Expanded Summary

Keywords: environmental protection, environmental damage, ecological validity, sanitation crisis, waste management system. 

With the development of the society, the waste generation in the natural environment has significantly increased. In the 21^st century waste generation has become even more common, which on the other hand considerably aggravated the problems between human being and nature. Waste can be categorized into household, construction, medical, agricultural, industrial, etc. Plastic, metal, paper and all kinds of substances used by people at home or in the working environment over time are considered as waste. Considering their characteristics, they separate municipal, hazardous, inert and liquid waste. Hazardous waste is particularly risky and potentially dangerous for human health and environmental safety, which has poisonous, flammable, eco-toxic and other destrcutive features.

There are different reasons for the current environmental conditions: production is spent on raw materials and energy;large amount of waste is generated that pollutes water, air and the ground. The modern agriculture uses large land areas, and chemicals used for soil fertility, poisoning water and land. In addition to that, rapid growth of the population leads not only to hunger and poverty, but also it causes environmental destruction, since,the more population is the more living space and food is needed for humans. At the same time, it should be noted, that the population of highly developed industrialized countries gives more damages to the environment than less developed countries.

Environmental pollution occurs not only in industrial production, but also by using the energy in our daily lives, by heating system emissions, as well as garbage and chemical substances (for instance, products used for cleaning and washing) and excessive use of drinking water.

Today in many European states, waste management, its distribution and rational is quite developed. For instance, in Sweden and Norway, the waste is being reduced by incineration, whilst the electricity that is generated from the incineration, is used for heating by the population. In the modern world, the waste management system aims at rationally using the natural resources, recycling the waste and reducing of those areas that are allocated for disposal of municipal waste.

European cities have different approaches to solve the waste-related issues. They build waste factories, use waste in greenhouses etc. In many European countries, strict penalties are being imposed on those polluting the environment, regardless of the amount of damage.

Waste is a resource that people use for their benefit in the long run. Waste recycling makes it possible to get gas and electricity. The society should realize how to use “unusable” items in their favor. Waste recycling plays a major role in the economic and sustainable development of the country.