Physical treatment technologies often provide the initial and most efficient form of treatment, but do not actually transform or destroy the waste. Physical treatment processes often rely on natural forces to do the work.
Recycling industrial materials that would otherwise require treatment or landfilling is known as resource recovery and is part of an emerging area of pollution prevention. Some wastes are converted directly into useful energy in municipal waste-to-...
In the past, when the waste load was light, nature's ways of purifying itself were sufficient. However, the amount of waste generated by contemporary society has overburdened these restorative powers. As a result, regulations now control the quant...
Patagonia and Esprit have been pioneers in a growing category of companies that have successfully integrated social responsibility with profit. Both companies have prospered in the fiercely competitive garment industry, where consumers have become m...
Because productivity tends to be a national issue, there's an ongoing debate about what role government should play. Clearly, government policies in areas such as interest rates, taxation, capital investment and tariffs have a major impact on produc...
Much of the change that has occurred in many cities over the past century has come about as a result of the interplay among three factors: population shifts, the environment, and urbanization.
Since ancient times, the burning of waste has been a common practice. Unfortunately, incineration as generally practiced created serious environmental problems. Today, however, thermal treatment technology has demonstrated its ability to reduce bo...
In the Kraft process, making pulp begins by conveying wood chips of uniform size into a vessel called a digester. Once the pulp-making process is complete, the pulp is transformed into paper. However, not all mills make both pulp and paper at one ...
From pulping, to bleaching, to forming sheets on the paper machine, papermaking creates air emissions, water emissions--or effluent--as well as solid waste. However, the environmental impacts of the process are mitigated by a variety of treatment m...
Environmental management within the dairy industry has changed dramatically in recent years. It's shifted from a reactive to a very pro-active approach, in which the creamery attempts to reduce, reuse and recycle various waste streams, thus minimiz...