Waste management also has environmental impact, again in several ways:
- Direct impact on the environment through landfill
- Potential pollution by harmful substances in discarded products (e.g. fluorescent and other discharge light sources, batteries, CRT monitors)
Some of the environmental damage caused by obtaining raw materials (e.g. mining, forestry) can be offset by recycling. Recycling can reduce the energy required for manufacturing products, compared to using raw materials
There are also national and local compliance issues relating to waste management, such as the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Directive)(7), and league tables are beginning to operate in some parts of the public sector.
To address these issues many organisations are adopting a philosophy of:
REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE
In this way, an holistic waste management programme will include reducing consumption of consumables, re-using/repairing items rather than replacing them and diverting as much waste as possible to recycling waste streams.
Thus, a range of parameters has to be measured to assess the success of any initiative to reduce environmental impact through improved waste management.