The Encyclopedia
of World Problems
& Human Potential

Organic wastes

Visualization of narrower problems

Name(s):

Damage by degradable organic matter

Oxygen depleting wastes

Oxygen consuming processes

BOD

COD

Oxygen demanding matter

Nature

Organic wastes, improperly disposed, cause problems of oxygen depletion, pollution and foul smells.

Background

The breakdown and decay of living material requires oxygen. The amount of oxygen consumed by a given amount and type of organic material when broken down in nature is know as its biological oxygen demand (BOD). Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is the even greater amount of oxygen that would be needed to completely oxidize the material in a laboratory. Both indices are used as measures of the organic content of waters.

Claim

Organic wastes are being widely used as a fuel in many parts of the world instead of being returned to the soil.

Broader

Biological pollutants

Impurities in waste water

Environmental hazards from paper and printing industries

Narrower

Waste paper

Food wastage

Aquatic weeds

Sewage as a pollutant

Untreated animal excreta

Suspended matter in water

Inadequate disposal of bodies

Effluents from animal husbandry

Inproper disposal of food wastes

Methane gas emissions from landfill sites

Aggravates

Food poisoning

Eutrophication ^{[in 6 loops]}

Water pollution ^{[in 4 loops]}

Pathogenic organisms

Marine oxygen deficiency

Destruction of environmental oxygen

Accumulation of pollutants in freshwater wildlife

Aggravated by

Animal deaths

Insufficient composting

Chemical industry wastes

Underuse of refuse-derived fuel

Misuse of excrement as fertilizer

Industrial waste water pollutants

Underutilized agricultural wastes

Inadequate domestic refuse disposal

Water pollution from fish production

Inadequate disposal of hospital waste

Inadequate disposal of slaughterhouse wastes

Inadequate disposal of female sanitary protection

Reduced by

Unused livestock waste

Loss of micro-organic proteins

Strategy(ies)

Recycling agricultural waste

Decomposing organic materials

Managing organic wastes

Improving hazardous waste management

Reducing amount of organic wastes

Value(s)

Damage

Nondegradable

Wastage

Type

(D) Detailed problems

About the Encyclopedia

The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential is a unique, experimental research work of the Union of International Associations. It is currently published as a searchable online platform with profiles of world problems, action strategies, and human values that are interlinked in novel and innovative ways. These connections are based on a range of relationships such as broader and narrower scope, aggravation, relatedness and more. By concentrating on these links and relationships, the Encyclopedia is uniquely positioned to bring focus to the complex and expansive sphere of global issues and their interconnected nature.

The initial content for the Encyclopedia was seeded from UIA’s Yearbook of International Organizations. UIA’s decades of collected data on the enormous variety of association life provided a broad initial perspective on the myriad problems of humanity. Recognizing that international associations are generally confronting world problems and developing action strategies based on particular values, the initial content was based on the descriptions, aims, titles and profiles of international associations.

About UIA

The Union of International Associations (UIA) is a research institute and documentation centre, based in Brussels. It was established in 1907, by Henri la Fontaine (Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1913), and Paul Otlet, a founding father of what is now called information science.

Non-profit, apolitical, independent, and non-governmental in nature, the UIA has been a pioneer in the research, monitoring and provision of information on international organizations, international associations and their global challenges since 1907.

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Organic wastes

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