A Quality Protocol is a national end of waste criteria developed by the Waste Protocols Project, a joint initiative between the Environment Agency and Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP). It is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) as a business resource efficiency activity (BREW).
A Quality Protocol sets out criteria for the production of a product from a specific waste type. Compliance with these criteria is considered sufficient to ensure that the fully recovered product may be used without harm to human health or the environment and therefore without the need for waste management controls. In addition, the Quality Protocol indicates how compliance may be demonstrated and points to best practice for the use of the fully recovered product. The Quality Protocol further aims to provide increased market confidence in the quality of products made from waste and so encourage greater recovery and recycling.
The purpose of the Quality Protocol is to provide a uniform control process for producers, from which they can reasonably state and demonstrate that their product has been fully recovered and is no longer a waste. It also provides purchasers with a quality-managed product to common aggregate standards, which increases confidence in performance. Also, the framework created by the Protocol provides a clear audit trail for those responsible for ensuring compliance with Waste Management Legislation. [1]
Work on producing protocols for eight other waste streams should be issued for public consultation in Summer 2007. This includes waste vegetable oil, flat glass, non-packaging plastics, tyres, contaminated soils, pulverised fuel ash and blast furnace slag. [2]
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its virgin or original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling can prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, thereby reducing: energy usage, air pollution, and water pollution.
Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, industries, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and gravel, masonry and concrete, scrap metal, oil, solvents, chemicals, scrap lumber, even vegetable matter from restaurants. Industrial waste may be solid, liquid or gaseous. It may be hazardous or non-hazardous waste. Hazardous waste may be toxic, ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or radioactive. Industrial waste may pollute the air, the soil, or nearby water sources, eventually ending up in the sea. Industrial waste is often mixed into municipal waste, making accurate assessments difficult. An estimate for the US goes as high as 7.6 billion tons of industrial waste produced every year. Most countries have enacted legislation to deal with the problem of industrial waste, but strictness and compliance regimes vary. Enforcement is always an issue.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is the department of the Government of Canada created under the Department of the Environment Act with responsibility for coordinating environmental policies and programs as well as preserving and enhancing the natural environment and renewable resources. The powers, duties and functions of the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change extend to and include matters relating to: "preserve and enhance the quality of the natural environment, including water, air, soil, flora and fauna; conserve Canada's renewable resources; conserve and protect Canada's water resources; forecast daily weather conditions and warnings, and provide detailed meteorological information to all of Canada; enforce rules relating to boundary waters; and coordinate environmental policies and programs for the federal government."
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. In doing so, the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., planet, people and profit across the entire supply chain need to be considered.
In animal husbandry, a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an intensive animal feeding operation (AFO) in which over 1000 animal units are confined for over 45 days a year. An animal unit is the equivalent of 1000 pounds of "live" animal weight. A thousand animal units equates to 1000 cows, 700 cows used for dairy purposes, 2500 pigs weighing more than 55 pounds (25 kg)s, 125,000 chickens, or 82,000 egg laying hens or pullets.
Articles related to waste management include:
Singapore Green Plan 2012 was released in 2002 by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) as a continuation of the Singapore Green Plan first issued in 1992. Comprising eight distinct key measures, SGP 2012 aims to create an environmentally-conscious Singapore, promoting conservation of the nation’s natural resources and the use of green technology to conserve the environment, both locally and globally. It also aims to ensure sustainability in the country’s development and to instill within Singaporeans personal duty and commitment towards the environment.
The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries.
Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is a fuel produced from various types of waste such as municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial waste or commercial waste.
Sustainable Development Strategy for organizations in Canada is about the Government of Canada finding ways to develop social, financial, and environmental resources that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in Canada. A Sustainable Development Strategy for the organization needs to be developed that establishes the Sustainable Development goals and objectives set by the Auditor General Act of Canada and provides the written policies and procedures to achieve them. Sustainable Development is based on responsible decision-making, which considers not only the economic benefits of development, but also the short-term and long-term, Canadian environment and environmental impacts.
Food safety in China is a growing concern relating to agriculture. China's principal crops are rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, and cotton in addition to apples and other fruits and vegetables. China's principal livestock products include pork, beef, dairy, and eggs. The Chinese government oversees agricultural production as well as the manufacture of food packaging, containers, chemical additives, drug production, and business regulation. In recent years, the Chinese government attempted to consolidate food safety regulation with the creation of the State Food and Drug Administration of China in 2003; officials have also been under increasing public and international pressure to solve food safety problems. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said, "Food is essential, and safety should be a top priority. Food safety is closely related to people's lives and health and economic development and social harmony," at a State Council meeting in Beijing.
This is a glossary of environmental science.
Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
The environmental impact of paper is significant, which has led to changes in industry and behaviour at both business and personal levels. With the use of modern technology such as the printing press and the highly mechanized harvesting of wood, disposable paper became a relatively cheap commodity, which led to a high level of consumption and waste. The rise in global environmental issues such as air and water pollution, climate change, overflowing landfills and clearcutting have all lead to increased government regulations. There is now a trend towards sustainability in the pulp and paper industry as it moves to reduce clear cutting, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and clean up its impacts on local water supplies and air pollution.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) – more commonly known as trash or garbage – consists of everyday items people use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps and papers. In 2010, Americans generated about 250 million short tons (230 Mt) of trash. In the United States, landfills are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states' environmental agencies. Municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLF) are required to be designed to protect the environment from contaminants that may be present in the solid waste stream.
Electronic waste is a significant part of today's global, post-consumer waste stream. Efforts are being made to recycle and reduce this waste.
Mercury regulation in the United States limit the maximum concentrations of mercury (Hg) that is permitted in air, water, soil, food and drugs. The regulations are promulgated by agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as a variety of state and local authorities. EPA published the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) regulation in 2012; the first federal standards requiring power plants to limit emissions of mercury and other toxic gases.
MCERTS is the Environment Agency of England & Wales (EA) Monitoring Certification Scheme. It provides the framework for businesses to meet quality requirements. Compliance with MCERTS gives the EA confidence in the monitoring of emissions to the environment.
Environmental certification is a form of environmental regulation and development where a company can voluntarily choose to comply with predefined processes or objectives set forth by the certification service. Most certification services have a logo which can be applied to products certified under their standards. This is seen as a form of corporate social responsibility allowing companies to address their obligation to minimise the harmful impacts to the environment by voluntarily following a set of externally set and measured objectives.
This waste-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |