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Municipal Solid Waste Management in Asia and the Pacific Islands pp 15–40Cite as

Sustainable 3R Practice in the Asia and Pacific Regions: The Challenges and Issues

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Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Engineering ((ENVSCIENCE))

Abstract

In waste management phraseology, 3R was adopted by waste managers worldwide as the most appropriate strategy towards sustainable development. It associates with the current inclination of waste management planners towards a more environmental friendly waste management concept with minimal disposal of waste. To achieve sustainable development, ‘‘reduction’’ is the next highest preference after ‘prevention’. While ‘prevention and reuse’ benefits mostly via economic gains namely enabling higher productivity with higher efficiency in raw material utilisation, ‘reduce’ drives the reutilisation of wastes particularly when raw materials are more expensive and become scarce. The third and the most favoured methods of 3R application are ‘recycling’ where waste materials undergo physical and/or chemical changes in order to salvage valuable materials. This chapter deliberates on these concepts and provides case studies on its application worldwide.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Agamuthu Pariatamby & S. H. Fauziah

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  1. Agamuthu Pariatamby
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  2. S. H. Fauziah
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Correspondence to Agamuthu Pariatamby .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Agamuthu Pariatamby

  2. Tottori Univ. of Environmental Studies Sustainability Research Institute, Tottori, Japan

    Masaru Tanaka

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Pariatamby, A., Fauziah, S.H. (2014). Sustainable 3R Practice in the Asia and Pacific Regions: The Challenges and Issues. In: Pariatamby, A., Tanaka, M. (eds) Municipal Solid Waste Management in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-73-4_2

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