Refuse production is increasing constantly : In Europe, 1970 : 283 kg/inhabitant/year 2000 : 400 kg/inhabitant/year Developing countries : < 0.2 kg/inhabitant/day Europe : 1.1 kg/inhabitant/day USA : 2 kg/inhabitant/day
1- Prevention at source 2- Recuperation: recycling, reuse 3- Improvement of disposal mechanisms 4- Regulation of transport of refuse
Refuse is residue from production, processing and usage that its owner assigns to be disposed of.
Since the beginning of the century, in France (and in the European Union), refuse has had to be recuperated (recycling, sorting, ISO convention 14001).
EFFLUENTS
What is waste water ?
Three overarching categories of waste water are to be distinguished: domestic waste water, industrial waste water, and rainwater.
Water courses have a natural purification capacity. Yet this capacity also consumes the oxygen of the river or stream and is not without consequences for aquatic fauna and flora. When the size of the effluent exceeds the self-purifying capacity of the stream or river, the damage to the environment can be lasting. Areas deprived of oxygen by pollution lead to the death of fauna and flora or create impassable barriers which most notably prevent fish migration. The presence in excess of phosphates, in particular, sets up conditions for the phenomenon of eutrophication, that is, the proliferation of algae that are noxious to aquatic fauna can render swimming dangerous and hinder the production of drinking water.
Industrial waste water
This is very different from domestic waste water. Its characteristics vary from one industry to another. In addition to organic, nitrogenous or phosphorous materials, it can also contain toxic products, solvents, heavy metals, organic micro-pollutants, and hydrocarbons. Certain of this must be the subject of pretreatment, performed by industries, before being ejected into waste water networks. It is mixed in with domestic waster water when it presents no danger to the sewer networks and does not cause hindrance to the functioning of pollution control plants.
Rainwater
This can also constitute a significant cause of pollution for water courses, notably during storm seasons. Rainwater is loaded with impurities during contact with (industrial fume-laden) air, then, while falling, residues deposited on roofs and roadways of towns and cities (motor oil, carbon-based products, residue from tires and heavy metals, etc.). In addition to this, when a sanitizing system is said to be "unified,” rainwater is mixed in with domestic waste water. In the case of heavy rain, strain on water storage facilities at purification plants can result in pouring ("ballast dumping”) of this highly-polluted "potpourri” into the natural environment. Finally, within urban areas, paved-over surfaces render the soil impermeable and add the risk of flooding to that of pollution.
