What is the waste hierarchy?
Less is best
The waste hierarchy ranks the various waste management options in order of environmental impact - this is based on a well established method called environmental footprinting, and is widely accepted by experts:
- reduce
- reuse
- recycle
- incineration with energy recovery
- incineration
- landfill.
The best way is not to make rubbish in the first place.
Reduce and reuse
If stuff is reused, or not used in the first place, it reduces the environmental impacts of
- collecting it (air pollution, fuel use)
- disposal (burning/ burying are industrial activities with land use, material, energy, and water impacts)
- reprocessing (even recycling is an industrial process which uses water, energy)
If less stuff is used, less needs to be manufactured - this means massive savings of energy, natural resources and water which are needed to extract/ harvest the resources and manufacture the products. Even renewable resource (like planting trees for paper for example) we are still wasting resources like water, energy and fuel to transport the raw material.
Did you know that for every tonne of rubbish in your bin, 20 tonnes have been made producing it?
Waste reduction and reuse start at home
Visit our top tips page for ideas on how to reduce your waste.
Page last updated Feb 29, 2012 4:20 PM
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Related Information
- Contact environment services
- When is my recycling and rubbish collected?
- Request/report a recycling or waste service
- Regis Road Recycling and Re-use Centre
- Green Camden
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