Introduction |
Waste, in this connection, is defined as all residual products of human activity, except waste water and gaseous emissions. The waste may consist of solid materials and substances, or liquids and gases stored in barrels or other containers. Which is regarded as worthless waste and which as reuseable, will vary according to the assessments made by individual persons or communities.
The waste problem is on the increase in developing countries. In many places it is critical, despite the fact that the amounts of waste are generally less in developing than in industrialized countries. Many towns are expanding rapidly, and ineffective waste management systems are frequent. In addition, increasing industrialization in many developing countries leads to large amounts of waste, e.g. various types of hazardous waste. Even in rural areas, where the amounts of waste are smaller, management is often practiced in ways that can potentially threaten health and environment. Proper waste management is crucial in order to avoid a series of negative environmental impacts and to prevent the spreading of diseases among humans. However, projects and measures aiming at improving waste management can also cause environmental harm if health and environmental aspects have not been well considered during the planning and operations.
Increasing awareness of the waste problem, both in industrialized and developing countries, has made the problem an issue in several declarations and international conventions and provisions. The "Baser convention" of 1989 and the "Bamako convention" of 1991 are two of the most central ones. Both have been signed by a series of developing countries. In addition to drawing up general principles of waste management, they forbid export of hazardous waste to countries which do not have sufficient administrative, legislative and technical competence to manage the waste safely. It also does not give permission to export of hazardous waste from developed countries to developing countries. Several regional declarations have also been signed by developing countries in recent years.