Environment

The environment is the set of elements of nature that, both in their characteristics
mediators (soil, water, and air) as well as in their concrete forms of manifestation (Flora and Fauna), are
integrated into a dynamic and balanced ecological system in its numerous systems, and that
they support the conditions and quality of life in its various forms.

From a globalized perspective, the term 'environment' refers to all the surroundings that
surrounding the man, adopting the all-encompassing sense that the Commission initially used
Economic for Europe when defining it in 1978 as 'the set of systems composed of objects
and physically definable conditions that include, particularly, balanced ecosystems
in the form in which we know them or that they are susceptible to adopting in the future
foreseeable, and with which man, as the dominant focal point, has established relationships
directly"[2]. From the above, the environment comprises two clearly identifiable sectors and
opposed: the natural environment (air, water, soil, flora and fauna) and the artificial environment, which
includes, in turn, the environment built by man (buildings, factories, communication routes,
etc.) and to the social environment (social, economic, political, cultural systems)[3].

MATEOS RODRIGUEZ[4] "Natural Environment" It is the entirety of natural resources, renewable or not.
such as the soil, the air, the water, the fauna and the flora, plus the dynamic interrelationships that
they maintain.

BACIGALUPO [5] "Natural Environment" refers to the maintenance of the properties of the soil,
air and water, as well as the fauna and flora and the environmental conditions for the development of these
species, so that the ecological system is maintained with its subordinate systems and not
"suffers harmful alterations".

The 'environment' is the set of physical-chemical, biological, and socio-economic elements.

that interact with each other and influence the development of life, being the subject of protection by the
criminal laws.

Environmental damage
The impact on elements of the environmental heritage resulting from all human activity
individual or collective, cause social harm by affecting the so-called 'diffuse interests' that do not
they are individuals, belong to the community and are not intended to protect the interests of a
particular subject, but rather of a general or indeterminate interest regarding its individuality. The
damage, it is more appropriate to call it 'environmental damage', as it is broader and more comprehensive of the
ecological [6] reserving that expression for damage that affects biotic and abiotic elements
from the biosphere.

Medical science has highlighted one of the main factors or conditions that affects
positively or negatively to public health is the natural environment, as its quality depends
not only the conservation of natural resources, but also through them, protection is ensured
life and the health of human beings in general, especially if one considers the nature
modernly anthropocentric that imposes the constitution [8].

Pollution

Contamination of air, water, or soil with products that affect human health, the
quality of life or the natural functioning of ecosystems. About the pollution of the
atmosphere due to industrial emissions, incinerators, internal combustion engines, and others
sources. On the pollution of water, rivers, lakes, and seas by household waste,
urban, nuclear, and industrial; water treatment; water pollution.

A contaminant is a substance whose presence in the environment is harmful. Contaminants do not

they take the form of chemical substances or waste, but also of things like noise and heat.

The first contamination is detected in samples approximately 2,700-2,300 years old.

years and corresponds to the Bronze Age.

Classes of Pollution:

a) Depending on its characteristics and the sources that generate it:

Physical Pollution: Caused by noise, infrasound, thermal, and radioisotopes.

 Chemical Pollution: Produced by hydrocarbons, detergents, plastics, pesticides,
heavy metals, derivatives of sulfur and nitrogen; which alter the composition of water,
the ground, the atmosphere, etc.

Biological Contamination: Produced by bacteria, fungi, viruses, higher parasites.

introduction of animals and plants from other areas

b) According to its origin:

Natural: Caused by sources of pollution of natural origin, such as volcanoes, effects

geoclimatic, etc. Its main characteristic is that it is generally found dispersed in a
larger area, so the effect is diluted by natural processes.

Anthropogenic. It is produced or distributed by humans, for example: garbage, smog;

air, water, and soil discharges from industrial processes. It occurs in areas close to
urban areas and industrial regions, where pollutants are concentrated in small
volumes of air, water, and soil.

One of the main sources of anthropogenic pollution is industrialized agriculture,

in which a large amount of polluting substances are generated, whose final destination is the soil
or water sources.

Among others such as: Pollution by elements that damage aesthetics: produced by the
degradation of the landscape and the introduction of industries.

The Problem of Pollution.

It is the introduction of biological, chemical or physical agents into an environment to which they do not belong.
Any undesirable alteration of the natural composition of an environment. Example: to pollute the
water is to contaminate life itself.
Soil pollution

Soil contamination is the physical, chemical, or biological imbalance; mainly due to

the inadequate management of solid and liquid waste. The toxic elements deposited in the
Soil is transferred to plants, animals, and then to people.

Soil degradation.

More than 7 million hectares are lost annually. For example, in Asia and Africa, 4%
from the land has lost most of its agricultural production, 2.3% has lost productivity
in Europe, 1.4% in South America and 1.3% in North America. The capacity is jeopardized
of food.

Measures adopted in response to the problem:

United Nations experts stated that the world is losing at an alarming rate.
the productive soil. However, these specialists believe that this chaotic problem could
to be reversed through appropriate social, economic, and technological planning.

If we observe that in 1950 there were about 2000 m2 of arable land per inhabitant and according to
data from 1996 (FAO) this has been reduced to 1200, there is a significant difference. If we know that
constantly forest and jungle soil is taken to convert into cultivated areas, this
The reduction of arable land can be attributed to two main factors, the increase in the
population and soil degradation.

The constant increase of the global population and the development of increasingly sophisticated
technology, directly affecting the biosphere, making the interrelationship more tense and complex
between man and nature.

Main Causes:
Man is an important factor that contributes negatively to this problem. He intervenes from
this way through deforestation and overgrazing.

The garbage that, in addition to changing the conditions of the soil, generates the existence of flies,
rats and other animals that then transmit diseases and bad smell.

2. Using pesticides and chemical products in agriculture.

3. Oil spill.

4. Mining activities (tailings and waste in general).

Erosion due to deforestation of large areas of land.

6. Erosion by water and air currents.

7. Wildfires.

8. Desertification (growth of deserts, droughts).

Soil conservation:

Prevent forest fires.

Maintain soil fertility.

 Bury the trash.

Take the wastewater.

The earth renews itself very slowly. Under normal conditions, it renews 2.5
centimeters of soil takes from 200 to 700 years. The current degree of degradation existing, at the level
Worldwide, it is superior to the natural renewal of the earth. The figures inform us that in twenty-five
In a few years, the arable land available per inhabitant will be reduced by more than half.

AIR POLLUTION.

Contamination is generally defined as any alteration that is unfavorable for

the natural environment and which is a direct or individual consequence of human activity.

Air pollution encompasses, in a broad sense, all alterations of the air, whether they are
of physical nature (suspended particles) chemical (toxic substances) or of another kind
(increase in temperature, etc), but it more strictly refers to the first two.

Air pollutants can be solid particles (e.g. soot, dust), gases, vapors,
smoke, foul substances, aerosols, etc. Their effects can be an increase in
temperature, the degree of turbidity or the density of the air.

ORIGIN AND TYPES OF WASTE.

By their origin, solid waste or garbage is classified into:

Deliverers.

Commercials.
Industrial

Of Services.

Agricultural and

Municipal elections

The Garbage.

Millions of tons cover the ground of our towns as a result of the deficiencies
Existing collection systems have turned neighboring areas into dumps.

In 1973, Williams Rathje began analyzing urban waste produced from garbage.
food, from recycling and household waste that are considered to have a great impact on the
pollution. Williams addressed the qualitative aspects of waste, its classification and the
evaluation of the different types of waste according to whether they are residential, commercial, and/or sanitary.

Human societies have always produced waste, but now, in the society of
consumption, when the volume of waste has grown excessively. In addition, it has
increased its toxicity to become a very serious problem.

Every day we generate more trash, thereby contributing to waste becoming a major
problem, but some solutions are in our hands. From the moment of purchase
Until when do we throw away the garbage, we can implement simple measures that reduce
notably both the volume and the hazardousness of our waste.
At the same time, natural reserves of raw materials and energy sources are decreasing.
while the costs of its extraction increase and are causes of serious environmental impacts and
social imbalances. We are immersed in the culture of throwaway, and in the garbage of each day
the resources that we will soon miss.

In addition to the above, we must add that waste is also generated at home from
paints, solvents, insecticides, cleaning products, etc., considered hazardous waste
because they pose a significant risk to health or the environment, despite only
represent a small percentage of the RSUs.

It is all solid or semi-solid waste, putrescible or non-putrescible, except for excreta of

human or animal origin. The same definition includes waste, refuse,
ashes, street sweeping elements, industrial waste, from hospital establishments and
of market squares, among others.

The concentration of the human population in relatively small spaces, and the increasing
The production of disposable items has created the major problem of waste.

Metal aerosol packaging, non-biodegradable plastics, metal structures that are

they accumulate and are not recycled, they contaminate and degrade the environment.

The production of waste is so high that in our country we can only manage to collect half of the
that is produced. From the collection, a large majority ends up on the ground without any treatment, another
portion goes to the waters and only a part goes to landfills.

In small towns, when garbage is not collected on time, it is thrown into rivers or fields.
closer, leading to focal points of infections.

We also did not worry about solving the problem. We inadequately packed the
garbage, and we leave it to the section of stray animals that scatter it.
Also, we do not sort and separate it, which would make recycling easy.

The Garbage and the Authorities.

The authorities in some places have not given the waste the care it requires.
It is very common to find open dumps, where infectious microorganisms are
they multiply excessively. From there a spring of diseases will arise that will be transmitted by
diverse paths.

The flies that proliferate in the garbage dumps transmit diseases such as fever, diarrhea,
bacillary dysentery, cholera, poliomyelitis, and intestinal parasitism. Rats transmit
diseases such as rabies, diarrhea, typhus, and various types of plagues. It is also of utmost
gravity that the landfills have become breeding and feeding areas for pigs and
other types of livestock, which without greater health control later end up in the market of
meat. Additionally, outdoor trash cans have the major drawback of receiving rainwater.
It circulates through them, where it dissolves and drags a large amount of substances in which
Thousands of infectious microorganisms proliferate that will contaminate water sources.

For waste treatment, in some places smart authorities have opted for
create landfills. Deep places are chosen and trash is deposited there.
continuing, with appropriate machinery, the waste is covered with layers of soil, clay or
gravel. In this way, contact with pests is avoided and decomposition is facilitated.
bacterial.

Composition of Waste.

14% of the weight of the garbage bag is plastics, and most of them come from packaging of a
only for use and all types of wrappings and packaging (bottles, polyethylene bags, trays and boxes
white cork protectors.

If they are buried in a landfill, they take up a lot of space, taking decades to millennia to
degrade If they are chosen to be incinerated, they will produce CO2 emissions, contributing to climate change.
climatic, and other very dangerous atmospheric pollutants for health and the environment.
One of the most widely used plastics, PVC, generates high pollution in its
manufacturing. If it is finally incinerated, it produces some of the most toxic substances known.
dioxins and furans.

It should be noted that all plastics are made from petroleum. Therefore, when
consuming plastics, besides contributing to the depletion of a non-renewable resource, we enhance
the enormous pollution caused by the extraction and transportation of oil and its transformation
in plastic.

The "brics", cans, glass, batteries, paper and cardboard, hazardous waste.

To the danger and harmfulness of each of these special waste, it must be added that its
treatment as a residue is very complex. It is necessary to keep in mind that each one of
these products would require specific treatment, which is totally impossible in
landfills or incinerators. On the contrary, what will happen there is that they are mixed with some
others, potentially leading to unpredictable and uncontrollable reactions, which result in
even more harmful contaminants, in addition to causing explosions and fires. If they are incinerated, they
they emit very toxic gases, such as dioxins or furans. For all this, the need arises
to substitute and reduce those products.

Storage in Public Ways and Places.

To store solid waste on the streets, markets, and parks, containers have been placed.
in parks, streets, and gardens. The installation of suitable containers in certain roads and places
Public spaces of the town contribute to: improving the aesthetic appearance of the Municipality.

Eliminates dirt and bad smells on the streets, by not having trash thrown on the ground. It facilitates the
collection of solid waste by the personnel of the collection service.

According to the study conducted by the Provincial Municipality of Chiclayo and the Ministry of
Health, there is an average production of 0.571 per inhabitant, daily.
Considering the 284,694 inhabitants that the city of Chiclayo has as a district,
we would be producing 384 tons of garbage daily, between the city center and the various
urbanizations; young towns and other critical points of the city.

The statistics available on existing waste in Chiclayo Metropolis, the unit considered
It is made up of 2 classification and triage lines handling 20 to 28 tons per hour.
operation is initially carried out in a daily shift of 7 hours, which will increase according to
to needs of up to two shifts daily of 7 hours, namely 14 hours daily in total and over
of 300 days a year. This taking into account that it is necessary to reserve one hour daily.
time for general cleaning. The amount treated annually is in accordance with the goal of 130,000
160,000 tons of current and estimated production, with a tolerance of +/- 10%.

That unit would employ 38 to 50 people in two daytime teams.

Table No. 1: Average composition of household solid waste in the City of Chiclayo.

Paper and cardboard 20.86 %

Old rags 3.11 %

Wood and foliage 6.78 %

Food waste 6.93%

Plastics and leathers 4.73%

Glasses 1.62%

Earth 42.00 %

Metals 3.97%

TOTAL 100.00%

Source: Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan. PIGARS-CHICLAYO

Other important background information on household solid waste includes:

About 9% of the waste comes from parks and gardens (pruning and grass clippings).

The waste has between 40 to 60% moisture.

The calorific power of household solid waste has been estimated at approximately 950
kcal/kg (4000 MJ/ton).

Recycling.

Various sectors or organizations from the Region would participate in the Program, both public and
private: Provincial Municipality of Chiclayo, CONAM (National Environmental Council)
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Comprehensive Environmental Waste Management Plans
So1idos (PIGARS), recycling and collecting companies.

The various activities to be carried out in this program depend on the level of awareness and
commitment demonstrated by the different sectors of the population.

2) Collection and transport.

One of the major problems facing the collection service is the disorder that arises.
observed by citizens at the time of storing solid waste.

The final destination of the collected waste is landfills. However, there is a

percentage of household solid waste detected in illegal landfills in the Region
Metro.
As mentioned in the section on recycling, there is another method of collection used
in the Region, which appears as an informal activity, carried out by collectors
independents. They collect recyclable waste at its source, to
later classify them and sell them to intermediaries or directly to the industries
recyclers. Generally, these collectors travel through 2, 3, and in some cases 4 municipalities,
using transport methods such as tricycles and carts.

Final provision.

Currently, in the Province of Chiclayo, household solid waste is disposed of in landfills.

sanitary landfills, illegal dumps, and controlled dump sites. The sanitary landfills correspond to
the only technical system recommended by the World Health Organization, as long as the
Illegal dumping sites pose a risk to health and the environment.
Controlled landfills are considered a viable alternative for waste disposal.
the construction, which allow the recovery of old gravel extraction wells.

4) Treatment.

Generally, collection services are responsible for concentrating solid waste and
transport them to the final disposal sites, which is the place where they are deposited for
compress them and thus constitute the landfill.

However, it is necessary to carry out a preliminary stage: the Treatment.

The treatment of solid waste is the set of operations that are carried out for
elimination of them, or the utilization of the resources contained in them.

There are various treatment systems, such as controlled dumping, incineration or

burning, recycling, and composting. The most productive treatment systems are the
composting and recycling.
 Sanitary Landfills.

The authorities promote the introduction of landfill technique, considered a

environmentally appropriate and low-cost investment technique.

Illegal Dumping Sites.

As described above, there is a parallel activity in the Region consisting of

indiscriminate dumping of solid waste in unauthorized places. This situation translates into
foci of deterioration and environmental pollution, which must be controlled and eliminated. These
places have been designated Illegal Solid Waste Dumps (ISWDs).

The VIRS are characterized by the presence of solid waste of different types in them, without
no type of treatment or control, which can lead to soil and aquifer contamination
underground and vector proliferation.

The factors with the greatest incidence in the installation of the VIRS are the following: communes of
low resources, neighborhoods with limits on major arteries, proximity to riverbeds, riverbank
the irrigation ditch, easy access through streets or bridges, proximity to railway lines, existence of
marginal population in the environment, ancient aggregate extraction sites, lack of knowledge of
Who is the owner of the land, lack of a policy for the removal of unused items due to
part of the municipalities, as well as a lack of municipal control. This gives rise to the activity of
waste dumping, first sporadically, generating micro-landfills and then,
repeatedly, transforming into VIRS.

There are isolated places but close to the population with topographic characteristics that facilitate
the accumulation of garbage. These areas have been designated Potential Areas to become
Illegal Solid Waste Landfills.

It is necessary to develop a recovery plan for these affected areas, transforming them,
example, in areas of recreation and leisure for the community.
 Controlled Dumping.

They are large ground perforations that mainly come from the extraction of aggregates.
the intention to recover these sites for other uses, they are used for controlled dumping of
inert solid waste, as they do not have any type of measure for control of the
pollution. The term controlled is due to the fact that its access is restricted to the
cancellation of a fee.

As an example, the existing agreement between the municipalities of Providencia, Las

Counts and the Queen. This established that part of the rubble resulting from the works
municipal and private waste generated in those municipalities had to be disposed of in a landfill
controlled, located in the municipality of La Reina. The landfill's useful life has ended (November
since 1995), a community park was built.

Costs.

Currently, garbage in the province of Chiclayo is dumped on the outskirts of the city, in the
pampas of the Reque District, 26 km north of Chiclayo, by municipal trucks
compactors, which transport it. Currently, there is no final disposal treatment for the
solid waste.

The municipal compacting trucks transport an average of 170 tons daily.

The approximate cost of the service would be around S/ 189.6 / Ton or US$ 39.9 / Ton. Considering that
this cost does not include the landfill, this figure is higher than the average for cities in
Chiclayo Range.

There is no incentive for the community to reduce waste generation or recycle, as

that the charged rate is independent of the amount generated.

Cross subsidies are generated from the lower income sectors to the higher income sectors.
income, within the same municipality. This happens because high-income sectors
generate a greater amount of waste per inhabitant than those with low incomes, so they pay for it
same for more trash, which makes the 'unit' price lower. The system helps to create
awareness that garbage service is 'free'. For the user, the garbage charge is not
associated with the collection service.

Household Waste Production; An Inherent Phenomenon of Development.

As Chiclayo has entered a rapid development process, it presents a high volume of its
population living in consolidated urban areas and in the process of consolidation. These
Residents demand infrastructure and services from the city, which generally do not grow in parallel.
rhythm that these requirements create.

One of the manifestations of the urban phenomenon is the production of household waste.
that, as a result of the rise in the living standards of the population, of the change in the patterns of
consumption and a culture of production that privileges disposability over reusability,
it presents increasingly larger volumes of waste, becoming a problem for the
institutions responsible for its management.

Management.

The management of household waste in the city of Chiclayo is characterized by the use of
traditional systems and procedures as well as more complex modern technologies.
Therefore, at the national level, we find the coexistence of landfills and sanitary landfills with
different degrees of control. In this last case, the residues undergo treatment,
enabling the later use of some derivatives (gas) and the subsequent reuse of the soil as
land suitable for green areas and recreational parks.

Regarding the predominant characteristics of management systems in our country

we can highlight:

Collection: The ways of delivering household waste to collection vary in

our city from bags on the street. The most common thing to see are paper bags or
plastic, cardboard boxes, tin cans, wooden or plastic containers filled with solid waste, those that
they attract insects (flies and cockroaches), produce bad odors, and generate liquid leaks
that drip from the garbage.
In solid waste storage, waste separation is not practiced, mixing
organic and inorganic waste, which makes it difficult to later recover materials
reusable. And once solid waste has all been mixed together, separate them and
classifying them requires a lot of time and energy.

Transport: It is done using compactor trucks in urban areas and dump trucks.
in rural areas.

Processing: Currently, except for the compaction at the transfer station or at the
collection trucks, no prior treatments are carried out before the final disposal of waste
household solids. On the other hand, due to the costs and the characteristics of the composition of the
waste (high humidity and low calorific value) in Chiclayo is currently not considered
thermal destruction treatments (incineration).

Location: While at the State level there are some territorial instruments such as the
Regulatory Plans, which establish locations where stations could be installed
of transfer and landfills, the final location decisions are found
conditional on the permanent pressures from the affected population groups, both with the
presence of these facilities as with the transfer of waste, which involves the passage of a
significant number of trucks throughout the day.

Citizen Participation.

There is limited involvement of society in the management of household waste.

what has generated an indifferent citizen attitude towards the quantity and quality of waste
that produce. The management of household waste is closely related to practices
from the community, as well as with production practices and packaging design.

The solutions reached do not depend solely on the authority; they play a role in them.
fundamental the consumption practices of the entire community, and the demands on production
of containers. In both aspects, directly linked to the minimization of waste, its recycling and
reuse, it is possible to intervene.
Removal.

Elimination of solid waste, elimination of solid or semi-solid materials without utility that
they generate human and animal activities.

Solid waste is separated into four categories:

Agricultural, industrial, commercial, and domestic waste.

Commercial and domestic waste is usually organic materials, whether combustible,

such as paper, wood, and fabric, or non-combustibles, such as metals, glass, and ceramics.

Industrial waste can be ashes from solid fuels, debris

from the demolition of buildings, chemicals, paints, and slag;

Agricultural waste usually consists of animal manure and crop remnants.

METHODS OF ELIMINATION.

The disposal of waste through controlled dumping is the most commonly used method. The rest of the
waste is incinerated and a small part is used as organic fertilizer. The selection of a
method or another form of elimination is based mainly on economic criteria, which reflects
local circumstances.

1) Controlled spill:
It is the cheapest way to dispose of waste, but it depends on the availability of sites.
suitable. This method consists of storing waste in layers in excavated places. Each
the blanket is pressed with machines until it reaches a height of 3 meters; then it is covered with a
top layer of soil is pressed again. It is essential to choose the right terrain so that it does not
does not produce pollution either on the surface or in groundwater. To achieve this, it is leveled and
cultivate the soil over the waste, divert drainage from higher areas, select
soils with few filtrations and areas exposed to flooding or near springs are avoided
subterranean. Anaerobic decomposition of organic waste generates gases. If it
a considerable amount of methane can produce explosions, so the
The landfill must have good ventilation. The latest techniques focus on utilization.
of these gases resulting from decomposition as an energy resource.

2) Incineration:

Conventional incinerators are furnaces or refractory chambers in which waste is burned.

waste; the gases from combustion and the solids that remain are burned in a second
Stage. Combustible materials are burned at 90%. In addition to generating heat, usable
as an energy source, incineration generates carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen and
other gaseous pollutants, volatile ashes and unburned solid waste. The emission of
volatile ashes and other particles are controlled with filters, scrubbers, and precipitators
electrostatic.

3) Preparation of Fertilizers:

The production of fertilizers or composts from solid waste consists of the degradation of
organic matter by aerobic microorganisms. First, the waste is classified to separate
materials with some other utility and those that cannot be degraded, and the rest is buried for
favor the decomposition process. The resulting humus contains 1 to 3% of
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, depending on the materials used. After three weeks, the product
is ready to mix it with additives, package it, and sell it.

Composting or compost:
The compost is a black, uniform, granulated product, without coarse residues. It is also
called humus, contains calcium and other nutrients for plants, and is an excellent fertilizer
from soils, of high value. Compost is obtained from the fermentation of garbage.
organic.

There are two main methods for making compost:

Natural Fermentation

Accelerated fermentation

Accelerated fermentation: The difference with the previous method is that the organic waste
crushed materials are stored in silos, barrels, or casks; water is added and turned daily. With
this method reduces fermentation to fifteen days. However, this method requires greater
investment in time and equipment than the first.

The final product of a composting system is a crumbly dark substance known as

humus or organic fertilizer. This substance, when spread over cultivated land, produces many
positive effects that enrich the life of soils, loosens compacted lands and compacts
loose soils increase water retention by the soil, and are a source of nutrients.
for the plants and increases the organic matter content of the soil.

If we are going to use compost to fertilize vegetables, it is recommended that it does not contain residues.
from cat excrement. However, if it contains this type of excrement, it can be used for
to fertilize pots.

Recovery of Energy Resources.

It is possible to recover energy from some waste disposal processes. In general, it

They can make two groups: combustion processes and pyrolysis processes. Some incinerators
they are used to generate steam. Tubes are placed in the walls of the combustion chamber
boiler; the water that circulates through the pipes absorbs the heat generated by the combustion of the
waste and produces steam.

Pyrolysis or destructive distillation is a process of chemical decomposition of solid waste.

by heat in an atmosphere with little oxygen. This generates a current of gas composed
by hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, inert ash, and other gases,
according to the organic characteristics of the pyrolyzed material.

Recycling.

The practice of recycling solid waste is very old. Metal utensils are melted down and
they have been remodeled since prehistoric times. Nowadays, recyclable materials are recovered
in many ways, such as defibration, magnetic separation of metals, separation of
light and heavy materials, screening and washing. Another recovery method is reduction to pulp.
The waste is mixed with water and turned into a paste-like slurry when passed through a
crusher. Metal pieces and other solids are removed with magnetic devices and the pulp is
introduce into a centrifuge. Here the heavier materials are separated, such as pieces of
glass, and are sent to recycling systems; other lighter materials are sent to plants for
paper and fiber recycling, and the remaining waste is incinerated or deposited in a landfill.

Local authorities in many countries are asking consumers to deposit bottles, cans,
paper and cardboard in separate containers from the rest of the trash. Special trucks
they collect the containers and send these materials to recycling facilities, reducing the
I work in incinerators and the waste in landfills.

Consequences.

This source of pollution causes dangerous damage to the health of living beings.
directly contaminated the soil, water, the atmospheric environment or the atmosphere in general.

SOLID WASTES.

It is all solid or an element in solid state that is abandoned, discarded, or rejected.

Solid waste represents a serious ecological problem.

One of the biggest problems that today's society faces is precisely the management of the
solid waste. The increasing production of domestic and inert waste compromises the
availability of sufficient disposal surfaces in acceptable environmental conditions. With the
current rate of increase of the production of household waste, all
Available spaces for final disposal currently in operation will be filled in very few.
years.

Not only does this type of waste present management problems, but there is also the issue of the inadequate.
treatment of hospital waste and hazardous waste from domestic sources (batteries,
batteries, medications, etc.) and especially those of industrial origin.

On the other hand, waste treatment sometimes shifts the contamination from one medium to another.
another. For example, the incineration of solid waste produces gases, particles, and vapors that
they will contaminate the air if proper treatment is not carried out. The storage in landfills,
it can also produce various effects on air and surface and groundwater -
as fires and explosions - if there is no proper outlet for the gases that emanate and a
good collection and treatment of liquid leachate.

Solid waste is characterized by being materials that apparently no longer have value for
their owners and become a nuisance.

Classification of Solid Waste.

It is important to keep in mind that in order to develop optimal management of solid waste,
it is essential to classify them, for this, aspects such as their characteristics can be considered,
its origin and the generating source. Below are the various classifications:

1) According to the source generating or producing the waste, solid waste can
classify as:

Residential Solid Waste: The one that by its nature, composition, quantity, and volume is
generated in activities carried out in homes or in any establishment comparable to these.
Among these are the BULKY WASTE, which due to their shape, size,
Volume or weight are difficult to be collected and/or transported by collection services.
conventional.

Commercial Solid Waste: That which is generated in commercial and mercantile establishments.
such as warehouses, depots, hotels, restaurants, cafes, and marketplaces.

Institutional Solid Waste: Those generated in educational establishments,

governmental, military, prison, religious, air and land terminals, and buildings
intended for offices, among others.

Industrial Solid Waste: Those generated in activities specific to this sector, such as
result of the production processes.

Hospital Solid Waste: That which is generated in establishments such as hospitals,

clinics, health centers, clinical laboratories, and veterinary clinics.

Construction and Demolition Waste: They come from works, repairs, and other jobs
of little importance, but quite frequent. They are mainly composed of bricks,
wood, sanitary ceramics, etc.

Industrial Waste Similar to Urban: This refers to waste generated by small industries and
workshops that due to their minimal amount, the urban area of their production location and their low
toxicity is assimilated and managed along with urban issues.

2) According to their characteristics, solid waste can be classified into:

Organic: This is the case for vegetables, fruit peels or eggs, meat bones and the
chicken and fish bones, food scraps, etc. These types of waste represent the matter
First for the establishment of a composting program, ideally they should
separate from the rest of the waste materials.
 Non-organics: They are characterized by having a defined shape, like sheets of paper, packaging of
plastic, cardboard, aluminum or can, plastic or metal jars, plastic or paper bags, to name a few
a few examples, etc. They are commonly known as recyclable solid waste, and
they constitute the main objective of source separation and marketing for purposes of
recycling.

3) According to special characteristics, waste can be classified as:

They must be separated from the waste stream due to their danger to human health.
like for ecosystems in general, and finally be disposed of in high-security landfills,
incinerate, or be treated prior to burial in a landfill for non
dangerous. In almost all cases, they are not subject to recycling, but there are special cases.
like some valuable materials contained in the waste that can be recovered
to be reused, as happens with nickel, cadmium, or lead batteries.

Pathogen: one that can be a reservoir or vehicle of infection. E.g./ syringes, band-aids, paper
hygienic, sanitary towels.

Toxic: one that due to its physical and/or chemical characteristics, and depending on its
concentration and duration of exposure can cause harm to living beings and even death, or
cause environmental pollution. E.g., batteries and chemicals.

Combustible: that which burns in the presence of oxygen, by the action of a spark or any other means.
another source of ignition. E.g. thinner, gasoline.

Inflammable: one that can catch fire spontaneously under normal conditions. E.g./ adhesives,
fats and oils.

Explosive: one that generates high pressures when subjected to high temperatures or excessive agitation.
For example, aerosols, gas tanks.
 Radioactive: one that emits electromagnetic radiation at levels higher than
natural background radiation. e.g. waste from medical laboratories, clinics, and hospitals.

Volatilizable: that which, due to its vapor pressure, evaporates or volatilizes at room temperature.
For example. Some chemical reagents.

Approaches to Solid Waste Management:

Since the 1970s to the present day, the focus on waste management has varied.
radically worldwide.

The first approach to management was primarily focused on treatment and

elimination of waste. Subsequently, one becomes increasingly immersed in what has been
called the minimization of waste, that is, to prevent them from being produced in order not to
have to treat them or eliminate them. Finally, there is still a focus on minimizing
waste, establishing a hierarchy of options when managing them:

No generation of waste

Promotion of the use and recycling

Optimization of treatment and disposal.

Most Common Practices in Solid Waste Management:

Reduction: It refers to reducing the quantity (in volume and weight) of the items that enter the
municipal solid waste stream. It includes techniques that allow for the separation of the
waste can either be reused or recycled. Once the waste is concentrated, it is much easier
recover the materials that may have economic value.
 Waste Segregation: It involves separating the different waste streams.
generally at its origin.

Reuse: It is about extending the lifespan of an item by reusing it in the same or

in other applications before their final disposal.

Recycling: It consists of the physical, chemical, and/or biological transformation of materials.

contents in the waste, so that a raw material can be obtained again for the
the production of the same products or different ones. In theory, any item is recyclable; in
the practice, only those where the economic benefit exceeds the costs of its recovery. This
technique can eliminate disposal costs, reduce raw material costs and
generate income from the sale of waste. The effectiveness will depend on how it is done.
practice segregation.

Composting: It is the biological conversion of organic matter that results in a

soil improver or an organic fertilizer of excellent quality.

Incineration with Energy Recovery: It refers to high-tech incineration at very high temperatures.
temperature at which total decomposition of waste occurs, turning it into ashes and
recovering the calorific value of those for electricity generation and/or heating for the
community.

Landfill: It is a site, generally away from cities, that is chosen to

to bury solid waste, but with a technical adjustment and with proper management
controlled the type of waste that is disposed of there. It is about ensuring that the sanitary landfill receives
only those articles for which this is the only handling option for the
community.

The Composition of Urban Solid Waste:

The composition of urban solid waste is one of the first aspects to take into account.
with the aim of evaluating the technical, social, economic, and environmental feasibility to design a program
waste separation at the source, selective collection of materials and delivery to the
final processors that carry out the recycling of materials, and it essentially depends on:

The standard of living: The increase in the standard of living leads to an increase in the use of packaging and boxes.
canned goods, plastics, papers, cardboards, and tin cans; on the contrary, waste from
food, vegetables, meat scraps, fats, and ashes.

About the way of life of the population: the way of living in large apartment buildings is
very different from the old one in small houses, where all the product was cooked
personally and consumed a lot of natural vegetables.

According to the day of the week: the waste produced on working days is not the same
composition of what is produced on holidays.

Product Life Extension and the Service Economy, a Strategy for Reduction of
Waste:

The basic task is to reduce the demand for energy and materials through product design.
durable and reusable with a long lifespan. But how can they continue to be
Are manufacturing companies profitable? It is suggested that they refocus their mission on providing
from customer service (selling results, performance, and satisfaction before products) and
using their own equipment as a way to ensure this service.

In this line of thought, the products must be:

Durable and hard to damage.

Modular.
 Multi-functional.

With standardized sub-components, self-repairing and easy to fix.

The entire product is easy to repair or upgrade.

The components can be reused in new systems.

Units or systems can be easily refurbished and remanufactured.

Legislation on Solid Waste.

The national government in the pursuit of better leveraging of the potentials

institutional and the capacity of the existing agencies involved in the sector of
waste, seeks to implement a comprehensive solid waste management system defined in the
policy that allows for the achievement of the following objectives:

Minimize the amount of waste generated

Increase the utilization and consumption of generated waste to the extent that is environmentally feasible.
be tolerable and economically viable.

Improve the integrated solid waste management systems.

To understand and assess the problem of hazardous waste in the country and to establish the
Management system for them.
 The following is the relevant regulation:

Ministry of Health: Provides sanitary standards applicable to storage, presentation,

collection, transport, transfer, transformation and sanitary disposal of waste
solid waste. Distinguish between regular cleaning service and cleaning for solid waste management
special. It establishes a sanctions regime and a procedure for its application. Having
Keep in mind that our legislation has articles that contribute to optimal management.
Regarding waste, it can be highlighted that industries, when choosing the container or packaging...
of their product, they must take into account that they are made of materials that after their consumption
can be recovered, recycled, result in, or be biodegradable, and that at the same time these are promoted
activities on the label that carry their products.

For example the:

Agricultural Sector: Improper management and disposal of agricultural waste and packaging
agrochemical containers.

Manufacturing Sector: Improper handling and disposal of waste together with

household waste. Contributes 35% of the national total of solid waste (excluding agricultural)

Transport Sector: Solid waste per tire and scrap.

Domestic Sector: Improper handling and disposal of waste. Production of 18000

daily tons of solid waste. 43% of municipalities do not have final disposal.

It seems clear that one of the causes of the inadequate management of urban solid waste is the
metropolitan centers and in the rest of the municipalities of the country is due to ignorance and
lack of management planning in its handling. The management of urban solid waste
considered in our country within the provision of public utility services, implies
to plan the operation of an entire infrastructure within the territory where it is located. It is
say, land use planning must include in detail the integration of the different
management systems, utilization, and final disposal of waste. To achieve this
integration, currently the country has the 'Land Use Planning Plans', which
they require the identification and prior definition of the location of potential final disposal sites
of waste. This requirement poses a challenge to local administrations, as the lack
Finding a suitable site to build landfills is one of the most serious problems that
local governments face today.

PLASTIC SOLID WASTE.

The accumulation of solid waste is a problem that society is facing, due to the
decrease in free spaces for landfills and strong ecological pressures. Within these
Plastic waste has significant importance due to its low density.
that makes them especially visible.

The possible avenues for plastic reuse are various and of very different nature, they encompass
from its incineration, with possible energy recovery, to its transformation into products
more noble the so-called chemical recycling, such as synthesis gas, petroleum fractions or
even the starting non-numbers themselves. The selection of the most suitable procedure for the
The recycling of a certain material is neither easy nor general; aspects must be considered such as
different such as their composition, environmental legislation, grants or aid from the
government or local authorities, proximity of refineries, population density, price
of materials, virgins, etc.

Ecological Balance - Life Cycle Analysis.

These two concepts, closely linked and recently introduced, allow us to tackle
a more logical and rational way the problem posed by the waste of society
consumption and, in particular, plastics. The environmental impact of a certain good
it must be approached from a global perspective, from the moment plastic is born to when it dies,
taking into account its ecological contribution (ecobalance) throughout its entire life.

The first phase in the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a product involves defining its system.
of production, considering all the operations that comprise it enclosed in a box
hermetic that marks its limits and separates them from the environment that acts as a supplier
of all the inputs and receiver of all the outputs of the system. In the next phase, they are quantified
the flows of matter and energy along its boundaries.
The AVC is not an end in itself but a procedure that generates a series of information.
(raw material consumption, water, energy, emission of pollutants, etc.) that is
can be used for different purposes such as the selection of raw materials or processes of
optimal manufacturing for a specific product or for the selection among different ones
options for the appropriate management or recycling system for the generated waste.

This global way of analyzing the problem, compared to the previous idea of paying attention
simply the destination of waste materials, shows in many cases that plastics
are more favorable than other materials (steel, glass, paper) used for the same purposes. Thus,
for example. at Victoria University (Canada) they decided to conduct an LCA with the aim of
demonstrate the need, which is obvious from an ecological point of view, to change the cups
from polystyrene to others made of paper. The final report, to the surprise of the researchers themselves,
It showed that the production of paper cups consumed more than double its own weight.
in wood approx. 40% of the amount of oil used in the manufacturing of cups
polystyrene, 15 times more cooling water and about 170 times more process water.

Factors that affect the recycling of plastics.

The life of a plastic is not infinite. No matter how much its existence is extended through recycling.
its final destination is incineration or landfill. In some cases, only recycling.
chemical allows for a "pseudimmortality", especially in those to whom it is applicable
depolymerization with the generation of the starting monomers.

The type of treatment given to plastic waste is determined by a series of

factors of very different nature, in few technological cases, and among which one would have to
highlight the availability of land suitable for use as controlled landfills, legislation
environmental supports and subsidies from government, regional, and local authorities,
etc. Thus, while in the United States and Europe most municipal waste is
buried, in Japan, where every square meter of land is pure gold, it is favored its
incineration.

Chemical recycling, which was practically nonexistent before, has developed into a
an important form and reached for the year 2000, values close to 20% of the total. The units of
waste incineration with the generation of heat or electricity is a valuable means of exploring the
high energy content of plastics, with intermediate calorific power between oil and the
coal.

Germany and France set the pace in Europe. In Germany, the DSD (Dual System Germany)
commercial company put into service in 1991, manages the collection and sorting of waste
packaging plastics, and it was legislated that by 1995, 64% of the plastics used in this
recycling sector. In France, in its Eco-Emballages and Valorplast programs, the disposal
waste is considered an exclusive responsibility of local authorities that
they will be able to establish separate collections for products in the packaging sector.

In the automotive sector in Germany, among European countries, and from the point of view
of the legal regulations, which marks the differences. In its Directive, it was contemplated that, by 1996,
The new car models will have to use 20% plastics in their manufacturing.
recycled. By the year 2000, this percentage was 50%. In addition, it establishes a series of regulations.
basic such as:

Manufacturers and sellers, or their representatives, are required to take responsibility for the
vehicles at the end of their useful life, at no cost.

The materials from used vehicles must be recycled as quickly as possible.

possible.

The industry and merchants must acquire the necessary means to dismantle the
old vehicles and dispose of non-reusable waste.

New products must be designed with a view to their recycling.

Logistical problems are of special importance in the economy of plastic recycling.

related to the collection and transportation of waste. The ease of their separation will be
direct function the complexity in the composition of the same. This is one of the reasons for
that, continuing in the automotive sector, there tends to be less and less variety used
plastic components, although in greater quantity, in the manufacturing of vehicles. Thus, the
polypropylene, with more competitive prices and a wide range of supply varieties (homo,
cup and terpolymer, compounds, etc.) is displacing polyurethane in some applications,
ABS or PVC.

Given these circumstances, it is not surprising that, with few exceptions, companies do not address recycling.
individually and independently, but through common projects and within organizations
at a national level, or even, European.

Social pressures, through political regulations regarding the environment,

they are a decisive factor in the future of plastic recycling.

Chemical recycling of plastics.

Among the different strategies for recycling plastic materials, the treatment
the chemical of waste is gaining importance, day by day. This article analyzes a
globally, the ecological problem posed by plastic waste and the ways to
solving it, paying special attention to the existing recycling chemical processes and their
state of development, mainly in Europe.

Chemical recycling.

Among the different options for recycling plastic waste, chemical recycling is gaining ground.
day by day. These treatments lead to products such as starting monomers, gas of
synthesis and hydrocarbon currents, through the application of depolymerization processes,
gasification and other traditional refining processes, both thermal and catalytic.

2) Depolymerization.

The direct reconversion to the starting monomers of a polymer, which can thus be reused.
regenerated polymerized virgin polymer is applicable to polycondensation macromolecules,
with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyamides (nylons) and some addition polymers such as
case of polyurethanes. The success of this type of treatment depends greatly on the
availability of a well-defined raw material through a good collection system and
cleaning and the costs of polymer reprocessing.

The thermal depolymerization of polymethyl methacrylate, with yields of up to 97%, is

being widely used by most European manufacturers, such as Parachemie and
AtoHaas in Germany and France, respectively. Du Pont also commercially uses the
thermal depolymerization of polyacetal to generate formaldehyde.

Chemical depolymerization is primarily carried out through hydrolysis reactions.

alcoholysis or glycolysis. Thus, in the case of polyurethane, alcoholysis and the
glycolysis. Although in tough competition with the direct recycling of the material. Although hydrolysis
Polyethylene terephthalate can be used as a chemical recycling pathway, generating acids.
carboxylics and alcohols, manufacturers of beverages use in the production of new bottles
the chemical depolymerization based on the methanolysis of the IOET that regenerates them after the
corresponding separation and purification, its base components methyl terrectalano and
ethylene glycol. Recently [5] the IFT in collaboration with Technochim Engineering, announced
the development of a new process for the recycling of PET bottles, films, and sheets by
the saponification of the polymer and subsequent hydrolysis of the obtained salt. By 1995 it is anticipated that
commissioning in France of a unit of 30,000 tons/year.

3) Gasification.

In gasification, the partial oxidation of hydrocarbons occurs, producing synthesis gas.

(mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) that can be used as fuel for the
electricity generation, raw material for the production of methane, ammonia from alcohols
OXO or even as a reducing agent for steel production in blast furnaces. It presents the
advantage, over other chemical recycling processes, of being able to accept as feedstock
all the municipal waste stream, without the need to separately sort plastics first.

Plastic Waste.

Until a few years ago, a product that reached the end of its useful life was turned into trash. Today
we can say that a large part of the waste is reintegrated into the market economy as
resources. During the course of this century, we are witnessing extraordinary growth
world demographic: from 1.5 billion inhabitants we have reached the current 5.5 billion. This
It already implies an increase in global waste production. But at the same time, the improvement
the quality of life made each resident consume more products. And that is how the
The issue of what to do with waste began to be a cause for concern. Before, the entirety
waste was thrown in vacant lots or indiscriminately burned in open-air dumps
the conventional incinerators. As a first attempt at waste treatment, it
sanitary landfills (RS) were developed, that is, they began to be buried under conditions
controlled. But over the years it became apparent that landfills would reach
to be insufficient to accommodate the enormous flow of waste, and then thoughts began to turn to
other alternatives. And so we come to the point where today waste is no longer considered mere trash
but as a source of resources.

Urban Solid Waste (USW) is what we produce in our homes,

businesses, etc., and that are collected daily. The main sources of plastic waste
They can be divided into two large groups:

Industrial waste, known as scrap, arising from the production process of the
raw material or the transforming sector.

Household plastic waste (post-consumption). They are the ones that make up the stream of
urban solid waste in the form of milk sachets, soda bottles, mineral water,
packaging of solid foods, shampoo bottles, etc. These items are manufactured
with plastics of different nature.

Science and technology have developed, intensively, tools to address this truth.
source of resources that are Plastic Waste, since in today's world, where care
environmental and natural resources is imposed, we cannot afford to continue considering
these materials as waste, but we must see them for what they really are: resources
recoverable.

It is for this reason that for several years now and in different parts of the world, entities such as the
APC (American Plastics Council), APME (Association of Plastic Manufacturers in Europe), PPWMI
(European Centre for Plastics in the Environment) and others are working on the study and the
research on the best ways to minimize and harness plastic waste. To take
various strategies will be implemented by the end of this.
 Prevention of Plastic Waste; reduction at the source: Through the modern modality
of supply in supermarkets, packaging replaced bulk buying. In this way
The presence of containers in Solid Waste began to be noticed more and more.
Urban

The constant growth of the petrochemical industry due to the need to satisfy the
the incessant increase in the demand for plastics reflects the fact that day by day these materials
they are used more. However, their percentage in the RSUs remains relatively stable.

This is explained by the fact that the plastic industry allocates substantial investments to the
research and development of techniques that increasingly enhance what is referred to
reduction at the source; that is: the amount of raw material needed to manufacture by
for example, a container becomes smaller each time, which is possible thanks to continuous improvement of the
quality of those raw materials. Let the yogurt pot serve as a demonstration, which in the 1970s
it weighed around 6.5 g. today it weighs only 3.5 g., almost half, also offering better
mechanical and bromatological qualities as the previous one.

However, despite these advantages, some sectors criticize plastic. One of the arguments is
that being non-biodegradable hinders the process of Sanitary Landfills. The following are relevant.
investigations of the American archaeologist W. Rathje, from the University of Arizona, who
studied the waste from 14 landfills in order to understand the behavior of
American society through the decades analyzing the waste it produced; but
Moreover, when examining the waste itself, it was demonstrated that in a landfill there is nothing that is
easily biodegradable. He discovered, for example, that pieces of bread can be preserved intact
for decades in a landfill, a fact explained by the lack of moisture, oxygen, and
adequate aerobic microbial bloom.

Reutilization of plastic waste: mechanical recycling, chemical recycling,

energy recovery.

Thanks to the research by the plastic industry we were referring to, they were
emerging technologies such as mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and recovery
energy through clean incinerations.
The choice of one treatment alternative or another for a particular plastic waste is due to
to evaluate scientifically through a life cycle assessment, that is, a procedure by which
how is a product evaluated? from cradle to grave? estimating at each stage how to optimize
the resources and minimize the environmental impact. These technologies are complementing
gradually to the landfill.

The industry that revolves around the treatment of urban solid waste is gaining a
particular profile that depends on the society and culture in which it is developed.

The issue of disposables (packaging and non-packaging) involves tens of millions of dollars.
annual, in addition to relevant economic, social, environmental, labor, and health aspects
public difficult to measure in money.

These initiatives 'confuse and unnecessarily destabilize involved actors' as it is not

of course, finally who is going to pay for what.

A project on plastic waste; from containers and packaging that holds the agent accountable.
polluter and allow—like before—through a
the recovery of virtually all packaging placed on the market by any company,
since no voluntary collection campaign achieves or will achieve minimally acceptable percentages
significant recoveries. It should be remembered that until a few years ago, it was not discarded
the trash in the street, for example: a plastic or glass bottle because it existed in the
a market price for each container. And if someone threw it away, someone would quickly pick it up.

Strict controls and economic and non-economic sanctions 'that truly hurt' for
those who do not comply with the regulations on urban cleanliness. The incorporation of the
the theme of all waste generated in residential areas and on public streets;
commercial and service; agricultural, industrial, and construction; and health centers
curricular programs for primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

Permanent campaigns in all media aimed at raising awareness among the

public opinion and build cultural-environmental guidelines framed in what we have
called The Culture of the Rs (recover, reduce, reuse, recycle, etc.) in
contradiction to the Culture of Use and Throw or Disposability.

What Are Plastics?

Plastics are derived from natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, coal, and common salt.
In technical terms, the production of plastics is a process called polymerization: reaction
chemistry in which two or more small molecules combine to form another larger one in which
the structures of the primitives are repeated, leading to the polymer. Once created, the
polymeric compounds, powders, granules, pastes, etc., the treatment of the
plastics through processes such as extrusion, injection, or compression. Once completed
This moves to the manufacturing and utilization phase with the assembly into finished products, both
for consumption, as well as for industrial use.

It is generally believed that there is only one type of plastic. However, it is a whole family where
there are members as different as iron and copper among metals. For
to differentiate the various plastic raw materials, the International SPI Code has been established, which
it has awarded one of seven numbers to each of them. They are as follows:

Each of the mentioned plastic raw materials is used to manufacture specific products, and
just to give a few examples, the most common ones are mentioned:

1) PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate): Packaging for soft drinks, oils, mineral water; films
transparent; textile fibers; barrier laminates (for food products); bags for
oven; microwave trays; video and audio tapes.

2) HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene): Containers for detergents, bleach, motor oil,

shampoo, dairy products; supermarket bags; buckets for painting, ice creams, oils; pipes for
gas, telephony, drinking water; flower pots; woven bags.

3) PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride): Containers for mineral water, oils, juices, mayonnaise; profiles for
window and door frames; pipes for household and network drainage; blisters for
medications; flexible films for packaging (meats, cold cuts, vegetables); cables; toys;
catheters; bags for serum and blood.

4) LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene): Supermarket bags; films for agriculture;

ditch coating; automatic packaging of food and industrial products
(leche, agua); base para pañales descartables; bolsas para suero; contenedores herméticos
domestic; irrigation pipes.

5) PP (Polypropylene): Films for food, cigarettes, candies, clothing; woven bags

(for potatoes, cereals); industrial packaging; pipes for hot water; disposable syringes; caps
in general and for containers; upholstery fibers; carpets; battery boxes; bumpers and
autoparts.

6) PS (Polystyrene): Containers for dairy products, ice creams, sweets; various packaging: cups, trays of
supermarket and rotisserie; counter doors and refrigerator shelves; containers for cosmetics;
disposable razors; plates, cutlery, trays.

7) Others: they are special plastics, called 'engineering', grouped under this number.
also new types of plastics that respond to renewed needs (auto parts); chips,
computer cases; phones, cell phones; household appliances in general; compact discs;
nautical and sports accessories; parts for aerospace engineering; medical items,
pharmacology and cosmetology; water bottles; clothing; furniture; and a countless number of
more applications.

The Most Used Plastics.

Among the most used, High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) stands out with 14.85 kilograms per
inhabitant, Polypropylene (PP) with 14.12 kilos, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) with 14.04 kilos,
Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) with 11.48 kilograms, PET with 6.94 kilograms, and Polystyrene (PS) with
6.32 kilos.

LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene): It is one of the most widely used and is mainly used in film,
bags, both commercial and sack bags, trash bags, drums, etc. It is also a
important component of toys, household items, agriculture, parts for industry and for the
construction.

Plastics in Modern Life.

To make evident the indispensability of plastics in the quality of life of society.

actually, we could try a game (very serious), a kind of challenge; by lifting our eyes and
to stroll our gaze around any environment where we find ourselves: we will find
plastic. And if I were in the middle of the forest or on the plain or in the mountain enjoying the
nature, maybe the answer can be found in the buttons of your jacket, in your footwear or
in the same fabric that makes up the clothing that covers him.

In all sectors of various human activities, plastic appears as an ally.

irreplaceable. In the construction industry: carpets, vinyl papers, pipes; in the
industria automotriz: paragolpes, tapizado, faroles; en la industria textil: camisas, corbatas, medias
of polyester, footwear; in sports: soccer balls, volleyballs, nets, rackets; in the
inflatable pools, life jackets, boats; in medicine: surgical gloves,
masks, blisters for medications, sutures, bags for serum or blood; in the industry
food packaging: all types of containers for food and beverages. Plastic is present in the
advances in science and technology: in research (laboratory elements), in the
communications (cell phones, computers, satellites). We see it daily in the
appliances, in transportation... the list is practically infinite.

Plastics and the Environment.

Now then; all this enormous benefit that plastics provide to the quality of life of the
modern society, does it have an impact on the environment?

At its origin, the plastic industry consumes natural resources in a minimal proportion: 4%
from the oil that is extracted; almost everything else is used as fuel. And there too the
plastic is helping to preserve natural resources: being lighter it uses less
combustible in its transport, or, to put it another way, with the same amount of
flammable products can be transported more due to the lightness of their containers. We could
add that burning this way uses less fuel, less gas is released into the atmosphere,
less impact on the environment.

At the end of the plastic life cycle, once its raw material has been produced,
transformed into multiple products and served to the consumer, we find ourselves with the
plastic waste, one of the components of the Urban Solid Waste (USW) stream.
In what proportion? For example: plastics, in Western Europe and in the United States
In 1997, they accounted for 8% of the total MSW; in the Federal Capital of the Argentine Republic and its
the conurbation, in the 1995 count, was 9%. This proportion remains stable despite the fact that
it permanently increases the consumption of plastic material products: this is due to the
efforts made by the industry investing in research and development to achieve products
increasingly lighter (especially in the packaging sector, one of the most important in consumption
of plastic material) without losing its characteristics, and even improving them; this process is called
call Reduction at the Source.

That flow of waste has a value, and in recent times there is a worldwide trend.
tendency to take advantage of them. It is what is called 'valorization', which is a strategy that covers
the different possibilities for managing waste; in the case of plastics, it refers to three
main procedures: mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and clean incineration
controlled with energy recovery. This last alternative is the one being experimented with
more development given the great caloric capacity of plastics.

Mechanical recycling (which is a physical process by which post-consumer plastic or the

industrial is recovered) it may have a future as long as they succeed and become widespread
some pilot experiences that are happening in Argentina (where recycling is still
(incipient) aimed at ensuring that different components are separated in households.
garbage before it is picked up by the collection truck, as happens in some places
from Europe and the United States (separate collection). Only in this way, due to the
own characteristics of the different plastics, a recycled product can be achieved with
possibilities of being placed on the market.

Chemical recycling, consisting of different processes through which the molecules of the
polymers are cracked (broken) and reconstitute into basic raw materials.
finds itself today in an experimental stage. Its success will also depend on achieving a
understanding among the actors of the chain: petrochemical, transformers, large users,
consumers and municipalities in order to ensure that plastic waste arrives separated to the
treatment plant. Of all the valorization alternatives, perhaps none is made so to
measure of plastics such as chemical recycling, through which it can be obtained a
raw material of identical quality to virgin.

Given the intrinsic value of post-consumer plastic waste, any of these alternatives is
preferable at your disposal in a landfill. But even in this last alternative, plastics
they offer the advantage that by not being biodegradable (and thanks to which they can be packaged with
they from milk and sodas to serum or blood) do not contaminate; their condition of being inert makes
which do not produce leachate either, and therefore will not affect the groundwater table.

Regarding plastics specifically, there is a certain animosity towards them that is noticeable in
Some sectors of society may be due to the visual pollution caused by the attitude.
negligent of a high percentage of users who throw in public spaces, in squares, in the
beaches, everywhere, containers and other plastic products (and indeed also other
materials) once used. This problem is not solved by attacking or banning plastic
just informing, educating the population about it. It is the only solution that acts in various ways.
fields (legislative, institutional, teaching, etc.) carrying out outreach plans,
advising and support for education, in order to reliably inform about the
true relationship of plastic materials with the environment.

Industrials Would Feel Economic Impact from an Ecological Law. (In Uruguay)

There is consensus in the Senate Environment Committee to take action against the
pollution caused by non-returnable packaging, it was reported to Últimas Noticias. In
Uruguay is analyzing the project that prohibits the use of non-returnable containers.

The importance of the initiative has been increasing at the parliamentary level since the death of a child.
dragged by a torrent of water towards a channel where all kinds of waste were being poured.

The episode -invoked by the statement of reasons- demonstrates "the state of contamination of
drainage hydraulic system of the city -canals, streams, and collectors that pipe them-, where
the proliferation everywhere of thousands of plastic containers forms true rivers of plastic
floating". "The prohibition of non-returnable containers clashes with legitimate economic interests, in
moments of recession and high unemployment." Which is "One of the new aggressions to the environment
what has been progressing remarkably in recent years is the advancement in
"market for disposable packaging," states the statement of reasons.

The aggression occurs -it indicates- regardless of whether they are made of plastic, cardboard, metal, glass or
combinations of different materials.

The irreparable loss of a human life highlighted the shortcomings in matters of

environmental legislation suffers in our country,

However, it highlights that there is advanced legislation in Europe through packaging laws and
tax incentive systems for companies to use returnable items, in the interest of a
sustainable and sustainable development. "In that sense, the trend is to return to the use of
glass, the paper bag and its derivatives in such a way that they do not pose a threat to the
ecosystem," asserts the proposal. It is evaluated that in the country, plans such as the "Comprehensive Management
"of Plastic Packaging Waste", turned out to be "a valid effort, but, in light of the facts,"
insufficient to solve the problem.

The incorrect treatment of non-biodegradable waste, especially plastic waste,

represents a heavy inheritance that future generations will receive," state the
legislators. The time that must necessarily elapse for the destruction of the waste
Plastic lasts for 400 years.

As there is no legislation that encourages or discourages certain packaging and its recovery for reuse.
and recycling, companies choose packaging that is suitable for their product and is the cheapest for them
they assert.

As a result, lawmakers appreciate that companies are transferring costs.

economic, social, environmental, and health impacts on society. "These events are compounded by the closure
from Cristalerías del Uruguay that leaves the market open to all types of plastic containers, not
there are ovens in Montevideo for working with glass," they establish.

Marginalization, a product of a growing socio-economic problem, is another factor

aggravating factor for the final control of plastic waste and containers," concludes the presentation of
reasons.
 NON-DEGRADABLE PLASTICS.

Most plastics are non-biodegradable materials, they do not decompose.

natural by the action of agents of nature (fungi, bacteria, sunlight, etc.) and
remain in the environment for a long time forming part of the pollutants that
produce civilization.

[Link]

The packaging and wrapping sector.

Plastic packaging and containers are a factor of development and progress as they are
light, assuming a savings in raw materials and fuel in the transportation of products
packaged and therefore a decrease in atmospheric pollution; furthermore, they are recyclable
and represent an alternative energy source equivalent to that of other fuels. In
In Europe, mainly in the countries of the Union, 50% of food is packaged in plastics, if
this amount only represents between 10 and 15% by weight of the total waste from
household containers. Many of these containers can be reused, as they have a long lifespan.
useful life; as is the case with bottle cases, bags, etc. Containers are durable and
practically unbreakable, thus reducing possible domestic accidents. On the other hand, they are
very versatile in their shapes, capable of forming in rigid or flexible containers, with walls
thick or thin, taking on the most varied forms that ensure maximum protection with the
minimum amount of material, being hygienic and safe, helping to avoid contamination by
germs in packaged foods.

[Link]

The medical sector.

Life expectancy and its better quality are largely due to the use of
Plastics. People enjoy a better quality of life thanks to a manufactured pacemaker.
about plastic, according to data provided by the National Cardiology Association. In addition, other
products in the healthcare sector have plastic as their main component. Syringes,
contact lenses, prosthetics, capsules, pharmaceutical product containers, blood bags and serum,
gloves, filters for hemodialysis, valves, band-aids, glasses, and even the conditioning of each
One of the rooms in a hospital is constructed with plastic materials.

What is Waste?

It is understood as all solid or semi-solid waste of animal or vegetable origin, subject to putrefaction,
originating from the handling, preparation, and consumption of food.

What is a Waste?

Waste is understood to be any defective, useless, or disabled product that its holder
destined for abandonment or from which one wants to detach.

DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION.

Citizenship has not yet reached a minimum level of awareness about this.
deterioration.

Concern for the environment is not related to exotic values, it is more transcendent than
observe the life of plants and animals. The will to protect the environment does not obey
to the desire to keep the world as a great national park, but to its function for the
human survival.

Dennis L. Meadows: Is It Questioning?

What would happen if world population growth continued unchecked? What would be the
Environmental consequences if economic development continues at its current pace? It reaches
the following conclusions:
If the current trends of growth in the world population, industrialization,
pollution, food production, and exploitation of resources continue unchanged,
the limits of growth on our planet will be reached at some point within the
next hundred years. The most likely outcome will be a sudden and uncontrollable decline of both
the population as well as the industrial capacity.

It is possible to alter these growth trends and establish conditions of stability.

economic and ecological capable of being sustained in the future. The state of global equilibrium can
to be designed in such a way that the basic material needs of every person on earth
be satisfied and that each person, woman or man, has equal opportunities to
realize their individual human potential.

If the world's population decided to head in this second direction and not in the first,
The sooner you start efforts to achieve it, the greater your chances of success.

Twenty years later, those conclusions must be reinforced as follows:

The human use of many essential resources and the generation of many types of
pollutants have already surpassed rates that are physically sustainable. Without reductions
significant changes in the flows of materials and energy, there will be in the coming decades a
uncontrollable decrease per capita in food production, energy use and
industrial production.

This decrease is not inevitable. To avoid it, two changes are necessary: the first is a
global review of the policies and practices that perpetuate the growth of material consumption and
the population. The second is a rapid and drastic increase in the efficiency with which they are used
the materials and the energy.

A sustainable society is still technically and economically possible. It could be much more
desirable that a society that tries to solve its problems through constant expansion.
transition towards a sustainable society requires a careful balance between long-term objectives
long term and short term, with a greater emphasis on sufficiency, equity, and quality of life than on
Quantity of production. It demands more than productivity and more than technology; it requires
also maturity, compassion, and wisdom.

For a pollutant, the sustainable emission rate cannot exceed the rate at which
the contaminating element can be recycled, absorbed or sterilized by the environment.

According to reliable data, we believe that: Human society is using resources and
producing waste at unsustainable rates.

These excessive rates are not necessary; technical, institutional, and distribution changes,
they could greatly reduce them while maintaining or even improving the quality of life of the
world population.

But, even with much more efficient institutions and technologies, the limits to capacity of the
land to support the population and capital are close, probably at a distance not
greater than the time for a duplication by two.

As MIT economist Lester Thurow has said, 'If the world's population had the
productivity of the Swiss, the consumption habits of the Chinese, the egalitarian instinct of the
Swedes and the social discipline of the Japanese, then the planet could support many times its
actual population without deprivations for anyone. But on the other hand, if the world population had the
productivity of Chad, the consumption habits of the United States, anti-egalitarian instincts
from India and the social discipline of Argentina, then the planet could not endure anything that
bring closer to its current figures.

The dynamics of growth in a finite world.

The people who are getting richer demand more industrial products, more energy, and more
clean air, poor people struggle for clean water, land to cultivate, and firewood to burn.
In the world, population stocks, pollution, and cultivated lands are modified due to
flows such as: births, deaths, investment, depreciation, generation of pollution,
assimilation of pollution.

The population is increasing and it results in the loss of arable land and a high
degree of urbanization.

We understand demographic explosion as the rapid growth that results in

the birth of tens of human settlements. Chiclayo was not prepared to receive
a population of 240,000 inhabitants and a floating population of 80,000 inhabitants, totaling
320,000 inhabitants. This allowed for growth in a disorganized manner, without being able to provide them
Basic services such as: water and drainage. Well, as the population increased, so did the
organic waste (garbage and excreta) and they only thought of throwing it in the immediate surroundings of
their houses, and so they did and continue to do so.

The consequences are visible, the water contains a large number of harmful agents for health.
The irrigation ditch, for example, was a source of recreation years ago. Today it is just a watercourse.
feces and garbage.

Bibliography

BERNALES BALLESTEROS, Enrique. "The Constitution of 1993" (comparative analysis) 5th edition Publisher
R.A.O.S.R.L, Lima Peru, September 19919

Legal Gazette: 'Jurisprudential Notebooks' (Environmental Law), Year 2, Number 21, Lima Peru
March 2003.

VILLAVICENCIO TERREROS, Felipe: Penal Code 32nd Edition.

Author:

Felicita Diaz Vargas