A systems approach to waste

The need to control environmental impacts is currently a key objective in the management of industrial activities. The same applies to local authorities, who are responsible for the environmental consequences of the many activities associated with urban life.

This constraint is mainly the result of developments in production and consumption activities:

• strong quantitative increase in production;

• Qualitative diversification with the development of synthetic materials and increasingly complex and short-lived products;

• public awareness of ecological and health risks, and of the need for hygiene and safety.

Controlling environmental impact is governed by a large arsenal of regulations and requires considerable technical resources. As a result, it plays a significant role in the economy of industrial activities.

Before addressing the technical aspects of impact control, it is useful to remember that these impacts can be grouped into three categories:

• the gradual depletion of natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable: fossil fuels, metals, forests... ;

• ecological disorders: physical environments (water, air, soil) and living environments (animals, plants) are severely disrupted, resulting in numerous negative effects ranging from the loss of biodiversity to climate change, deforestation and various forms of urban and agricultural pollution;

• the dispersion of toxic and/or ecotoxic substances: these substances are directly or indirectly responsible for proven risks to human health.

Over the last few decades, the search for solutions has mobilized a great deal of scientific and technical activity, giving rise to the eco-industry sector. This sector now occupies a very significant place in the industrial landscape. It ranges from design offices to multinationals, and includes a strong contingent of SMEs covering a broad spectrum of specialties. Last but not least, a growing number of traditional companies and local authorities are looking for specialists who can define and steer their in-house environmental management strategies and actions.

From a technological standpoint, the main sectors involved in controlling environmental impact are energy savings, water purification, treatment of gaseous effluents and waste management, the latter being the focus of this article.

Before dealing with it as exhaustively as possible in this section and on the Industrial Waste CD-Rom, we will present a systemic approach to give coherence...