Waste

One of the byproducts of natural resource consumption is waste. May people in developed countries, such as the US and most of Europe, use many more natural resources than people in other countries. We have many luxury and recreational items and it is often cheaper for us to throw something away and buy a new one, rather than fix it. This consumerism leads to greater resources use and more waste. Pollution from discarded materials degrades the land, water and air. Some waste is burned, some is composted, and some is recycled.  Most of it is disposed of in landfills. In developed countries, stricter landfill regulations are helping reduce the amount of pollution that affects the environment. The best way to eliminate waste: reduce consumption. 


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Natural resource use is generally lower in developing countries because people cannot afford many products. Some of these nations export natural resources to the developed world since their deposits may be richer and the cost of labor lower. Sometimes, environmental laws are more lax, further lowering the cost of extracting resources from the Earth. 


Many of our electronic wastes, which we think are being recycled, end up in developing countries. These are known as e-waste or electronic waste. People pick through the wastes looking for valuable materials to sell, but this can expose them to many toxic compounds that are hazardous to them and the environment. 


Source: Availability of Natural Resources. Retrieved from http://www.ck12.org/book/CK-12-Earth-Science-Concepts-For-High-School/r16/section/12.18/ on January 3, 2014. 

Last modified: Monday, 12 February 2018, 12:20 PM