Zero Waste versus Landfilling

Nowadays, zero waste and land filling are among the two waste disposal methods that can be adopted by any country to deal with the problem of increasing rubbish produced. Under the zero waste premise, all the goods available for sale from now on will be made from materials that can be easily repaired, reused or recycled (Collins, 2002). Any materials that are difficult or costly to be recycled will be designed out of the system and no longer be used. However, under the land filling policy, all the rubbish will be disposed into pits that are specially designed for the purpose of waste disposal. All the waste will then be buried by sand or soil and allowed to degrade biologically.

Another difference between zero waste and the land filling method is that the land filling method might cause land pollution. This is because the rotted organic waste that makes up the bulk of rubbish may leak from landfills and diffuses into underground water reservoirs. In contrast, zero waste method will cause only minor environmental problems as it urges all the materials that will probably cause pollution to be excluded from the system. Under the zero waste premise, all the items would no longer become pollutants after they are disposed. To sum up, zero waste disposal scheme is more suitable to be carried out in Malaysia as it will reduce the land wastage and it incurs less pollution.


Reference:

1. Collins, J. (2002, Oct 3rd). Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up. The Guardian Weekly. p.25.