Waste Management Practices in Malta

Waste Management Practices in Malta Chapter 1 Introduction Context As time gone by, the world as we know it evolved and also with it do did the waste management practices. Through the global widespread epidemic outbreaks, back in early nineteenth century, waste management had shifted from the dilute and disperse and repair and reuse to the new concept of collect and remove in order to protect the general public from unhealthy living conditions. This approach gave birth to what we know now a day as landfills. The latter saw the introduction of new practices such as waste collection from cities being carted away and discarded openly somewhere else away from the same cities. The first dump sites (landfills) were not engineered in any form which essentially entailed finding a place where one could dispose of unwanted material outside its habitable boundary/territory. Since the beginning of the term sustainable living, many individuals famous to societies or also not known, along with other organisations had given definitions to waste. While every country around the globe has its own definition, other countries had moved forward, in particular the EU, and its 28 member states. Thus, the EU block has harmonised and has a synergy amongst all its 28 member states for defining waste. Waste has various definitions such as Waste is what is left behind when imagination fails (Ekberg 2009 as published by Linnenkopper in magazine Recycling International issue August 2016, para 1). However, within the EU, a synchronized definition of waste has been in use in its current wording for over three decades now and is embedded in the 2008, Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC). The legal analysis of Article 3(1) which defines waste as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Again, within the EU and its 28 member states, the Landfill Directive, municipal solid waste is defined as waste from households, as well as other waste which, because of its nature or composition, is similar to waste from households (EU, 1999). With lots of emphasis on waste management and waste becoming a problem, many took the advantage of this potential time bomb situation and came up with waste as a resource. The new concept of circular economy was born and introduced across the globe. Regretfully to say, there is no documentation when actually the term was born, but it is believed that it gained momentum in the late 1970s, and it was led by a small number of academics, thought-leaders and businesses. In smaller industries, where modern technology is usually less prevalent, a common tendency is to process waste through source separation (Berg, 1993:182). Hence, there is thus a considerable risk for sub-optimising solutions without an all-embracing perspective covering all kinds of waste (Tiberg, 1995 as cited in Stenis ,2005:22). As Mutavchi (2012:5) had stated in his Doctoral dissertation titled Solid Waste Management Based on Cost-Benefit Analysis using the Wamed Model The emphasis on waste continue to be problematic is more evident particularly in Europe. This can be confirmed by the European Commission investing in many innovative projects to control the waste issue. The latter are a wide range of initiatives ranging from reducing to reusing of wastes. The notion of municipal waste collection what we know today as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) was introduced in Malta towards the late 20th century, and the first for dirty materials Materials Recovery Facility ( MRF) was established in Marsascala in 1993. The practice of recycling had been introduced in Malta many years later and as the National Statistics Office (NSO) proves by its available data, recycling locally is immensely low in numbers. In Malta, the sustainable discussions when it comes to waste were initiated with the application of Malta to enter the EU block back in the 1990, of which the latter missed the 1995 accession and again application was frozen back in 1996 when there was a change in Government from the Nationalist party (PN) pioneer to accession to the EU block to the Labour party (MLP) anti EU accession but in favour of special agreements e.g. Switzerland. Malta Eventually joined the EU as a full member in 2004 when after a short-lived Labour government of just eighteen months, the PN were re-elected and negotiations to reactivate the application had taken place intensely by 2000 in order for Malta to catch up with the other candidates awaiting to join the EU block which took place in May 2004. Only to join the block in 2004 after national turmoil on accession. Waste management was one of the issues that Malta had to cover during the EU negotiations and this gave birth to the first national waste management plan for the Maltese islands document back in 2001 of which its updated version is enforced via the Waste Management Plan for the Maltese Islands 2014-2020. The researcher concurs with the vision of the Waste Management Plan for the Maltese islands 2014-2020 (MSDEC 2014) that of realizing the link between environmental objectives and human wellbeing will lead to sustainable waste management. In order for the National Waste Management plan to be successfully implemented, there must be a full societal commitment. Unless the Maltese citizens commence mutually to adopt the 3 pillars of zero waste (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) within their daily lives, there will be little to no improvement. Furthermore, such commitment calls for every citizen to change their current behaviour. However, the latter can only be made if only proper dissemination of information is made for better choices to be made in order for the stimulation of the involved stakeholders to improve. 1.2 Research Objectives The motivation behind this research project is to feel the pulse of the Maltese citizens and any one residing in the Maltese Islands when it comes to waste Management practices, in particular waste management educational and awareness campaigns, their effectiveness on the general public and whether the latter are leading to the desired success when it comes to alter the citizens behaviour towards the 3 Rs as well as reaching the EU set targets. This research project aims to identify issues pertaining to barriers and limitations when it comes to the citizen to execute the 3Rs as well as identifying the niches subjects that the citizens feel that are not giving enough importance during waste management educational and awareness campaigns. The latter information gathering will give insight to better assessment prior and after campaigns as well as evaluate feedback that will make such campaigns more interesting and gain the desired success. Nevertheless, the researchers previous experience within the social research field will be put into use and practice again, and previous experience within such research will help to guide and improve this research methodology even better by eliminating already known flaws from previous research experience. The proposed research is aimed at: Finding the barriers and limitations towards the 3Rs Identify the success and failures of education and awareness campaigns Identify whether the citizens differ between awareness and educational campaigns Finding whether the citizens are ready to sacrifice their lifestyle for the sake of sustainability Finding whether politicians and politics plays a role and have influence on citizens and waste management Finding whether character assimilations can help participation increase in campaigns Finding what else the citizens want to know from these campaigns Finding whether there is Fragmentation or unity amongst the key stakeholders when it comes to waste management Finding who the citizens look up to, to resolve waste issues Finding whether management by crisis is applied when it comes to waste management issues Finding whether more can be done such as fines, enforcement, monitoring etc. Evaluating previous waste awareness and educational campaigns success. Research Questions The main research questions that the undertaken research study will explore are the following: What are the barriers and limitations to the citizens of the Maltese islands when it comes to waste management adherence? Why are the waste awareness and educational campaigns not leaving the desired results? What is lacking? What other information and guidance the Maltese citizens want to receive when it comes to waste management issues and executing of the 3Rs? Where is, Malta failing when it comes to public involvement in reaching the EU set targets for waste management? Whether education is or can be the link to bridge the gap between the citizens and waste management issues and living sustainably Structure of Dissertation The dissertation is divided into 5 Main chapters and throughout these chapters the researcher will engage in finding answers to the research questions. Following the introduction to the main subject in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 provides an over view of the waste management in Malta and how it had evolved with time, along with other legislation and obligations that Malta have nationally and internationally. The same chapter also reviews past and current waste awareness and educational campaigns, along with other issues pertaining to waste management within the Maltese islands. The gathered literature review aims to give an overview of the current waste management scenario along with the attitude and behaviour of the citizens towards such subject. Chapter 3, will take the reader around the approach the researcher had concluded to use throughout the study. The chosen methodology will aim to identify the main issues pertaining to waste management from a citizens and main stakeholders point of view. This part also provides a detailed description of the tools used and applied to gain the required information in order to arrive to a conclusion. Chapter 4 explores the in-depth evaluation carried out via the one to one interviews with various stake holders as well the focus groups carried out with various citizens. The latter chapter discusses in details the findings while evaluating deeply the findings gathered during the above-mentioned sessions. The findings during the analysis will give insight and ideas along with food for thought to the researcher in order to come up with proposals of how local scenario can improve on the whole. The final Chapter is 5, which presents the findings throughout the whole of the study along with conclusions and recommendations made from this research. The chapter revisit the findings and concludes by calling for further research and actions and for the findings and suggestions to be taken on board for execution by the responsible authorities. Conclusion The citizen seems to be shifting from the laissez faire mentality to the social responsibility of living sustainable, both for oneself and family as well as for the environment as a whole. While one must conclude that social conscious towards the environment and sustainable living is on the increase, one must question whether the authorities are guiding the citizen correctly and helping in reducing and/or restricting its barriers to keep on moving towards the sustainable lifestyle that every nation desires.

Discuss the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men Essay

Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men is set in America in the 1930s. This was a time and a place where some people were discriminated against because of their lifestyle. The fundamental cause of this was a hierarchy that existed within American civilisation. The rich and the powerful were given a place in society whereas the working class were outcasts. Of Mice and Men is a novella of outcasts. Steinbeck explores how discrimination dominates the lives of these outcasts: racial discrimination against Crooks, age discrimination against Candy, gender discrimination against Curley’s wife and discrimination against Lennie because of his mental disability. The similarity between all the outcasts is that they all dream of an existence where they are not the victims of discrimination, and this dream is their sole motivation in life. Their dream is the American Dream. Through these outcasts, Steinbeck details everything that was morally wrong with 1930s America. The reason for this was the instability of the 1930s American economy; the Wall Street crash in 1929 being one example. The result of this was a high level of unemployment, and it was these people who were the outcasts. 1930s America rejects Lennie because of his mental ineptitude. George protects Lennie from the victimisation he would have to endure, if he were to face 1930s America on his own. George also helps Lennie find a job as he is hopeless on his own, â€Å"If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job.† There are two aspects George’s speech that would suggest he is trying to protect Lennie. Firstly the normality of his tone; he is not shouting and therefore Lennie would not feel that there is anything wrong with him. Secondly what George is actually saying; he is giving Lennie advice on how to avoid being victimised. Both Lennie and George have the same dream, but for different reasons. Lennie dreams of having his own bit of land so he can tend rabbits; he is not trying to escape discrimination because he does not understand the concept of it. George, on the other hand, wants to escape discrimination. He wants to live without worrying about Lennie’s every move. He wants Lennie to be safe. It is plainly apparent that Lennie and George’s dream is their only incentive in life; all their efforts are aimed at earning enough money to buy their own bit of land. It is made even more apparent to the reader at the end of the book that their dream is their only incentive in life, â€Å"Come on George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink.† Lennie is dead and suddenly the dream is no longer achievable. The reader immediately sees how George’s incentive to save money goes; he is going to go for a drink with Slim where he will likely squander every cent he has. There is evidence to suggest that George never really thought they would ever achieve their dream, â€Å"I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would† He had talked about the dream so many times to Lennie, he started to believe it could come true even though he knew, inside, that it would not. Crooks is rejected because he is a Negro. Racism was rife in 1930s America and Negros were the unwanted surplus of American society. Steinbeck shows the reader how Crooks has adapted to protect himself from hurt. Unlike other characters, Crooks considers what can go wrong first before he starts to believe a dream can come true, â€Å"I see hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches with their bindles in their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads† Crooks has been hurt in the past. He knows the realities of life in 1930s America. The result of not having a dream reflects in the way in which he lives his life. Unlike Lennie, George, Candy and Curley’s wife, Crooks has no incentive in life. Crooks is content to stay in his lodging away from the rest of the world. Although he is not progressing in life; he is not digressing. But given the opportunity he also clings on to Lennie, George and Candy’s dream. This shows that although he does not dream, he has longings and desires. Steinbeck reveals this through use of nostalgic language, in Crooks’ desire to re-experience the feeling of equality he felt when he was a child, â€Å"The white kids came to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them.† Crooks dreams of equality, this is evident in the books he reads; in particular the Californian Civil Code. He longs for a civilisation where he can be treated equally. For Crooks, his desire for equality dominates his life as dreams dominate the lives of the other outcasts. Candy is discriminated against because he is old and useless. In an environment where respect is earned through physical competence, Candy has no respect from his fellow ranch workers. However, the most painful thing for Candy is the feeling of not belonging and lack of purpose. He has these feelings because he is old and has lived most of his life; he has left no mark on the world. Other workers, younger workers, like Whit, have dreams of making a mark on the world as Candy probably had when he was younger. Whit displays admiration for a former ranch worker he reads about in a magazine who has had a letter published in that magazine. Whit dreams of making a mark on the world and has not even considered the misery that will overcome him if he does not. Steinbeck uses juxtaposition to illustrate to the reader how little respect Candy receives from his fellow workers. Candy could not kill his dog; he is his only companion and he has owned and loved him for years, â€Å"No, I couldn’t do that. I had ‘im for too long.† Candy desperately wants to save his dog here, but the other workers at the ranch do not respect him enough to comply with his wishes. The contrast between Candy’s desperation and the other worker’s casual dismissal of this desperation highlights how little respect Candy receives from his fellow workers. For this reason Candy quickly catches on to Lennie and George’s dream. He has money in the bank, as a result of his compensation for his lost hand, and feels that the dream can come true with their money combined. His dream is his incentive in life; he carries on with his insignificant swamping at the ranch because it is the only thing he can do. If George, Lennie and Candy can somehow make this dream maintainable he can live the rest of his life happily. As a woman Curley’s wife is isolated as women were not equal to men in 1930s America. She is deprived of many things men have: companionship, power and acknowledgement. She dreams of having all these things. But she differs from the other outcasts because she has no hope of achieving her dream. What she believed to be her only shot at achieving her dream has gone. Furthermore she is trapped in a marriage with a callous man who she despises. In fact if it were up to her husband she would remain indoors all day. The men do not like her because they see her as a ‘tart’ and a threat. She could get them ‘canned’, â€Å"I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her.† George discriminates against her because she is a woman. He makes the assumption that any woman in a male lodging is trouble. Through George’s damning reaction to Curley’s wife Steinbeck shows the reader how she will never achieve her dream. She has no power because she is a woman. She only has power over Crooks because he is a Negro, â€Å"You know what I can do if you open your trap?† Steinbeck’s presentation of the situation would suggest she is using Crooks as a scapegoat to disburse her frustrations. And she is indeed because Crooks is trying to defend his room from what he sees as an invasion of his territory, â€Å"You got no rights comin’ in a colored man’s room.† Curley’s wife may have been scornful, but Crooks was equally insensitive to her. She is never acknowledged, her true name is not mentioned, and therefore Crooks’ comment made her turn on him like a whiplash because he is the only one on the ranch over whom she has any power or authority. It is ironic how the death of the forgotten outcast brings about the end of all the other outcasts’ dreams. To conclude, dreams are important in the novella because they are the only thing the outcasts can cling on to. They are discriminated against to the extent that they cannot achieve success; they are doomed to failure. Even their dreams, the only means by which they can escape the monotony of 1930s America, are destroyed by their compromised circumstances. Steinbeck shows the reader how important dreams are for the poor. Only the poor that have a dream can live their lives with their dream as an incentive. Steinbeck sums up the injustice of 1930s America at the end of the novella. Curley’s dream of killing Lennie comes true, it is an evil dream and it is the only one in the novella that comes true; the dream of one man with a little power and authority over the dreams of all the poor. (Although Crooks’ dream of equality does become true it is a long time after the novella is written, and he does not experience this so it can be said that his dream did not come true) Through the dreams of the poor Steinbeck conveys many things that were wrong with 1930s America.

On Conflict Settlement Essay

Schick (1995) defines a conflict as a â€Å"distinctive structure of desires and a belief† (p. 58). A conflict arises when an agent wants x and y wherein x and y are the only options available to the agent. Given this situation, an agent may choose to react in two ways. First, the agent may choose to avoid the conflict or second, the agent may choose to resolve the conflict. In the resolution of a conflict, the agent starts to think rationally by seizing to think that the options available to him involves choosing both x and y or losing both x and y. In this sense, the agent enables the resolution of the conflict through an internal mediation of his or her desires. The same thing applies when it comes to interpersonal conflict. The difference between the two merely lies in the existence of a particular situation wherein the desires and beliefs of two or more agents tend to counter that of the other. This shows the manner in which conflicts enable the â€Å"balancing of power† within an agent or within a group (Rummel, 1991, p. 76). The balancing of powers resulting from the occurrence of a conflict enables the balancing of the following elements: interests, capabilities, and wills. Rummel (1991) notes â€Å"conflict is a balancing of individual interests, capabilities, and wills. It is a simultaneous solution to the equations of power† (p. 77). Within an interpersonal conflict, it does not necessarily mean that the agent(s) whose beliefs and desires take precedence over the other is the agent(s) who hold power within a group. The balance of powers refers to the mutual satisfaction of the different and contending interests within a group. In other words, the balance of powers may be understood as the result of the mediation within an interpersonal conflict. In the previous presentation, one of the groups presented steps that may be followed in case a conflict arises. The steps that they provided involve the agent(s) development of self-awareness. The importance of self-awareness here can be seen if one considers that it is only through the agent(s) identification of the clashing beliefs and desires that the agent(s) will be able to achieve the resolution of the conflict. This was shown by the group through a skit that they presented in class. One might note that in the skit itself, the group was able to present that failure to develop awareness may lead to aggression which might further enhance the conflict at hand. The importance of this skit does not lie in its means of providing an example for those who were present; it also enabled the audience’s direct experience of a conflict. Deutsch et al (2006) notes, â€Å"observing models deal effectively with difficult situations allows the observer to achieve greater freedom in coping with current and future problems of all sorts (p. 309). Despite of this, the group however, was unable to show that resolution and aggression are not the only means in which a conflict may end. Matthews and Roberts (2004) notes that conflicts may also lead to â€Å"collaboration and appeals to authority† (p. 451). Although one might state that this also leads to the resolution of a conflict in the sense that it ends a conflict, it is important to note that conflicts that end in this manner further breeds the creation of further disagreements amongst the agent(s) involved. Matthews and Roberts (2004) further notes that in the resolution of a conflict, there are certain skills which individuals should learn. These involve â€Å"active listening, assertiveness, expression of feelings in appropriate ways, empathy and perspective taking, cooperation, negotiation, and methods for countering bias† (p. 451). Although the group was unable to present all of these point, they were able to relay well the information that they had prepared for the presentation. In summary, given the time constraints on the group, I think the group was able to relay helpful information that will aid the members of the audience in the process of understanding and handling situations that may lead to both personal and interpersonal conflict. References Deutsch, M. et al. (2006). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Matthews, G. & R. Roberts. (2004). Emotional Intelligence: Science and Myth. Massachusetts: MIT Press. Rummel, R. (1991). The Conflict Helix. London: Transaction Publishers. Schick, F. (1997). Making Choices: A Recasting of Decision Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Challenges Faced by The Students When Speaking and in Their Writing Practices Free Essay Example, 1500 words

It is a shame for students who have undertaken rigorous English courses to be intimidated by slight activities such as speaking the English language. Although the degree of fluency varies even among the native speakers, the non-native speakers should also at least show that their past efforts in learning the language did not go to waste. Singh, a Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia, states that the international graduate students faced challenges in the instructional settings where English was used as the medium (12). I find it in order to find Malaysian students struggling to catch up with materials written by the natives. Having in mind that most of the books they use for learning are authored by reputable scholars, it goes without doubt that must face hurdles incomprehension. Singh further stated that it was more difficult for international graduates to make the necessary adjustment to study their master programs in the English language (19). From the knowledge I have, I thi nk graduate students should be in a position to comprehend all English materials regardless of their complexity. I know students must first undertake English courses and pass tests before they are admitted for the master s programs. We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges Faced by The Students When Speaking and in Their Writing Practices or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Singh states that the lecturers often fail to recognize the complexity of language issues confronting foreign students (19). Lecturers usually assume that the graduate students have adequate mastery of various aspects of writing.