Green Engineering and Sustainable Design Aspects of Waste Management
Traditionally, addressing wastes has often been a matter of reacting to problems as they arose individually in a situationally dependent way. However, the processes that lead to waste can be viewed much more proactively and systematically, with the focus now being on prevention. Engineers and other waste managers have begun to embrace waste minimization, pollution prevention, and other systematic approach, albeit incrementally. Green design and sustainable approaches to waste apply scientific principles to develop objective-oriented, function-based processes. They consider every element of a product's life cycle in a way that mutually benefits the client, the public, and the environment. Waste products can decrease in volume and mass as green designs replace traditional methods of manufacturing, use, and disposal. Wastes must be managed (and, ideally, avoided) by means of applying the laws of science. The better the designer understands these principles, the more likely that the products demanded by society can be produced and used predictably and sustainably. Therefore, strategic use of physical science laws must inform designs and engineering decisions, and forms the crux of green engineering and sustainable aspects of waste management. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
