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Waste valorization, beneficial reuse, beneficial use, value recovery or waste reclamation [1] is the process of waste products or residues from an economic process being valorized (given economic value), by reuse or recycling in order to create economically useful materials.
It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling). Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" waste hierarchy.
Recycling can be carried out on various raw materials. Recycling is an important part of creating more sustainable economies , reducing the cost and environmental impact of raw materials. Not all materials are easily recycled, and processing recyclable into the correct waste stream requires considerable energy.
Does recycling really help the environment or is it a resource-wasting racket? We followed plastic (and glass) through the process to see what happens.
A sewage farm in Hampshire, England. The resources available in wastewater and human excreta include water, plant nutrients, organic matter and energy content. Sanitation systems that are designed for safe and effective recovery of resources can play an important role in a community's overall resource management.
The model for ecological recycling agriculture adheres to the following principals: Protection of biodiversity. Use of renewable energy. Recycling of plant nutrients. [24] Where produce from an organic farm leaves the farm gate for the market the system becomes an open cycle and nutrients may need to be replaced through alternative methods.
According to the waste hierarchy, burning agricultural waste for the sake of energy generation is a less environmentally friendly treatment method than recycling or reusing it. Moreover, incineration for energy generation can be done once, while consumer goods (such as paper made from agricultural waste) can be recycled another seven times. [ 26 ]
As alternatives to landfill, food waste can be composted to produce soil and fertilizer, fed to animals or insects, or used to produce energy or fuel. Some wasted fruit parts, can also be biorefined to extract useful substances for the industry (i.e. succinic acid from orange peels, lycopene from tomato peels).