Waste Management in Germany
Waste management deals with all types of waste, including industrial, biological, household, municipal, organic, biomedical, radioactive waste. A few days ago, I was walking around in a nearby area and I noticed that there was a lot of waste and garbage piled up like a heap on the side of the road! This to me was an ugly sight! Seeing all this garbage piled up around me made me think about the environment and the animals who were roaming around among it. It was after this event that I thought of doing some research as to how we could manage this waste. I found out that Germany has the best recycling rate in the whole world. I got more interested and searched some more on it. I wondered as to why Germany was the best in waste management.
Germany’s waste management success comes from following two things:
a) strong government policies
b) its citizens embracing recycling
The centerpiece of Germany’s Waste Management Act is a five-level waste hierarchy that lays down a fundamental series of steps comprising waste — disposal, other recovery, recycle, preparing for reuse and prevention. In Germany, waste management now aims to conserve natural resources and manage waste in an environmentally sound manner, whereby sustainable strengthening of environmental and climate protection measures, as well as resource efficiency, play a key role. Under the Waste Management Act, beginning in 2015 separate collection of all of the various waste streams comprising paper, glass, plastic and household organic waste will be mandatory.
Germany has the best recycling rate in the world. Austria comes in second, followed by South Korea and Wales. All four countries manage to recycle between 52% and 56% of their municipal waste. Switzerland, in fifth place, recycles almost half of its municipal waste. Some countries, such as Wales, have ambitious recycling targets. Wales aims to achieve zero waste by 2050, and the EU is looking at adopting a new target for 2030, thought to be at least 65%.
It is harmful as few countries like Chile and Turkey are far behind these countries. They are struggling in it. Comparing it with India, it has a recycle rate of 30% which is very behind from Germany. We should adopt some strict measures and can use the same steps as Germany and can increase our recycling rate easily. Waste, if left untreated and without recycle, will not only pollute the atmosphere but also will create serious harm to future generations. So, considering it a most important task, we must act now!!
‘DON’T LITTER, IT MAKES THE WORLD BITTER!’
reference from www.sciencedirect.com