Waste Management

Although our industrial society produces a variety of solid wastes and waste waters, over the past 50 years we have made progress in disposing of them safely in landfills, by incineration, and in underground injection wells. Many wastes are also increasingly recycled or reused.

The Basics

An essential goal of waste management is to dispose of waste without contaminating water, soil, and air. Many wastes are disposed of safely in engineered landfills, by incineration, and in underground injection wells. All of these processes of waste management are monitored and regulated closely.^[1] Waste management can also provide economic opportunity: generating energy from landfill gas; recycling to produce new materials from used plastic, paper, glass, or metal; or composting to produce rich soil from yard and food waste.

Why does waste management matter?

Safe waste management is essential in a world with increasing amounts of waste – from plastic trash to industrial waste water. Without proper management, solid and water wastes can have a number of impacts on public health and ecosystems.

How does geoscience help?

Geoscientists help design systems to dispose of waste safely – whether in the air, on the surface, or beneath the ground. They also help to locate safe sites for waste management and study the impacts of waste underground and at the surface.

References

¹ Environmental Protection Agency, “Summary of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act”, https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-resource-conservation-and-recovery-act, accessed May 18, 2017

Learn More

Introductory Resources

• Learn about Waste, Environmental Protection Agency
  Web articles on resource conservation, hazardous waste, and non-hazardous waste.

• Injection Wells, Environmental Protection Agency
  Brief web article in question-answer format on what underground injection wells are used for, what they are injected with, how wells are categorized and regulated, and links to regulators in each state.

• The Science of Waste Management, Waste Management, Inc.
  A fact sheet on the science of landfill management and the use of methane gas, a by-product of trash decomposition, as an energy source.

Resources for Educators

• Education GeoSource Network (EGS), AGI
  Search for waste management resources related to professional resources, curricula & instruction, teaching media, outreach programs, and other EGS collections.

• NGSS Performance Expectations, Next Generation Science Standards
  K-ESS3-3, 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4, HS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-4

• NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas, Next Generation Science Standards
  ESS3.C

Additional Resources

Geoscience in Society Webinars

See how geoscience informs our understanding of societal issues.

Geoscience Currents

Search for related data briefs, case studies and factsheets.

FAQs

Browse frequently asked questions related to the intersection of geoscience, waste management, and society.

EARTH

Browse related articles from EARTH magazine.

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