- 1960s-1970s, most waste went to landfill, however land is scarce
- Management
- Government changed disposal to incinerators, building the first plant in 1979
- 4 plants today, providing 3% of Singapore's energy needs
- Now only has one landfill site, Semakau, which has a lining to prevent leaching
- Expected to be full in 2040
- Recycling facilities were set up in 2001 to help
- In 2015, 2% of waste went to landfill, which is waste that cannot be incinerated or recycled
- 38% of waste was incinerated & 60% was recycled
- Government changed disposal to incinerators, building the first plant in 1979
- Problems
- Disposal
- Recycling
- Waste is reprocessed into new products, generally using less energy than making products from scratch
- Incineration
- Waste is burnt, reducing usage of landfills but emits GHGs
- Allington Incinerator in Maidstone has accepted 6 million tons of waste, generating 554,000 MWh, being able to power 29,000 homes
- Landfill
- Waste is placed in landfill sites, which many are lined to prevent leaching
- If not regulated, chemicals can contain groundwater & cause air pollution from methane
- Maldives ship 300 tons a day to Thilafushi island to be put in landfill, but porous land allows toxins to sweep into the sea
- Waste is placed in landfill sites, which many are lined to prevent leaching
- Trading
- Waste can be bought/sold by countries, mainly used by HICs to export waste to LICs
- E-Waste is imported into India, which is recycled but leads to workers inhaling heavy metals
- Unregulated
- Waste isn't disposed correctly, causing damage to ecosystems
- Union Carbide dumped factory waste incorrectly in Bhopal, leading to birth deformities in the local Shanty Town
- Recycling
- Factors
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