In general, the amount of generated household hazardous waste in European countries, Canada, Greenland, India, Japan, Pakistan. And the United States increased from 0,4 to 7,9 kilograms per person annually (Lim-Wavde & Kauffman, n.d.). The major part of the global household hazardous waste stream is electronic waste, as mobile phones became highly affordable.
In the UAE, the management of hazardous waste is constantly developing, while the community members’ level of awareness of waste management is considerably low. According to the research conducted by Al Sha’rawy, et al. (2019), almost 60% of participants reported that “they do not take any precautions when disposing of hazardous products and they just throw them in the general waste” (p. 746). Almost 70% of municipal solid waste, along with hazardous waste, is disposed of in landfills (Al Sha’rawy, et al., 2019).
In the Czech Republic, household hazardous waste comprises 2,047% of the municipal solid waste’s general stream (Adamcová, et al., 2016). Hazardous substances traditionally include paints, mercury-containing waste, vehicle maintenance products, batteries, and pharmaceuticals. As 70% of solid waste is disposed of in landfills, these substances are poorly controlled – they are not collected separately and recycled (Adamcová, et al., 2016).
In China, the rate of household hazardous waste generation has recently been more than 6g per person daily that has accounted for 2,23% of the total household solid waste stream (Gu, et al., 2014). The main categories of hazardous waste include home cleaning products, medicines, and personal care products (Gu, et al., 2014). Single-use products, containers, and packaging accounted for 80% of the total household hazardous waste generation (Gu, et al., 2014).
In Mexico, the rates of household hazardous waste generation considerably vary across the country. In the central region, household hazardous waste totals 1,03% of general municipal solid waste, and it is predominantly represented by cleaning products, self-care products, and insecticides (Delgado, et al., 2007). At the same time, in the country’s northern region, the household hazardous waste’s generation comprises 3,7% of the general municipal solid waste stream with the largest categories of home care products, cleaning products, electronic equipment, and batteries (Delgado, et al., 2007).
References
Adamcová, D., Vaverková, M. D., Stejskal, B., & Břoušková, E. (2016). Household solid waste composition focusing on hazardous waste. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 25(2), 487-493. Web.
Al Sha’rawy, M., Abdin, S., Kourbaj, L., Kamal. L., Abdelkarem> A. R., Ibrahim, R., & Sharif, S. I. (2019). Knowledge, attitude and practice of in-home medication disposal in U.A.E.International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 8(4), 746-751. Web.
Delgado, O. B., Ojeda-BenĂtez, S., & Márquez-Benavides, L. (2007). Comparative analysis of hazardous household waste in two Mexican regions. Waste Management, 27(6), 792-801.
Gu, B., Zhu, W., Wang, H., Zhang, R., Liu, M., Chen, Y., Wu, Y., Yang, X., He, S., Cheng, R., Yang, J., & Bi, J. (2014). Household hazardous waste quantification, characterization and management in China’s cities: A case study of Suzhou. Waste Management, 34(11), 2414-2423.
Lim-Wavde, K., & Kauffman, R. J. (n.d.). Global garbage cans: Towards better household waste management in developing countries in Asia[PDF document]. Web.