| Rank |
Economy |
Percentage Recycled |
| Source reduction |
Volume of solid waste reduced: less packaging, fewer
disposable products, more in-plant recycling. |
As income rises, tendency is to
increase volume of solid waste. Best to reduce industrial waste at source. |
| Uncontrolled dumping |
Waste is dumped at a designated site without any environmental
control measures |
High risks; serious environmental problems, but
occurs in many countries, legally or illegally. |
| Sanitary landfilling |
Controlled application of waste on land. |
Low-cost and low-technology solution
when land available. Risks in certain circumstances, e.g., to water
supply. |
| Composting |
Biological decomposition of organic
matter in waste under controlled conditions. |
Needs correct proportion of
bio-degradable material in waste. May be expensive where no market for compost.
Large decentralised schemes claimed to be unsuccessful. |
| Multi-material recycling |
Complements composting Design products for ready recycling/reuse,
sorting by consumers and pick-up by types of materials. |
Recycling and reuse already occurs in
many countries as a matter of economic necessity. |
| Incineration |
Controlled burning of waste at high temperatures to reduce its
volume; possibility to gain energy from combustion. |
High capital cost; requires skilled
operation and control. Waste must have high calorific value. Advantage if land
not available for landfill. |
| Gasification |
Biological decomposition of organic matter in waste under
controlled conditions to obtain methane and other gases. |
High cost and technologically
complicated. |
| Refuse derived fuel |
Separation of combustible materials
from solid waste to be used for fuel purposes. |
Assumes combustible material not separated out.
Costs and operational issues not widely known for large-scale operations. |
| Pyrolysis |
High temperature conversion of organic
material in absence of oxygen to obtain combustible by-products. |
Capital intensive with high running
costs, and technically complex. |
