Waste management & recycling

Dear Aurel

I Appriciate your discussion topic "Waste Management & Recycling" today's hot issue. In my understanding, there are two kinds of waste; solid and liquid. Stool also comes under the liquid waste though it is in solid form. Solid waste can be managed with little knowledge and even poor people can apply.

Solid waste can be categorized into; organic, Recyclable,Non recyclable and Harmful waste.

Organic waste: can be decomosed and transfered in to compost which works as fertiliger in our field.

Recyclable Waste: can be used to make new product.

Non recyclable waste: can be used as alternative options or as means of reuse (drinks bottle, Wraping paper etc.)

Harmful waste: should not be used by any means. They should be destroyed safely. (Hospital's Product; like; Afteruse of wound material)

"Minimization in Using the Resource" is the best idea of Waste management.

Suman Bhattarai
Team leader
PARC/Nepal
Chitwan, Nepal

Dear Suman,

Thank you for your message and support as well. The waste is of two main kinds: biodegradable (decaying waste/material) and non-biodigradable (not or not yet known as decaying over time).
Another problem is however waste management. In Moldova, the country with developing economy, the waste is become true burden to environment and people's life. Moreover, waste is increasing and its volumes are not properly managed.
While biodigradable waste is partially managed by the nature itself, the non-biodegrdable is less helped by the nature (bacteria, destructors etc.). Plastic waste (PET bottles etc.) is nowadays everywhere. Besides, small pieces of plastic material are already found in the bodies of many animals. Estimations are horrible - many species exposed to direct danger of extinction.

We already started a plastic non-biodegradable collecting/recycling at the authorised damping landfill in the Soroca district (north-eastern Moldova), which is placed near the Nistru river, and at the other side is Ukraine. Riverbank wetland ecosystems of both countries are affected by the waste. The quality of habitats is become low, the loss of biodiversity is obvious.

We launched a campaign of redusing waste pollution and save biodiverist-rich habitats in the Nistru River basin. We initiated a Moldavian-Ukrainian Centre for cooperation and development. We involve private sector, public bodies, local authorities and NGOs in.

We applied for a project and we are hoping to get funds for imporving the waste management and extend activities on a transboundary context. Not excluded, a Natural Park might be also a sollution for a bilateral conservation cooperation in the future.

We, nonetheless, look forward to working with stakeholders and interested groups.

Once again thanks for your interest

Wishing you all the best in your work

Aurel

Dear Aurel

I am too happy by knowing your job and responsibility regarding Waste Management & Recycling. Keeep your job up.
Every developing country are facing such problem of waste management due to budget deficiency. Anyway, You have enrolled in environment conservation and habitat restoration. Those are appreciable in real

Lastly, I am hopeful to get your progress report and new techniques and its implementation so that we, nepalese, people can adopt in our field to make sound environment.

Thanks for quick reply and looking forward to hearing about the waste management technique.

Suman Bhattarai
Team leader
PARC/Nepal
Chitwan, Nepal

Dear Aurel,
concerning waste management, although I have no professional experience in the field, it is obvious that much of the non-degradable waste can only be controlled when the public co-operates.
In a nearby town, local people decided that they did not want plastics to pollute the lake. So everybody co-operated and now one cannot get a plastic bag in the town: everyone is willing to bring along a cloth shopping bag from home and carry back goods in paper packets.
So it is mainly a matter of education: once producers realise that no one will buy their over-packaged products, they will stop unnecessary packaging.
So far as plastic being non-bio-degradable, it might be so in temperate climates. Here in the sub-tropics, I have seen buried plastic turn crumbly and eventually disappear.As a matter of fact, it is not possible to find any older models of bottles, bags, etc. in waste sites. Much of it is collected by re-cyclers, but in forest areas, etc., some of these "antique" waste products should have survived if we are to believe that plastic does not degrade in nature.....
Peter Smetacek

Hi Peter,

Thank you very much for your comments. Interesting, plastics turned crumbly over the time in the tropics? And this is a good news as they should have not been called non-biodegradable then, but biodegradable (we should be thankful to the world of bacteria and other microorganisms etc. for their job).
As my (our) intention to reduce the waste is due to the huge amount of waste and unauthorised damping throughout the land and protected area network in the Moldova Republic - the place I grew up and lived. There, the biodiversity loss is obvious; the quality of habitats is rather low in the last decades.
We have just applied for a project and intend to develop another project on waste management and education. This autumn we should know wheter our project is accepted or not.

Keeping in touch
Aurel