What is it about?
In this article I discuss the worldwide challenges of increased urban waste generation and the promotion of waste to energy as waste management strategy, particularly lately also in developing countries (global South).
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Why is it important?
Not recovering the material embedded in solid waste means wasting resources and thus reinforcing the pressure to further extract natural resources for the manufacturing of new products. Industrial ecology, life cycle analysis, material flow analysis, ecological footprint and other approaches and concepts have long ago already demonstrated the necessity and possibilities of reintegrating recyclable materials into production flows, reducing the waste of resources and thus sparing the environment. Waste incineration now termed waste to energy is portrayed as attractive solution but it means business as usual maintaining the status quo of wasteful production and consumption.
Perspectives
The author hopes that this article sparkles critical thinking about waste to energy technology in order to find real solutions to our waste challenges.
Dr. Jutta Gutberlet
UVic
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Waste to Energy, Wasting Resources and Livelihoods, August 2011, IntechOpen,
DOI: 10.5772/17195.
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