Waste Minimization

Waste Minimization is a waste management approach that focuses on reducing the amount and toxicity of hazardous waste generated. In addition to hazardous wastes regulated under The Resource Conservation and Recovery (RCRA), EPA encourages the minimization of all wastes.

Law / Policy

Total Watermark- City as a Catchment

2014 | City of Melbourne

Strategy SnapShotTotal Watermark – City as a Catchment is our plan  for integrated water cycle management for the next four years. Our vision is a healthy city in a healthy catchment. Seeing our city as a catchment means that we recognise the important roles of the natural and man-made catchments, including roads, roofs and impermeable surfaces. We want the whole of Melbourne’s community – residents, workers and businesses alike, to think about water and its role in our future, to help create a healthy city in a healthy catchment.The water security pressures caused by Melbourne’s recent 13-year drought have fundamentally changed the way we use water – in our homes, offices and public open spaces, for recreation and for commercial and industrial purposes. City of Melbourne practices integrated water cycle management. this is the coordinated management of all components of the water cycle including water consumption, rainwater, stormwater, wastewater and groundwater, to secure a range of benefits for the wider catchment. This strategy is part of City of Melbourne’s work to become one of the world’s most sustainable cities. We know that a successful future depends on understanding the risks that climate change poses, reducing our impact and becoming more resilient.As part of this, our goal is for Melbourne to be carbon neutral by 2020, as outlined in our Zero Net Emissions by 2020 – 2014 update. Other key strategies referenced in Total Watermark – City as a Catchment include our: Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, Urban Forest Strategy, Open Space Strategy, Urban Ecology and Biodiversity Strategy and the Municipal Strategic Statement.

Case Studies

3R in Asia: a gap analysis in selected Asian Countries

2008 | RRC.AP

This report discusses the prevailing situations in managing urban municipal wastes for 15 Asian countries- Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Lao, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The report discusses the priority areas of concern for each country according to the surveyed data and status of the 3R Technology.

Simplified approach to estimating pollution from mobile sources

| Haryo Tomo and Shanty Syahril

There are many models have been developed to estimate pollution from mobile sources. However, the sufficient data related to support an actual mobile emission, emission factor and traffic condition is hardly available. The paper describes a method to simplify the estimation of mobile source emission in the area. The simplification method is used to estimate emission factor using the data of idle vehicle emission test and to combine the data of vehicle fleet, traffic condition and road network to estimate daily vehicle density. To compute the mobile source emission, the area was divided into grids based on the sub-district administrative boundaries. The result indicates that the model is the appropriate available approach to estimate the mobile emission to emulate the data of idle vehicle emission test as emission factor. Further emission estimation using dynamic mode and the modified local driving condition are vitally important to improve the results of emission estimation as well as actual condition.

How Can Urban Bus Policy Reduce Pollution?

| World Bank and ESMAP

South Asia Urban Air Quality Management Briefing Note No. 3

Reports

Municipal Waste Management Report: Status-quo and Issues in Southeast and East Asian Countries

2010 | RRC.AP

Solid waste management is one of the major environmental burdens particularly in megacities of many developed and developing Asian countries. An alarming rate of solid waste generation trends can be seen parallel to urbanization, industrialization and economic development. This environmental burden continues to be a major pressing issue threatening the environment and health of the people. Unless environmental measures are introduced and effectively enforced, continuing burdens of solid waste management will be inevitable. This report presents and discusses the status-quo and issues of Municipal Waste in 14 countries in Southeast and East Asia. Aspects of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) included herein are generation and composition, policies and regulations, economic instruments, current practices of MSW and other management strategies. The report also presents some propositions and policy recommendations in order to determine regional collective actions on the status-quo and issues regarding Municipal Waste.