The Main Components of the EPA's Prescribed Waste Regulations - Assignment Example

 Sustainability and Waste Management 1. What are the main components of the EPA's Prescribed Waste Regulations, and what role does each play in ensuring wastes are properly managed? EPA allows the central administration to guard and improve ecological excellence, control and decrease pollution within the environment. Hazardous waste management controls the production, assortment, treatment, introduction, storage and handling of dangerous waste components. GMO rules aim at protecting the ecosystem and health in relation to the gene expertise and microorganisms. Biomedical waste bylaws aims at streamlining the procedures involved in management of hospital waste. Ozone destroying components got regulated for firms or corporations generating and consuming these components. Batteries rules affect every person utilizing these commodities regardless of the level of use. The rules aim at regulating and making certain that the batteries are disposed in ecological friendly approaches. Biological diversity regulations offer conservation of natural diversity, sustainability and evenhanded distribution of resources. Wide life rules offer protection to all animals within the natural habitat regardless of their size and habitat. Forest acts offer protection towards conservation of forests. Merchant shipping rules offer to reduce waste that arise from ships within the coastal regions. The water acts offer protection to all water sources by preventing pollution. The air acts protect the ecosystem by curbing any possible air pollutions. 2. When should something be considered a waste product? Waste product is any redundant, cast off, dumped, unwarranted or excess material whether or not deliberated for trade or for recycling, reclamation, recuperation or decontamination by an independent process from that which created the material. Waste products can also be deemed to be everything affirmed by directive or environmental, safety guidelines to be waste, regardless of whether they are worthy or not. Waste products are any material regardless of the state in which it is liberated, emanated or accumulated in the surroundings, in volume component or manner that can cause a change in the environment. Waste products cause pollution in the case where they are poorly managed. 3. What are three impediments to establishing effective recycling schemes and how could these be overcome? Situational barriers hinder recyclers from creating effective recycling systems mainly due to deficiency of certain components that play a significant role. The deficiency is addressed at the level at which recycling occurs. At the lowest level, which is the home recycling, lack of materials such as numerous and large containers, little space to keep the wastes to be recycled, portable containers appreciably affects the establishment of effectual systems. At the higher-level, low collection of waste from the local and municipal systems, hinder the firms that recycle from establishing effectual system. Behavioral barriers present the difficulty experienced in recycling behavior. Behavioral barriers present the notion that recycling is inconvenient. Inconvenience plays a chief role in bringing the desired perception towards recycling. Individuals with stronger perception of recycling as inconvenient focus little or no attention to recycling. The difficulties presented are inadequate time to recycle, inadequate space for the storage of recyclable components, problems transporting bins and few drops off locations for recyclable materials. Inadequate knowledge concerning the components that can be recycled, and the way these components can be recycled. This knowledge is often associated with the participation of individuals in projects initiated with the local and municipal levels. It is assumed that individuals with little or no knowledge concerning what and how to recycle, participate sparingly, therefore, can only manage to recycle little waste components. Individuals with education concerning recycling exhibit elevated correspondence with the tendency to recycle most of the waste products that they generate. These barriers can be effectively addressed through increased participation of the populace in the societal projects concerning recycling. Recyclers ought to institute effective strategies that augment participation serving to build up the inspiration for recycling. Communities ought to direct some budgetary allocations towards overcoming the barrier presented by inadequate knowledge. Participation offers knowledge concerning different recyclable and assists in the eradication of misguided notions that exist among many people. The local and federal administration ought to offer resources to the recyclers in order to allow the institution of effectual systems. The resources assist, in the collection and conveyance of recyclables, to drop off places and to the recycling areas. The federal government should also provide locations for the storage of recyclables before recycling process. The participants in recycling programs ought to offer motivation to the rest of the populace by providing information on the achievements of their programs. 4. Which is better in terms of waste reduction, recycling or reuse? Explain your answer? Reuse can be considered effective in waste reduction as evident even in the hierarchy. Reuse aims at preventing solid waste from been discharged into the landfill, therefore, improving the communities that man lives in and elevating the living standards of people by offering extra income after reuse. Reuse is often preferred since it utilizes less energy and resources than recycling. Recycling aims at physically altering the form of the waste materials while reuse simply involves utilizing the materials at their original forms without any alteration. Recycling generates waste while reuse aims at substantially reducing the amount of matter discharged. Therefore, reuse averts materials and objects from turning into waste. Reuse necessitates fewer resources and labor in relation to recycling. Reuse offers foremost environmentally preferred alternative to additional waste management techniques since it decreases other forms of pollution. 5. Why is it essential to have accurate information regarding the amounts of waste generated in the State? Accurate information concerning the quantity of wasted that is produced within a state bears considerable significance in the management of wastes within the states. The information becomes paramount in the planning of waste managing strategies that will effectively address the issue of waste disposal. The information can also be utilized in the budgetary allocation for waste management programs. The information may be used in the establishment of regulations overriding waste creation and disposal. The information can serve as motivation to the general populace concerning recycling and reuse of waste products since it provides the outcome of the work by the community and recyclers. 6. In establishing a waste minimization program, what are four barriers that you may need to overcome? Barriers to overcome in the institution of waste minimization programs include; economic barriers, which transpire when a company holds the beliefs that it has no adequate monetary capabilities or incentives to accomplish waste minimization (Crittenden & Kolaczkowski 1995, 11). These companies necessitate undertaking programs with low capital requirements. Technical barriers present the idea of inadequate and appropriate engineering data concerning the mechanisms to utilize in the founding of these programs. Regulatory frameworks present regulatory barriers, to the institution of programs, concerning waste minimization. Other legislations offer barriers to waste reduction, whereas environmental regulations promote waste reduction (Crittenden & Kolaczkowski 1995, 11. Cultural barriers offer obstruction to waste minimization since most of the populace resist transformations. The cultural barriers are often within the company where various vices may be exhibited. These barriers may comprise rigid organizational culture and pitiable internal communications (Crittenden & Kolaczkowski 1995, 12). 7. What is meant by the “life cycle” approach when developing an approach to waste management? What would you do to implement such an approach? Life cycle procedure is a fundamental consideration of the implications of diverse waste management schemes beyond their conventional regional boundaries. Incorporation of systems methodology to the protection and management of waste, where the life cycle of the process or activity is considered leads to the concept of life cycle system (Hester & Harrison 2010, 143). The life cycle is considered from the process of generation of wastes to the final process utilized in the management of wastes. Environmentally sustainable alternatives can only be effectively managed by utilization of the life cycle methodology within the ecosystem. Utilizing this approach assists in avoiding a shift of ecological impacts from a certain phase of the cycle to the next phase (Hester & Harrison 2010, 143). The approach can be efficiently utilized through the appliance of LCA, which is an ecological management component that assists in the conversion of qualitative LC approach into a quantitative determinant of ecologically sustainability of processes such as waste management. Considering the life cycle of a process or an activity, LCA allows the discovery of most noteworthy consequences and phases in the cycle that ought to be stressed for utmost enhancement (Hester & Harrison 2010, 144). In the implementation of the approach, necessitates the company to have adequate knowledge concerning the ecological outcomes of the actions taken. First determining targets and objectives of the methodology, which is followed by inventory examination, achieve LCA. The impacts are then assessed, and interpretation of the findings follows to determine the practicality of the approach in a certain context (Hester & Harrison 2010, 144). Essay 1. What steps would you take to ensure that wastes being produced at a factory are managed correctly? Introduction Correct management of wastes within a factory premise ought to follow logical steps. In the management of dissipate within a certain firm, a viable waste management plan needs to be implemented. Implementation of the plan assists in dealing with, the generated wastes, to ensure a waste free factory. The management process is a continuous process where the utilized plan has to be frequently modified to ensure effectiveness in management of waste. Body In the institution of an effectual waste management scheme, the general or overall considerations have to be addressed in order to determine the wastes that need to be either recycled or reused. The wastes are separated into different constituents that, therefore, presenting the basis for the formulation of the plan. The assumptions to be made are developed while considerations concerning the existing laws are also comprehended, to ensure that the limit of the amount of waste that is discharged, is within the standards. This means that universal and federal regulations on the contents of waste discharged. Data concerning the existing situation on the waste management subject has to be gathered and analyzed to develop a basis for the management of waste from the factory. The information enlightens more on the present techniques of handling waste from factories than the conventional ones. The problems associated with these systems of waste management are evaluated, and solutions developed to deal with these challenges. Planning is usually carried out on the grounds of requirements from international bodies as well as the national legislation. It also takes into deliberation the current situation and other noteworthy supposition in relation to the prospect enhancement of the management systems within the factory. Determination of appropriate objectives becomes essential which is flanked by, the assessment of the set objectives, to determine the most efficient manners to implement them. Adequate consultation of the relevant bodies as well as from the public is paramount in the determination of the prospect management systems. Consultation is often done at dissimilar levels thus allowing the knowledgeable specialist to acquire thoughts and contributions from the preferred stakeholders, as well as, the general populace. Consultation may be taken either during the initial stages or at the end soon after the draft of the plan gets underway. The consultation period is often small after the draft of the plan is out the meaning that more time must be created to ensure proper consultations. Consultations are carried out in the form of meetings for the public, as well as, information transfers via the internet and information manuals. The plan can then be implemented soon after passing the approval from the stakeholders. The plan is adopted where all its components are incorporated into the running of the factory. The components are put across through legislation and regulations within the factory’s category. The plan has to be constantly reviewed to incorporate changes as per the current situation with the factory’s category. Conclusion Institution of an effective waste management scheme serves to ensure that the wastes generated within a given factory are managed in the most efficient manner. This makes certain that the generated wastes are properly managed to prevent the emergence of any environmental concerns within the environs of a certain factory. Bibliography Crittenden, B., & Kolaczkowski, S. (1995). Waste minimization: a practical guide. Rugby, Institution of Chemical Engineers. Hester, R., & Harrison, R. (2010). Ecosystem services. Cambridge, RSC Publishing. Read More