• Introduction
• What is this book about?
• Challenging the GDP
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Currently used indicators
• The chosen components
• The Index of Sustainability
• Challenging the GDP - Conclusion
• Waste management - an important issue of modern life
• Abstract
• Waste Management - An Introduction
• Waste Management and Sustainable Development
• Waste Management Policies - Developed and developing countries
• Electronic Waste
• Conclusion on waste management governance & policies
• TheCityFarm - Prototype of a real green and sustainable business
• Abstract
• Company Creation
• History of Aquaponics
• Product Description
• Green Product Portfolio
• Marketing of CityFarm
• CityFarm Complex
• Human Resources
• Distribution Channels
• Suppliers
• Conclusion
• Freiburg and Dontang - Eco-city approaches
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Example of Dongtan, China
• Example of Freiburg, Germany
• Creating ecological cities vs. adapting existing ones
• Ecological Cities Conclusion
• Course Description
• Short Course Description
• Schedule
• Assessment
• Participants
• References
• Book Glossary
• Video-clip references
• Authors

Abstract

Waste Management - an important issue of modern life

Waste is a serious, everyday environmental problem but also an unnoticed part of our lives. Mismanagement of waste can have harmful effects on the environment and on human health. In fact, it has become one of the environmental challenges of the 21th century. Waste management is a key component of environmental protection and resource conservation. There are a number of pressures driving changes in waste management, the most significant of which is legislation and policy. There is an increased focus on regulation, policy, research and development of products. In this paper, we research into the current policy context of both developed and developing countries to examine the effectiveness of policy making and implementation. We concentrate particularly on electrical and electronic wastes, which has received increasing attention in recent years due to its rapidly growth in a world where electronic devices form an indispensable part of modern life.

Our findings reveal remarkable similarities in waste management policies between developed and developing worlds, with the latter group catching up with the former. Comparing policies is a difficult task, as policies following the same directions may vary greatly. Although many similar principles have been identified, there are possibilities that one law is more effective than another. To have a better insight into how particular policies are being used for environmental regulations, we investigate the case of electronic waste. We go further into depth in the policies of three areas: The EU, India and China. We shortly describe the content of the policies and then assess their impact and potential upgrading possibilities in the future. In the end of the project we provide our final insights into the matter in the form of a conclusion.

Authors:

Körfgen, Dorothea (Germany), Lenen, Aurore (France), Mahmood, Khalid (Germany), Phuong, Ky Anh (Vietnam/Singapore), Pitkänen, Outi (Finland), Raya, Natalia (Mexico).