The ugly side of industrial revolution was that it brought a waste culture to the civilization along with it. The population of the urban areas increased rapidly when people started migrating from rural areas to cities in search of education, jobs and better living standards. Accordingly, fast life of the cities demanded people to trivialize things to keep pace with the time and times. They developed a culture of discarding things without giving a second thought to it. The brimming population and wasteful nature of the citizens turned cities into mountains of garbage.
Waste management became an uphill task for every civic authority. Initially, this was managed by hauling the trash to nearby barren fields. While urban areas expanded rapidly, these fields reached the door steps of one’s home and this in turn invited the wrath of the public. The hunt for new dump yards became never an ending problem for the civic authorities.
In 2007, China generated about seven billion tons of garbage and is expected to grow at the rate of 8 to 10% every year. The garbage story of other countries is not different from that of China. But the latest inventions in this front, in fact has opened up incredible avenues of business opportunities. The bane of civic authorities has transformed into a boon to the waste management companies in the market.
Generating energy through the landfills is the latest entrant in waste management projects. It is estimated that landfills are the source of 12% of global methane emissions. There are about 1000 projects around the world devoted to produce saleable gas. Veolia Environmental Services of France has entered into a 30 year contract, valued at $205.7 million to build, operate and transfer its first ever household waste storage center in China. Bayerische Motoren Werke, the German automaker is currently using electricity generated through landfills to power its US manufacturing plants. The US waste management companies like Allied Waste Industries, Waste Management, Waste industries and Republic services have consolidated their positions in this field by their marked expertise.
Gone are the days where the waste management companies’ job is just to haul the trash away from the city. Waste management business has turn out to be lucrative one which supports the environment with its innovative technology. Today trash is cash and there will be a day, when the civic authorities start charging for the same to the companies engaged in this business.