Resource recovery

Resource recovery is using wastes as an input material to create valuable products as new outputs. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste generated, therefore reducing the need for landfill space and also extracting maximum value from waste. Resource recovery delays the need to use raw materials in the manufacturing process. Materials found in municipal solid waste can be used to make new products. Plastic, paper, aluminium, glass and metal are examples of where value can be found in waste. Resource recovery is using wastes as an input material to create valuable products as new outputs. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste generated, therefore reducing the need for landfill space and also extracting maximum value from waste. Resource recovery delays the need to use raw materials in the manufacturing process. Materials found in municipal solid waste can be used to make new products. Plastic, paper, aluminium, glass and metal are examples of where value can be found in waste. Resource recovery goes further than just the management of waste. Life-cycle analysis (LCA) can be used to compare the resource recovery potential of different treatment technologies. Improvements to administration, source separation and collection, reuse and recycling are important. For example, organic materials can be treated with anaerobic digestion and turned into energy, compost or fertilizer. Resource recovery can also be an aim in the context of sanitation. Here, the term refers to approaches to recover the resources that are contained in wastewater and human excreta (urine and feces). The term 'toilet resources' has come into use recently. Those resources include: nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), organic matter, energy and water. This concept is also referred to as ecological sanitation. Separation of waste flows can help make resource recovery simpler. Examples include keeping urine separate from feces (as in urine diversion toilets) and keeping greywater and blackwater separate in municipal wastewater systems.