What types of waste are there?Biodegradable - will rot away like a banana skinNon-biodegradable - sits in the ground for years without

breaking down, like plasticDomestic – waste produced in peoples houses Industrial – waste produced by factoriesHazardous and non-hazardous Nuclear – waste produced from nuclear power plants is

extremely dangerous to human health and causes cancer.Toxic – poisonous to humans and the environmentRecyclable and non-recyclableSolid and liquidElectrical

What are the differences between HIC and LIC waste production? HIC = High Income Country (a rich country) LIC = Low Income Country (a poor country)

HICs create more waste as they have more disposable income (more money) to buy products (stuff and things)

Many products in HICs are wrapped in lots of plastic, so lots more waste is produced.

Many more people can read and write in HICs which means there is much more paper waste.

In LICs people will recycle goods for personal use like clothes. In HICs more products are designed for single use only – this is

known as a throw away society!throw away society! LICs tend to be poorer so less people can afford to buy products

so less waste is produced.

Different types of Waste in HICs

HIC’s not only produce more waste than LIC’s but they also produce different waste:

Electronic goods

White goods

Packaging

Domestic Waste in HICsWe throw away 15 million mobile

phones a yearMobile phones contain harmful

metals like lead and mercury which damage the planet

It is a sign of a throw away society that 12 years ago we would keep a PC for 10 years. Now we only keep a PC for 3 years.

Packaging – 3 types Primary Packaging – the wrapping or containers that are

taken off the product by us when we buy it

Secondary Packaging – larger boxes that are used to group products together in shops

Transit Packaging – the cardboard and plastic wrapping like bubble wrap that is used to load, unload and transport the goods.

Packaging

If you look at these two pie charts carefully you can see that the heaviest type of packaging is paper and board. However it is used to package 25% of products.

Plastic accounts for only 20% of the weight of packaging. However it is used much more than paper (53%). This is because it is light and quite strong.

The Waste HierarchyThis shows the order of priority that should exist when dealing with waste.

Disposal (at the bottom) means just chucking it in the landfill without doing anything to it. This is the worst option for waste disposal

Prevention means not using as much packaging in the first place, thus creating less waste e.g. reusable carrier bags.

The Waste Hierarchy

Recycling is the option preferred by most governments because:

•Stops rubbish going into landfill

•Saves energy

•Reduces greenhouse gases

•Saves resources

•Doesn’t cost anything

•Can be done by all households

•Reduces the demand for raw materials (we don’t need new paper when we can use recycled paper