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J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2010) 12:3040 Springer 2010 DOI 10.1007/s10163-009-0274-0
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Mushtaq Ahmed Memon
Integrated solid waste management based on the 3R approach
Received: February 25, 2008 / Accepted: December 10, 2009
Abstract Integrated solid waste management (ISWM) based on the 3R approach (reduce, reuse, and recycle) is aimed at optimizing the management of solid waste from all the waste-generating sectors (municipal, construction and demolition, industrial, urban agriculture, and healthcare facilities) and involving all the stakeholders (waste generators, service providers, regulators, government, and community/neighborhoods). This article discusses the concept of solid waste management (SWM). Initially, SWM was aimed at reducing the risks to public health, and later the environmental aspect also became an important focus of SWM. Recently, another dimension is becoming a critical factor for SWM, i.e., resource conservation and resource recovery. Hence, the 3R approach is becoming a guiding factor for SWM. On the one hand, 3R helps to minimize the amount of waste from generation to disposal, thus managing the waste more effectively and minimizing the public health and environmental risks associated with it. On the other hand, resource recovery is maximized at all stages of SWM. Lately, the new concept of ISWM has been introduced to streamline all the stages of waste management, i.e., source separation, collection and transportation, transfer stations and material recovery, treatment and resource recovery, and nal disposal. It was originally targeted at municipal solid waste management (MSWM), but now the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is promoting this concept to cover all waste generating sectors to optimize the level of material and resource recovery for recycling as well as to improve the efciency of waste management services. The ISWM concept is being transformed
into ISWM systems to replace conventional SWM systems. This article further discusses the implementation process for ISWM. The process includes a baseline study on the characterization and quantication of waste for all waste generating sectors within a city, assessment of current waste management systems and practices, target setting for ISWM, identication of issues of concern and suggestions from stakeholders, development of a draft ISWM plan, preparation of an implementation strategy, and establishment of a monitoring and feedback system. UNEP is assisting member countries and their cities to develop an ISWM plan...