| CODE | ISD3102 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | The Sustainable Management of Waste | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Waste and the repercussions it emanates are a reality. These repercussions are of particular importance to a small island like Malta due to its dense population and limited space. The study unit will give students the opportunity to examine waste management from various perspectives – legal, social, economic, environmental, aesthetic, technological and political. The study-unit aims to provide both a local and international perspective. One site visit (at the Sant’Antnin Waste Management Plant or the Maghtab landfill) is also planned. The study-unit will commence with an examination of the different types of waste generated and their definitions e.g. municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste, end-of-life vehicles, construction and demolition waste etc. Students will also be introduced to concepts like the waste management hierarchy and proximity principle etc. and will examine the various stages of waste management and how these impact the environment, including impacts on land, air and water pollution and climate change. The study-unit will then delve into the reasons why waste is created and an examination of the influence of marketing, consumerism and culture. A brief overview of the waste externalities associated with tourism will also be provided. The study-unit will then examine waste legislation in Malta including the transposition of the Waste Management Framework, the Eco-tax Act and the international conventions related to waste to which Malta is signatory will be included. The economics of waste management including economic growth and its impact on waste generation, externalities and market failure together with indicators used in the management of waste will also be studied. Finally, the current 'disposal' methods for the management of waste will be presented. This section aims to provide an explanation of each of the disposal solutions presented and the positive and negative aspects of each. Tools like extended producers responsibility (EPR), eco-design, life-cycle assessment, deposit refund systems, green dot and eco-labelling, and product service systems will also be presented. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit's overall objective is to provide students with in depth knowledge about waste management. The aims of the study-unit are as follows: - provide students with a solid theoretical & practical background in the area of waste management which would include an examination of legislation, economic, cultural and environmental dynamics related to subject; - supplement the knowledge provided with a critical analysis of the policies, technology and other issues related to waste and its management. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • Define the various types of waste including the terminology used in this field; • Describe the environmental impacts associated with the generation of waste; • Compare the various solutions utilised for the management of waste both in Malta and in other countries; • Describe the legislation and other instruments used in the management of waste both locally and internationally. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • Relate waste management to their main area of study; • Develop their group working and presentation skills. In addition to this, they will be able to develop their analysis skills through the examination of a particular issue in the waste management field. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: • European Environment Agency. 2010. The European Environment – State and Outlook 2010. Synthesis. Luxembourg. Publications office of the European Union, 2010 (can be ordered from EEA website) • European Environment Agency. 2012. Environmental Indicator Report 2012. Ecosystem Resilience and resource efficiency in a green economy in Europe. Publications office of the European Union (can be ordered from EEA website) • McDougall, R. F. 2001. Integrated solid waste management. A life cycle inventory. Blackwell science. • Perman, R., Common, M., Mcgilvray, J., and Ma, Y., 2011. Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, 4th edition. Financial Times Press. Other reading material: • Simms, A. and Potts, R. 2012. The New Materialism. How our relationship with the material world can change for the better. Scumacher College. (available online - http://www.thenewmaterialism.org/post/36425840205/the-new-materialism-how-our-relationship-with-the) • Friends of the Earth Europe. 2009. Overconsumption? Our use of the world’s natural resources. Janetschek. Austria (available online - http://old.seri.at/documentupload/SERI%20PR/overconsumption--2009.pdf) |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Fieldwork, Independent Study & Seminar | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Margaret Camilleri Fenech |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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