Problem
Waste of resources
Experimental visualization of narrower problems
Other Names:
Unproductive use of resourcesUncontrolled waste
Unrecycled waste
Resource wastage
Nature:
In a society in which a high standard of living demands particularly rapid consumption of new goods, many perfectly usable goods may be scrapped or goods may be made with a built-in obsolescence. The materials consumed in this kind of production are unlikely to be recovered in full, and are often not even partially salvaged; pollution is created by this overproduction of factory waste, scrap, and refuse, but fast profit-making industries tend to be less concerned with anti-pollution precautions. As machinery is developed to replace manpower (since it can produce more at a faster rate), so human resources are also wasted. The democratic capitalist ideal of providing universal education also wastes resources, by educating technicians or professionals for whom there may be no work either currently or in the future.
Broader Problems:
Misuse of resourcesWorldwide misallocation of resources Narrower Problems:
Unused landWaste watersSolid wastesFood wastageDumping radioactive substancesLiquid wastesHazardous wastesWasteful industriesGaseous air pollutantsChemical industry wastesIndustrial air emissionsInadequate waste treatmentResource-intensive packagingInefficient use of resourcesSocial costs of substance abuseWaste of non-renewable resourcesUnderutilized agricultural wastesDumping of consumer waste productsUnproductive subsistence agricultureNon-destructible containers and packagingSeepage water losses from irrigation systemsWaste of resources invested in obsolete armamentsExcessive governmental spending Excessive use of resources on expensive medical techniques Related Problems:
Underemployment Aggravates:
PollutionResource depletionUninvestigated resource useProhibitive cost of basic servicesIndiscriminate economic development Strategies:
Reducing wasteRecycling industrial wastesRecycling building materialsRecycling oilsRecycling glassExtending producer responsibilityDeveloping new recycling technologiesDesigning products for recyclabilityMarketing compostMaximizing waste reuseCreating domestic waste recycling schemesMaximizing use of local natural resourcesPlanning development of natural resourcesImproving hazardous waste managementManaging resourcesRecycling materialsEncouraging wasteIncreasing productivity of resourcesRecycling metals References:
Spooner, Henry J and Lord Leverhulme: Wealth from Waste: Elimination of waste, a world problemYoung, John E: Discarding the Throwaway Society Subject(s):
Cybernetics → ControlEconomics → Productivity
Economics → Resource utilization
Resources → Resources
Societal Problems → Waste
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
B: Basic universal problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST