A proposal for urban waste management: thinking about the circular economy

Abstract

In Argentina, each person generates an average of one kilogram of waste per day, which mostly ends up in landfills, dumps, or is incinerated. Of that amount, approximately 50% is organic and could be composted, transforming into an amendment to improve soil quality. Furthermore, if suitable inorganic waste (metals, glass, paper, among others) were recycled, only about 15 to 20% of the waste would be left (waste that has served its purpose and cannot be reused in any other way and goes to final disposal). The circular economy promotes the analysis of waste and its integral management to reinsert it into the system and is based on three principles: eliminating waste and pollution from the beginning, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. Since 2019, the soil area of the FCA-UNLZ together with other departments has been conducting theoretical and practical workshops on recycling, composting, and building composters in various institutions/organizations.