Economic growth inevitably influences the food chain. Growing demand with changes in lifestyle and health consciousness encourage use of packaged and pre-prepared foods. The needs of environmental protection from waste generated are largely overlooked, and a lack of knowledge about the impact on the environment and its health effects constitute food security/safety problems. Food production and...

Background and purpose: In a recent century, the amount of construction waste has increased significantly. Although the building industry has a considerable role in the development of a society, it is regarded as an environmentally destructive. Source reduction is the highest goal in the waste management hierarchy and is in priority. It also has economic benefits by reducing costs associated wi...

Plastic waste constitutes the third largest waste volume in Malaysian municipal solid waste (MSW), next to putrescible waste and paper. The plastic component in MSW from Kuala Lumpur averages 24% (by weight), whereas the national mean is about 15%. The 144 waste dumps in the country receive about 95% of the MSW, including plastic waste. The useful life of the landfills is fast diminishing as th...

In the last years, the European Union (EU) has been focused on the reduction of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Specifically, in 2006, Spain generated roughly 47million tons of C&D waste, of which only 13.6% was recycled. This situation has lead to the drawing up of many regulations on C&D waste during the past years forcing EU countries to include new measures for waste prevention and...

Safe management of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste/ WEEE) is becoming a major problem in many countries around the world. In particular, developing countries face number of issues with the generation, transboundary movement and management of e-waste. It is estimated that the world generates around 20-50 million tonnes of e-waste annually, most of it from Asian countries. Improper handl...

As per the estimates of World Health Organization (WHO) about 80% of world’s population depends on plant and plant products for their primary healthcare. Recently the demand for herbal drugs has increased many folds at the global level, as these herbal medicines do not have any side effects and its cost effectiveness. Huge quantities of solid waste is generated during the production of decoctio...

It is easy to get the impression that there is a distinct battle' going on between those who use the terms waste minimization2 and waste red ~ c f i o n . ~ This notion, however, would preclude the concept that there may be an evolutionary transition taking place that would bring industry from one level to the next. In the related fields of environmental management4 and quality control: argumen...