Industry is frequently located along the region’s coasts in areas with high population density, sometimes within urban centres, and often in close proximity to other economic activities like agriculture and tourism. Th...

The graph shows the development of Nitrate concentration in groundwater from 1980 to 1995 in France, Britain and Denmark combined. Nitrate is a naturally occurring compound and is normal in small amounts, but excess amou...

This illustration shows positive and negative developments in areas such as household waste per capita, urban environment Quality, biodiversity and number of private and commercial cars, see the other illustrations in th...

Shows the different levels of CO2 emissions from industrial processes and land use changes from different regions. The major greenhouse gases are included within six sectors: Energy; Industrial Processes; Solvent and Ot...

Approximately 12 % of the world’s energy supply comes from renewable energy sources (biomass, waste and other renewables, excluding hydropower). The average renewable share in Latin America is higher than the world aver...

The graphic maps out the areas that are at risk, or already contaminated from nuclear industry after the break-up of the former Soviet Union. Nuclear power has unresolved problems of waste disposal. Waste remains dangero...

Between 1944 and 1991, the mining, processing, and downstream exploitation of base metals established the Balkans as a major European source of copper, lead, zinc and a global producer of chromite. Mining was one of the ...

As the garbage pile gets higher and the environmental conscience sharpens, it is now recognized that producing waste at this rate is no longer acceptable. Now is the time for “integrated waste management” and its motto –...

On a global scale, calculating the amount of waste being generated presents a problem. There are a number of issues, including a lack of reporting by many countries and inconsistencies in the way countries report (defini...

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes. It aims to protect human healt...

Waste is generated in all sorts of ways. Its composition and volume largely depend on consumption patterns and the industrial and economic structures in place. Air quality, water and soil contamination, space consumption...

The Ok Tedi mine is located high in the rain forest covered Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea. Prior to 1981 the local Wopkaimin people lived a subsistence existence in one of the most isolated places on earth. That was...

The global consumption of key raw materials is rising fast. Over the 20-year period ending in 1994, the world population increased by 40% – in that same period, the world consumption of cement increased by 77%, and plast...

It is estimated that there are over a billion personal computers in the world at present. In developed countries these have an average life span of only 2 years. In the United States alone there are over 300 million obso...

The Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the number one environmental problem facing the mining industry. AMD occurs when sulphide-bearing minerals in rock are exposed to air and water, changing the sulphide to sulphuric acid. I...

A small minority of rich countries are responsible for a large part of the raw material consumption. All together the developed countries comprise only 22% of the world population, but they consume more than 60% of the i...

The life cycle approach gives a more complete picture of the waste and energy associated with a product. Our daily choices determine the amount of waste we produce. As consumers, our relationship to a product happens onl...

The high tech boom has brought with it a new type of waste – electronic waste, a category that barely existed 20 years ago. Now e-waste represents the biggest and fastest growing manufacturing waste. The black and white ...

The graphic gives a general illustration of a waste generation & management scheme. Using car production as a example, the associated text includes references as follows: Raw Materials: Mining of minerals: copper, iron, ...

The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of productive land area needed to support a nation’s consumption and waste. This indicator shows that in many countries, as well as for the planet as a whole, the demand for n...