Problems and challenges associated with waste: waste prevention techniques

Wastes are such undesirable and unusable materials disposed of by the general public's various sectors. It may be biodegradable or nonbiodegradable and recyclable or nonrecyclable. Due to development and industrialization, more products are being introduced in the market. Various packaging materials on the other hand are also being thrown in the waste bin. Increasing the population demands more food and utilization of other commodities. All these factors are producing waste that needs to be managed properly. Several managing practices are proposed and implemented around the world. Landfilling pyrolysis, incineration, and gasification are major strategies for the safe disposal of waste. Different countries' economic classification reviled different waste profiles in these countries, depending on countries' economic status. For instance, the waste of developing societies mostly includes food material (organic waste), but developed countries produce various types of waste with a bigger proportion of paper and plastic. Moreover, the lack of technical expertise, deficiency of advanced equipment, shortage of resources, and poor legislation make waste management a big challenge in many countries. Due to such discrepancies, a single management strategy has not potential to implement in all scenarios. Hence only the waste prevention strategy promises exceptional solutions of waste in multiple challenging conditions. Waste prevention is a top priority in Waste Hierarchy due to its environmentally friendly nature, sustainability, economic advantages, and time-saving attributes. As environmental pollution is directly related to waste production and the major constraint for the affective management system is the deficiency of a righteous worker, so to achieve the desired outcomes public participation is mandatory. Individual behavior (manufacturing, consumptions, storage, reuse, and recycling) and government actions such as subsidies, promotions, and facilitation to promote waste production have appeared to be significant factors that determine waste prevention success. There are several challenges in adopting waste prevention, including lack of ecological safety awareness, climate destruction, wildlife demolition, human health concerns, economic costs etc. Regardless of these challenges waste prevention has been successfully implemented and resulted in desirable results in different countries. This chapter concludes that green life has proved to be the most sustainable and advantageous in favor of planet earth.