{"id":2185,"date":"2023-05-31T16:13:16","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T14:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/?p=2185"},"modified":"2024-07-08T15:38:23","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T13:38:23","slug":"waste-hierarchy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/waste-hierarchy","title":{"rendered":"What is the waste hierarchy and how does it work"},"content":{"rendered":" \n    <div class=\"c-post--header\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/waste_hierarchy.png);\">\n        <a href=\"\" class=\"c-back-action\">\n            Go back        <\/a>\n        <h1>What is the waste hierarchy and how does it work<\/h1>\n\t\t<p class=\"c-post--author\">\n\t\t\tAuthor:\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/author\/scrapad-admin\/\">ScrapAd<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n        <div class=\"c-post--meta\">\n            <p>31\/05\/2023<\/p>\n            <div class=\"c-post--actions\">\n                <a onclick=\"window.print()\" class=\"c-article__action\">\n                    <i class=\"large material-icons icon\">print<\/i>\n                <\/a>\n                <a data-clipboard-text=\"\" class=\"c-article__action\">\n                    <i class=\"large material-icons icon\">content_copy<\/i>\n                <\/a>\n                <span class=\"c-article__action share__trigger\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"large material-icons icon\">share<\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"share__displays\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/facebook.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=&amp;url=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/twitter.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=&amp;title=&amp;summary=&amp;source=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/linkedin.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"mailto:info@scrapad.com?&amp;cc=&amp;bcc=&amp;subject=&amp;body=\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttarget=\"_blank\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/email.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n\n \n    <section class=\"c-container \" style=\" background-color: #FBFBFB; background-size: cover; --xsPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --smPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --mdPadding: 80px 100px 80px 100px; --lgPadding: 80px 100px 80px 100px; --xlPadding: 80px 100px 80px 100px; --xxlPadding: 80px 200px 80px 200px;  \">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-scrapad-blocks-container c-post\">\n<div class=\"c-article__desc wp-block-scrapad-blocks-article-desc\">\n<p>The waste hierarchy is a&nbsp;<strong>concept that determines the type and priority of treatment that a waste should receive<\/strong>. In other words, it indicates an order of preference of actions&nbsp;<strong>in order to reduce and manage waste<\/strong>. It is often identified with a&nbsp;<strong>pyramid<\/strong>, as it schematically reflects the priority of waste-related treatments or actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its aim is basically to&nbsp;<strong>protect the environment<\/strong>, so States must create and adopt measures to comply with and promote the different treatments according to this hierarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the waste hierarchy is for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The waste hierarchy aims to&nbsp;<strong>maximise the product&#8217;s utility to waste ratio<\/strong>, so that the product&#8217;s utility is maximised and waste is minimised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The correct application of the waste hierarchy therefore&nbsp;<strong>brings environmental benefits, such as reduced levels of pollution and better management of natural resources; and economic benefits for businesses and the community<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Waste hierarchy levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prevention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It is based on the idea that&nbsp;<strong>the best waste is waste that is not produced<\/strong>. It is at the top of the pyramid and constitutes the set of measures taken at the stages of&nbsp;<strong>conception, design, production, distribution and consumption of a product<\/strong>&nbsp;in order to avoid producing more waste than necessary. In this way, adverse impacts on the environment are avoided, as well as excessive consumption of energy and raw materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However,&nbsp;<strong>it is practically impossible to avoid 100% waste production<\/strong>. Moreover, with today&#8217;s technology, it would be very costly, which in the end, would be counterproductive and more harmful to the environment than maintaining a certain level of waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Preparing for reuse<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If unavoidable,&nbsp;<strong>reuse of this product should be the priority<\/strong>. This is the&nbsp;<strong>testing, cleaning or repair of products or product components that have become waste<\/strong>&nbsp;because they have reached the end of their useful life. The aim is that these products can be reused, without the need for major transformations to be carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recycling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the object or product cannot be reused and given a second life,&nbsp;<strong>recycling should be chosen<\/strong>. Recycling involves the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/waste-recovery-and-its-advantages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recovery of waste<\/a><\/strong>, in such a way that it is transformed into new materials, products or substances in order to give them a new use and reintroduce them into the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recovery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This level of the pyramid includes other types of recovery such as energy recovery or the transformation of waste into materials that can be used as fuels. In this case,&nbsp;<strong>it is not the materials that are used, but the energy contained in them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Disposal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the last option, and the aim is to minimise it. It includes&nbsp;<strong>thermal, biological and physico-chemical treatments and techniques to eliminate the waste<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How ScrapAd participates in the waste hierarchy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>ScrapAd was created precisely to&nbsp;<strong>provide an alternative&nbsp;for waste that may at first appear to have no value<\/strong>&nbsp;and therefore ends up in landfill. Thanks to our platform for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">buying and selling waste<\/a>&nbsp;and the visibility we give to the materials, other interested companies can get hold of this material, recover it and return it to the market as raw material for other products. That is why we encourage and support the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/benefits-of-a-circular-economy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">circular economy<\/a>&nbsp;as a new business model, which gives a second life to what already exists in order to care for and respect our environment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n    \n\n    <div class=\"c-container c-post--related\" style=\"background-color: #F7F5F2; --xsPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --smPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --mdPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --lgPadding: 72px 100px 72px 100px; --xlPadding: 72px 100px 72px 100px; --xxlPadding: 72px 100px 72px 100px;\">\n        <div class=\"container\">\n            <h3 class=\"c-article__side__heading\">Other posts that may interest you\u2026<\/h3>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"scrapad-blocks-related glide\" data-autoplay=\"4000\" data-views-desktop=\"3\" data-views-tablet=\"2\" data-views-mobile=\"1\" data-mode=\"slider\">  \n            <div class=\"container glide__track\" data-glide-el=\"track\">\n                <div class=\"row slider-mobile glide__slides\">\n                                                                         \n                            <div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6 glide__slide\">\n                                    <div class=\"c-blog__item\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/innovation-in-metal-recycling-artificial-intelligence-robotics-and-emerging-technologies\/\" class=\"c-blog__item--inner\">\n            <div class=\"c-blog__item__header\">\n                <div\n                    class=\"c-blog__item__image\"\n                    style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02_58J0671_2-0d3c326ba40c12cc.jpeg;\"\n                ><\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item_body\">\n                    <h4 class=\"c-blog__item__title\">Innovation in metal recycling: Artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies<\/h4>\n                    <div class=\"c-blog__item__meta\">\n                        <span class=\"c-blog__item__date\">18\/03\/2025<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item__desc\">\n                    <p>In the UK, waste management is regulated by a number of pieces of legislation that set out specific obligations for waste brokers and dealers. They play crucial roles in the waste management chain and must comply with the following legal responsibilities.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item__footer\">\n                    <span class=\"c-blog__item__link\">Show details<\/span>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                                                     \n                            <div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6 glide__slide\">\n                                    <div class=\"c-blog__item\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/how-the-recycling-process-works\/\" class=\"c-blog__item--inner\">\n            <div class=\"c-blog__item__header\">\n                <div\n                    class=\"c-blog__item__image\"\n                    style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/cadena-del-reciclaje.jpg;\"\n                ><\/div>\n               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do not have a negative impact on our environment.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item__footer\">\n                    <span class=\"c-blog__item__link\">Show details<\/span>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                                                     \n                            <div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6 glide__slide\">\n                                    <div class=\"c-blog__item\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/differences-between-recycling-and-reuse\/\" class=\"c-blog__item--inner\">\n            <div class=\"c-blog__item__header\">\n                <div\n                    class=\"c-blog__item__image\"\n                    style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/diferencias-reciclaje-reutilizacion.png;\"\n                ><\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item_body\">\n                    <h4 class=\"c-blog__item__title\">Differences between recycling and reuse<\/h4>\n                    <div class=\"c-blog__item__meta\">\n                        <span class=\"c-blog__item__date\">08\/07\/2024<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item__desc\">\n                    <p>Very often we hear the terms recycling and reuse used indifferently, when in fact there are big differences between them.<\/p>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item__footer\">\n                    <span class=\"c-blog__item__link\">Show details<\/span>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n                                <\/div>\n                                                            <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div> \n    <\/div>\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The waste hierarchy is a\u00a0concept that determines the type and priority of treatment that a waste should receive. In other words, it indicates an order of preference of actions\u00a0in order to reduce and manage waste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recycling"],"acf":{"post_country":{"simple_value_formated":"<ul><li><a class=\"post-link\" href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/paises\/spain\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Spain<\/a><\/li><\/ul>","value_formated":{"postIds":[2676],"postType":"paises"},"value":["2676"],"field":{"ID":0,"key":"field_64ef02d93e348","label":"Pa\u00eds","name":"post_country","aria-label":"","prefix":"acf","type":"relationship","value":null,"menu_order":0,"instructions":"","required":0,"id":"","class":"","conditional_logic":0,"parent":"group_64ef02d9ad6ee","wrapper":{"width":"","class":"","id":""},"post_type":["paises"],"post_status":["publish"],"taxonomy":"","filters":["search","post_type","taxonomy"],"return_format":"id","min":"","max":"","elements":"","_name":"post_country","_valid":1}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2185"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22279,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2185\/revisions\/22279"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paises\/2676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}