Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world - H Dobbs

Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world

H Dobbs
28/04/2015

Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world - H Dobbs

Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world

The contemporary issues of waste disposal inform us that the entire planet is suffering from a severe
pollution problem occurring in locales where the pollutants themselves are often sourced from
somewhere else on the globe. Due to international trade goods being transported throughout the
world, they often end up becoming waste that pollutes their place of consumption. Among others,
three types of waste can be observed: industrial waste, commercial waste and household waste.
Within these, waste generation and disposal are two separate stages through waste passe to become
a pollutant: at the household level there is waste generation and disposal; the commercial premises
also follows this trend as do the industrial premises. These three divisions are polluters. However,
there are multiple solutions which offer hope to reduce the amount of waste which is generated and
which encourage its disposal in a responsible manner. One of these is the provision of recycling
subsidies. The issue of waste generation and disposal is utterly relevant as it is something in which
all people inevitably partake and it affects all organisms by damaging the environment.
Industry is a global phenomenon with a high level of waste generation that is well-known to be a
major polluter of waterways, soil and subterranean water tables. The root of this pollution
problematic can be traced back to the high level of waste generation which forms part of the
manufacturing process. The contemporary economy in (developed nations at least) is largely based
on consumerism, due greatly to Rostow's development model (Rostow, 1960) which serves to guide
development efforts. Industry forms a vital part of this process. Waste production is considered to
be an integral factor of the economy (Rhyner & Green, 1988, p. 330). That is to say that waste
production by industry, and thus any pollution this may cause subsequently, is permitted within
contemporary development models. China, for example, which has one of the most productive
economies in the world, generates a substantial amount of industrial waste (Duan et al, 2008, pp.
221-2). The country displays statistics which show that hazardous industrial waste generation is
increasing dangerously (Duan et al, 2008, p. 226). Moreover, this is furthermore concerning
because the manner in which this waste is disposed of is unsatisfactory in regards to the
maintenance of environmental safety. This case demonstrates how industry's ambitious role in
development negatively affects all people by harming the environment in which all organisms
experience life.
As mentioned above, the issue of industrial waste generation leads into questions of its disposal.
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Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world - H Dobbs

This phase of the industrial wastage process is a major point of incidence where pollution occurs.
Bi-products in the form of gases, liquids and solids are pollutants produced by industry. Water
pollution due to industrial waste is an example of the effects of such waste products. One substance
which is found in waterways due to industry, such as nuclear power generation and tanning, is
Chromium (Sarin & Pant, 2006, p. 15). Chromium is a hazard for a wide range of biota, including
humans, microorganisms, flora, and other fauna (Sarin & Pant, 2006, p. 15). The dangerous practice
of discharging this compound into waterways is permitted. However, some alternatives are being
proposed to deal with this issue. The extraction of the poisonous element of the chromium from
industrial waste before its discharge by using eucalyptus bark has been proposed and held to be
99% effective in doing so (Sarin & Pant, 2006, p. 19). Another example of alternatives to waterway
disposal can be seen in the efforts that have been made in investigating how industrial waste could
be used to remove toxic dyes from other forms industrial waste (Jain, Gupta & Bhatnagar, 2003, pp.
31-2). However, this does not solve the issue of waste because the industrial waste containing the
dyes must be disposed of afterwards and the toxicity will only be transferred as industry waste to
the earth as the ultimatum of this process and that same goes for the aforementioned eucalyptus
bark theory.
In addition to industry, another generator of waste is the commercial division. Commercial waste
pollutes the biosphere when it is burnt or dumped. Products used in commerce often originate from
industry. This generation of waste may perhaps occur in the form of goods which are unsellable or
waste from cleaning products or construction, for example. Commercial waste, like all waste, needs
to be disposed of in the most environmentally manner. To do this successfully the amount and
composition of waste generated must be sufficiently monitored by governments (Beigel et al,
2008, p. 200). It is now common throughout the developed world that private organisations manage
waste disposal. This is no exception when it comes to commercial waste. All of this is good and
well if waste disposal is done in an environmentally sound manner. However, waste management
companies cannot always be trusted to do this as there are some which dispose of waste in a manner
which is illegal due to the negative effects it has on the environment (Ferrara, 2008, p. 211).
Combining the understanding of the importance of governmental data collection in respect to the
generation of rubbish with the fact that private companies hired by governments are dealing with
waste in environmentally dangerous manners, makes the current situation appear grave. Wholly, this
is true because waste continues being generated regardless of governmental monitoring and
pollutes the planet, globally destroying biodiversity and thus ecosystems on which humans and
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Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world - H Dobbs

other organisms depend.

To grasp a more dynamic understanding of commercial waste disposal and the environmental issues
that it implies, it could be viewed as useful to understand the generation of the waste itself. That is
to say that it is useful to think about how commercial waste becomes an environmental problem.
Here the matter could be viewed as globalised because commercial waste is often comprised of
waste which was once goods that were produced in a foreign country. Commercial waste could,
therefore, be considered as coming from industrial giants such as China. Moreover, on a further
note, the problem of commercial waste generation could be viewed as coming from globalised,
consumer culture. Commerce has always existed but consumerism has risen and as part of this
process so has the the level of commerce, inevitably raising the amount of commercial waste which
is produced. These kind of relations demonstrate the global nature of the generation and consequent
disposal of commercial waste, which as mentioned above, is damaging for the natural environment,
a counter-productive form of production: destruction.
Another division of waste generation is that of the residential area, where household waste is in
question. It is yet another contributor to the current environmental massacre which is occurring at
the hand of man worldwide. The waste which is produced in residential areas is essentially a biproduct of commerce which results from the consumption of goods purchased from commercial
enterprises. This means that goods produced internationally end up, after passing through
commerce, as household waste. In sum, global trade is a practice which fuels urban wastes
generation (Morris & Holthaussen, 1994, p. 215). Furthermore, residential waste is linked to global
practices in another way. This is by the fact that all waste must be disposed of in a way which
inevitably impacts the environment. If waste is generated and disposed of responsibly then it is
better for the ecosystem in which the disposal occurs. It has been said that efforts to to deal with
residential waste are insifficuent and that in order to do so more effectively it would be necessary to
control household purchases and production practices (Morris & Holthaussen, 1994, p. 215). The
way in which the households consume goods, is resulting in a level of waste generation which is too
high to be managed in an environmentally sound manner at this current date (Morris &
Holthaussen, 1994, p. 215).
As already stated, the production of household waste should be montored carefully in order to
permit adequate disposal of it. There are various ways in which household waste can be disposed of.
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Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world - H Dobbs

Some of these have less negative effects on the environment than others. There is, for example, the
juxtaposition of reuse and recycing versus illegal dumping. To encourage recycling local
governments or councils might charge a waste disposal fee which encourages recycling and reuse.
However, ironically, such taxes might force people that do not want to, or cannot, pay them to
dispose of their household waste illegally (Choe & Fraser, 1999, p. 235). Although, on the other
hand, such policy could also cause others to reduce the amount of waste they dispose of through
official means by recycling and also by reusing as much as they can. Recycling is a suitable idea as
it reduces waste dumping or burning but some people are not accustomed to recycling. From
research conducted in the United Kingdom it has been discovered that the majority of people who
fail to recycle do so because they are recycling is into habitual for them (Knussen & Yule, 2008, p.
683). Considering this it seems that perhaps more effective social education about recycling might
help the situation, this environmentally negative disposal of waste which crushes the world's wellbeing.
A paper has been written by Palmer et al (1997) which suggests three economic incentive policies
(p. 133) that could help to promote solid waste reduction. The suggested policies are based on the
concept that waste producers would like to have some kind of economic gain from any extra effort
that thay may make to reduce solid waste duming or burning. The potential policy imlementations
that Palmer et al (1997, pp. 133-4) offer provide the opportunity to benifit from monetary gain and
also to reduce the rate at which damage is done to the environment due to waste disposal.
Due to space constraints only one of the policies which Palmer et al (1997) propose is discussed in
this text: the Recycling subsidies (p. 134). One might think that monetary incentives to reduce
waste would encourage it. However, this is not the case. The research conducted by Palmer et al
(1997) demonstrates that the recycling subsidy actually incites higher levels of consumption (p.
140). It does this because, in reality, what the subsidy does is lower the final price of the consumer
goods which gives people more spending power and thus they buy more and, consequently, produce
more waste. The idea of subsidies which encourage better treatment of the environment are a fine
attempt at improving the state of the planet for all humankind. However, due consumer desires
encouraged by the (consumerist) contemporary development model, which is based on Rostow's
(1960) understanding of the epitomy of development as absolute consumerism itself, the extra
subsidy is not used for anything else than generating waste; in other words, to waste the earth.

Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world - H Dobbs

Considering the way in which waste is dealt with, it should be clear to anyone who investigates the
matter, even if only slightly, that the manner in which it is undertaken is poor as it is destructive to
the well-being of the earth. As repeated throughout this text, waste is problematic because it needs
to be disposed of in a way which will inevitably pollute the environment no matter how it is carried
out. There are various divisions which generate waste, including the industrial division, the
commercial division and the residential division. Instead of dumping or burning, the waste that each
of these divisions can be disposed of can be reused or recycled or disposed of in some other
alternative form. However, attempts to do so sometimes only move the waste from one area to
another where pollutes. The use of industrial waste or eucalyptus bark to deal with hazardous
industrial waste demonstrates this, as ti is ultimately deposited in somewhere it will inevitable
pollute with time. Residential waste also faces problems in the search for more environmentally
friendly alternatives to waste disposal. Many people are not used to recycle household waste and do
not do so for this reason. Recycling in general is an improvement on the waste management.
However, monetary incentives which are offered to promote recycling have been proven to create
more waste by giving those who receive them more spending power. Indeed, the waste management
crisis humanity is facing is based on consumerism which encourages the production of high levels
of waste due to the flaws of contemporary development models.

References
Beigl, P., Lebersorger, S., & Salhofer, S. (2008). Modelling municipal solid waste generation: A
review. Waste management, 28(1), 200-214.
Choe, C., & Fraser, I. (1999). An economic analysis of household waste management. Journal of
environmental economics and management, 38(2), 234-246.

Assignment 2: Issues in a globalising world - H Dobbs

Duan, H., Huang, Q., Wang, Q., Zhou, B., & Li, J. (2008). Hazardous waste generation and
management in China: A review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 158(2), 221-227.
Ferrara, I. (2008). Illegal Disposal of Commercial Solid Waste: A Dynamic Analysis. Atlantic
Economic Journal, 36(2), 211-232.

Jain, A. K., Gupta, V. K., & Bhatnagar, A. (2003). Utilization of industrial waste products as
adsorbents for the removal of dyes. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 101(1), 31-42.

Knussen, C., & Yule, F. (2008). I'm Not in the Habit of Recycling The Role of Habitual Behavior
in the Disposal of Household Waste. Environment and Behavior, 40(5), 683-702.

Morris, G. E., & Holthausen Jr, D. M. (1994). The economics of household solid waste generation
and disposal. Journal of environmental economics and management, 26(3), 215-234.
Palmer, K., Sigman, H., & Walls, M. (1997). The cost of reducing municipal solid waste. Journal of
Environmental Economics and Management, 33(2), 128-150.
Rhyner, C. R., & Green, B. D. (1988). The predictive accuracy of published solid waste generation
factors. Waste management & research, 6(1), 329-338.
Rostow, W. W. (1960). The stages of development, an anti-communist manifesto.
Sarin, V., & Pant, K. (2006). Removal of chromium from industrial waste by using eucalyptus bark.
Bioresource Technology, 97(1), 15-20.