Albion\’s ABC\’s of Waste Management – H

H  HEIRARCHY – The Waste Hierarchy

The Waste Hierarchy is a sustainable waste management model that promotes consideration into how and why waste is created rather than just thinking about the disposal and management of waste. It categorises the various options for dealing with waste into an order of preference into a simple five-step hierarchy.

At the top of the waste hierarchy is Waste Prevention. This simply put is the most effective way of dealing with waste as it reduces the amount of waste being generated in the first place therefore reducing the impact on the environment and also money is saved by managing less waste.

Next in the hierarchy is Reuse. This another way of preventing waste by giving products and materials a second use thus prolonging its lifespan. This delays the need for materials to become waste and allows us to extract more value from products. Repair and Refurbishments would also fall under this bracket. This goes against the idea of “use and throw away” therefore having a positive financial impact on businesses and economies.

The third step in the Waste Hierarchy is Recycle. Recycling is where waste materials are treated or processed to make them  suitable for reuse.  For example, one of the most common types of waste is paper, and used paper can be converted into new paper products, therefore decreasing the amount of wood needed during the process. This gives the waste paper value and brings the cost of producing the new paper down.

After Recycling on the Hierarchy comes Recovery. This stage includes other processes which try to extract any value left in the materials, and can primarily be used to recover energy. These processes include anaerobic digestion, incineration with energy recovery as well as gasification.

Finally on the Waste Hierarchy is Disposal. Disposal covers ways in which waste is managed and does not extract any value, for example landfill and incineration without any energy recovery. This is at the bottom of the hierarchy because the materials become useless and have no value when they are sent to landfill, so this would ideally only be used as a last resort.

For further information www.gov.uk/government