Explain briefly the need for management of waste.

The problem with waste is that it remains in our environment. We move waste from one place to another but never get rid of it completely. Nature has recycled waste materials for millions of years. However, human population has increased so rapidly during the last century that the environment is now threatened by our activities and the wastes they produce. Much damage is done to the environment by the pollution of air, degradation of soils and contamination of water sources like rivers, lakes etc.

There is a close connection between the waste, pollution and the damage to the environment. Waste causes pollution, which in turn causes the damage. The dangers posed by global pollution due to accumulation of wastes, threaten the survival of the ecosystem and call for the need to manage waste.