Identify a sustainability issue in a school of your locality; then do these tasks

a). Examine its negative and positive impacts to the environment,

economy and social wellbeing of the students and the school community.

b). Propose creative options for it.

c). Assess the options above in terms of positive and negative

impacts to the economy, environment and social wellbeing of the students
as well as the school community.
Introduction

The importance of sustainability now goes far beyond environmental issues, as the need to
behave responsibly becomes a key aspect of strategy and operations, maintaining brand and
reputation and seeking good growth. And that’s true irrespective of the sector in which a
company operates. This paper identifies a sustainability issue in a school of my locality; and
examines its negative and positive impacts to the environment, economy and social
wellbeing of the students and the school community. It also proposes creative options for it,
and assesses the options above in terms of positive and negative impacts to the economy,
environment and social wellbeing of the students as well as the school community.

Defining sustainability issues

A Sustainability issue refers to a socio-ecological process characterized by the pursuit of a

common ideal. An ideal is by definition unattainable in a given time/space but endlessly
approachable and it is this endless pursuit what builds in sustainability in the process.
Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival of humans and other
organisms. Ways of reducing negative human impact are environmentally-friendly chemical
engineering, environmental resources management and environmental protection

The sustainability issue in a school in my locality is Waste production and minimization

around Nkumba University. The university produces a lot of waste ranging from paper to
plastics.

The Problem
Waste can be regarded as a human concept as there appears to be no such thing as waste in
nature. The waste products created by a natural process or organism quickly become the
raw products used by other processes and organisms.

The presence of waste is an indication of overconsumption and that materials are not being
used efficiently. This is carelessly reducing the Earths capacity to supply new raw materials
in the future. The capacity of the natural environment to absorb and process these materials
is also under stress. Valuable resources in the form of matter and energy are lost during
waste disposal, requiring that a greater burden be placed on ecosystems to provide these.
The main problem is the sheer volume of waste being produced and how we deal with it.

The types of waste the University produces, its transportation, and disposing of it all create
environmental impacts.

Waste is a potential resource and organizations should aim to reduce, reuse, recycling,
compost and recover energy from it, in that order, following the waste management
hierarchy.

The impacts to the environment, economy and social wellbeing of the students

Impact to wellbeing of students

Waste production and minimization contributes to Resource optimization: Minimising the

amount of waste produced by the school or individuals goes hand-in-hand with optimizing
their use of raw materials. For example, the students of the School of Commercial industrial
Art and Design may arrange pattern pieces on a length of fabric in a particular way to enable
the garment to be cut out from the smallest area of fabric.

Impact to the environment

Negative
Man-made systems for waste minimization which emphasize the economic value of
materials and energy, and where production and consumption are the dominant economic
activities tend to be highly destructive of the environment as they require massive
consumption of natural capital and energy, return the end product (waste) to the
environment in a form that damages the environment and require more natural capital be
consumed in order to feed the system. Where resources and space are finite (the Earth is not
getting any bigger) this is ultimately not sustainable.
Disposing of waste has huge environmental impacts and can cause serious problems. Some
waste will eventually rot, but not all, and in the process it may smell or generate methane
gas, which is explosive and contributes to the greenhouse effect. Leachate produced as waste
decomposes may cause pollution. Badly-managed landfill sites may attract vermin or cause
litter.

Incinerating waste also causes problems, because plastics tend to produce toxic substances,
such as dioxins, when they are burnt. Gases from incineration may cause air pollution and
contribute to acid rain, while the ash from incinerators may contain heavy metals and other
toxins.

Throwing away things wastes resources. It wastes the raw materials and energy used in
making the items and it wastes money.

Judicious and Sustainable use of Resources: waste minimization promotes judicial and
sustainable use of resources. This process ensures that there is no discriminate use of any
material when available in plenty in the present. Minimization of waste is encouraged at all
levels, starting from school to corporate offices and at international levels. This means we
can preserve all precious resources for our future generation, without any compromise in
the present.

Conserves Natural Resources: If old and used materials are not recycled, the new products
are made from extracting fresh raw materials from beneath the earth through mining and
extraction. Recycling helps in conserving important raw materials and protects natural
habitats for the future. Conserving natural resources such as wood, water and minerals
ensures its optimum use.

Positive

Burning waste can generate energy and there are operational schemes.

Reducing waste means less environmental impact, less resources and energy used and saves
money.

Impact to the economy

Positive

Reuse of scrap material: Scraps can be immediately re-incorporated at the beginning of the
manufacturing line so that they do not become a waste product. Many industries routinely
do this; for example, paper mills return any damaged rolls to the beginning of the production
line, and in the manufacture of plastic items, off-cuts and scrap are re-incorporated into new
products.

Improved quality control and process monitoring

Steps can be taken to ensure that the number of reject batches is kept to a minimum. This is
achieved by increasing the frequency of inspection and the number of points of inspection.
For example, installing automated continuous monitoring equipment can help to identify
production problems at an early stage.

Waste exchanges

This is where the waste product of one process becomes the raw material for a second
process. Waste exchanges represent another way of reducing waste disposal volumes for
waste that cannot be eliminated.

Creative options for waste management

Incineration

Incineration is a disposal method in which solid organic wastes are subjected to combustion
so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. This method is useful for disposal
of residue of both solid waste management and solid residue from waste water management.
This process reduces the volumes of solid waste to 20 to 30 percent of the original volume.
Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are sometimes described
as "thermal treatment". Incinerators convert waste materials into heat, gas, steam, and ash.

Recycling

Recycling is a resource recovery practice that refers to the collection and reuse of waste
materials such as empty beverage containers. The materials from which the items are made
can be reprocessed into new products. Material for recycling may be collected separately
from general waste using dedicated bins and collection vehicles, a procedure called kerbside
collection. In some communities, the owner of the waste is required to separate the materials
into different bins (e.g. for paper, plastics, metals) prior to its collection. In other
communities, all recyclable materials are placed in a single bin for collection, and the sorting
is handled later at a central facility. The latter method is known as "single-stream recycling.

Re-use

Recoverable materials that are organic in nature, such as plant material, food scraps, and
paper products, can be recovered through composting and digestion processes to
decompose the organic matter. The resulting organic material is then recycled as mulch or
compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. In addition, waste gas from the process
(such as methane) can be captured and used for generating electricity and heat
(CHP/cogeneration) maximising efficiencies.

Assessment of the options above in terms of positive and negative

impacts to the economy, environment and social wellbeing of the students
as well as the school community

All products and services have environmental impacts, from the extraction of raw materials
for production to manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. Following the waste hierarchy
will generally lead to the most resource-efficient and environmentally sound choice but in
some cases refining decisions within the hierarchy or departing from it can lead to better
environmental outcomes.

Life cycle thinking and assessment can be used to support decision-making in the area of
waste management and to identify the best environmental options. It can help policy makers
understand the benefits and trade-offs they have to face when making decisions on waste
management strategies.

Positive
Life-cycle assessment provides a scientifically sound approach to ensure that the best
outcome for the environment can be identified and put in place.

It involves looking at all stages of a product’s life to find where improvements can be made
to reduce environmental impacts and improve the use or reuse of resources.

A key goal is to avoid actions that shift negative impacts from one stage to another. Life cycle
thinking can be applied to the five stages of the waste management hierarchy.

For example, life-cycle analysis has shown, that it is often better for the environment to
replace an old washing machine, despite the waste generated, than to continue to use an
older machine which is less energy efficient. This is because a washing machine’s greatest
environmental impact is during its use phase. Buying an energy-efficient machine and using
low- temperature detergent reduce environmental impacts.[5]

Negative

The actions to deal with waste along are sometimes incompatible with other environmental
initiatives.

To the economy

The options are not always Cost Effective: sometimes, there may be a need to establish
separate factories to process reusable products. This may create more pollution as they
would go under the process of cleaning, storage and transportation.

High Initial Cost: Setting up new recycling unit involves high cost. This huge cost can come
up as a part of acquiring different utility vehicles, upgrading the processing facility, educating
residents by organizing seminars and other programs, disposing of existing waste and
chemicals etc.

To the students
Recycled Products May not Last for Long: Recycled products are always not of durable
quality. Such items are mostly made of trashed waste, picked up from heaps other waste
products which are of fragile or overly used. For this reason, recycled products are cheap
and last for a shorter period.

Unsafe and Unhygienic Recycling Sites: Recycling sites are often unsafe and unhygienic.
Places where all sorts of waste is dumped are conducive for debris formation and spread of
disease and other dangers caused by harmful chemicals and waste. This not only causes
widespread pollution but is harmful for dedicated people who recycle such products. Such
waste if mixed with water, leads to leach ate formation and leads to toxification of water
bodies including drinking water.

Not widespread on Large Scale: Although recycling is an important step to minimize

pollution, unfortunately this process is just a small part of long-term success. Recycling often
occurs at a small scale- homes or schools and has failed to be useful at a large level such as
at industries or holistically at a global stage. Saving paper at schools cannot be compared to
oil spills or massive tree felling at at industrial level.

Conclusion

After weighing, the pros and cons of recycling, one can wisely take crucial steps involved in
this process. Understanding the impact of recycling is essential on a large-scale which if done
effectively can bring in massive positive results, beneficial to mutual existence of human
beings and environment.

References

Davidson, G. (2011). "Waste Management Practices". Retrieved from

http://www.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sustainability/Waste%20Manag
ement%20Literature%20Review%20Final%20June%202011%20(1.49%20MB).p
df. External link in |publisher= (help);
United Nations Environmental Programme (2013). "Guidelines for National Waste
Management Strategies Moving from Challenges to Opportunities." (PDF). ISBN
978-92-807-3333-4.