Waste management is an issue that every community must address. People in rural and remote communities face different waste management challenges than do urban centres. In the past, when waste was largely biodegradable and easily accommodated and absorbed by the land, rural and remote communities with low population densities were less concerned with waste management. This is no longer the case.

In some communities, the only type of waste management that exists is a "dump", a site that is used to dispose of all types of waste, without consideration of the environmental effects. Dumps may contains hazardous wastes, which can contaminate groundwater and nearby streams, and they are often associated with the burning of wastes (which releases air pollutants). A landfill, on the other hand, is a managed area where no hazardous wastes are deposited and burning is prohibited.

Although landfills are important, waste management should be regarded as a system involving numerous activities. A waste management system should also include centralized garbage collection (including both annual and on-demand hazardous waste pick-up), a waste reduction campaign, a recycling and composting program, and other education and awareness projects to change habits such as burning waste and to encourage proper disposal of hazardous wastes.

Click on Select-A-Career or EnviroCareers to find out more about the environmental jobs related to waste management:

• Environmental Scientist
  
• Environmental Health Officer
  
• Remediation Scientist
  
• GIS Ananlyst
  
• Environmental Co-ordinator
  
• Pollution Control Technologist
  
• Waste Manager Director
  
• Land Use Planner