ABSTRACT
This chapter is about waste generation and its management, with mismanagement of waste constituting a hazard to human and ecological health. Moreover, as an alarming human and ecological health portent, the World Bank forecasts that global waste is on pace to triple by the year 2100. The gist of the chapter is about the various forms of solid and hazardous waste and the impact on human and ecological health. This chapter discusses plastics waste, food waste, electronics waste, municipal waste, and abandoned hazardous waste sites. Particular attention is given to the global challenge of plastics waste to marine life. Domestic and international policies purposed for waste management and remediation, including recycling, are discussed, with emphasis given to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
