SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

In order to ensure a sustainable economic and social development and maintain the quality of the environment, adequate waste management and conservation of natural resources are required. It is therefore necessary to apply an integrated waste reprocessing and recycling system, based on specific technologies, which facilitate, in the first stage, the recovery of valuable waste materials and, subsequently, the recovery of all materials and energy. Among the waste generated, a significant quantity is classified as hazardous waste. This paper has as main objective the analysis of waste management alternatives with an emphasis on hazardous waste management. Small and large generators of hazardous waste and environmental impact are considered as well as options for reducing hazardous waste quantities. Following an algorithm proposed in literatureh, the decision of appropriate methods of treatment and disposal of hazardous waste is made based on three main factors: physical state of hazardous waste, hazard criterion, composition criterion. On this basis, specific schemes for hazardous waste processing and disposal were established. A special attention was paid to alternatives for the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste in the form of accumulators