Environmental Economics of Solid Waste Management

From the days of primitive age humans and animals have been using the resources of the earth to support their life and dispose the waste. But in early times, the disposal of human and other waste did not pose any significant problem for the reason that population was small and the amount of land available for the assimilation of wastes was large. But the growing ‘needs and greeds’ of humans put higher demand for environmental resources which led to increasing human activities. Human activities involve utilisation of energy, air, water, soil and other solid materials and production as well as consumption of goods resulting in residual waste materials. While the inputs like energy, water, raw material, etc. sustained the momentum of growth and development of the area. The book highlights that waste materials need to be properly managed to keep the environment clean and safe. The book also explains that if solid waste is recycled and reused in rational manner; it brings some income to the city authority as well as it protects the environment.