About Waste
Waste management affects all of us, at home, at school, at work and in our purchasing decisions. Everyone has an active part to play if Northern Ireland is to achieve the necessary changes to comply with the high standards set across the EU.
Waste includes all items that people no longer have any use for, which they either intend to get rid of or have already discarded. Additionally, wastes are such items which people are required to discard, for example by law, because of their hazardous properties. Many items can be considered as waste e.g. household rubbish, sewage sludge, wastes from manufacturing activities, packaging items, discarded cars, old televisions, garden waste, old paint containers etc. Thus all our daily activities can give rise to a large variety of different wastes arising from different sources.
Over 1m tonnes of waste are generated each year in Northern Ireland. This equates to 1.75 tonnes per person. This is mainly made up of waste coming from households, commercial activities, industry, agriculture, construction and demolition projects, mining and quarrying activities and from the generation of energy. With such vast quantities of waste being produced, it is of vital importance that it is managed in such a way that it does not cause any harm to either human health or to the environment.
There are a number of different options available for the treatment and management of waste including prevention, minimisation, re-use, recycling, energy recovery and disposal. Under EU policy, landfilling is seen as the last resort and should only be used when all the other options have been exhausted, i.e. only material that cannot be prevented, re-used, recycled or otherwise treated, should be landfilled.
