Environmental Terminology: Key Definitions Explained
Environmental Terminology: Key Definitions
Environment: The animate and inanimate settings in which life develops.
Ecology: The science that studies the relationship between living beings and the environment.
Habitat: The territory in which a plant or animal species lives.
Biodiversity: A term that refers to the variety of life on Earth.
Ecosystem: A unit clearly distinguishable from the biosphere.
Pollution: Impurities (physical, chemical, or biological) in the environment.
Pollutant: An unwanted substance.
Issue: Discharge of air gases measured at the source.
Susceptibility: Measurement of air pollutants in the environment.
Release: Current waste introduced into the environment.
Waste: A substance that is discarded as unnecessary or useless.
Waste Producer: Any natural or legal person whose activity, excluding household consumption, produces waste or who carries out pre-processing, mixing, or other operations resulting in a change in the nature or composition of this waste.
Holder: The producer of the waste or the natural or legal person who has it in their power and does not have the status of a waste management company.
Re-use: The use of a product for the same purpose for which it was originally designed.
Recycling: The transformation of waste within a production process for its original purpose or for other purposes, including composting and biomethanization, but excluding incineration with energy recovery.
Recovery: Any procedure that allows the use of resources contained in waste without endangering human health and without using methods that could harm the environment.
Elimination: Any procedure directed to either the discharge of waste or for destruction, total or partial, made without endangering human health and without using methods that could harm the environment.
Sustainable Development: Meeting current needs without compromising the needs of future generations.
Polluter Pays: The cause of the impact must pay for the ecological damage caused.
Impact: The effect of an action on the environment.
Environmental Impact Assessment: A full administrative proceeding which results in the Environmental Impact Statement.
Environmental Impact Study: A paper that is made during an Environmental Impact Assessment.
Environmental Auditing: Environmental assessments of a company and its environmental management system.
Order of Environmental Policy
- European Standard
- State Regulations
- Regional Regulation
- Municipal Legislation
Major Areas in Environmental Norms
- Discharge and water quality
- Emissions and air quality
- Noise
- Waste
- Soil contaminated by potentially polluting activities
- Packaging and packaging waste
Continuous Improvement:
- Environmental Policy
- Planning
- Implementation and operation
- Control and Corrective Action
- Management review
Good Environmental Practices:
- Increase productivity through human and organizational factors of production.
- Preventive maintenance
- Prevention and control of leaks and spills
- Segregation of waste streams and emissions
- Use of guidelines for the use of materials and equipment, aimed at reducing waste generation and emissions.
- Improvements in material handling.
- Improvements in production
- Inventory control and tracking of materials, waste, and emissions.
Good practices can be implemented rapidly, with low investment, so their profitability is very high and they have a very low risk. When they do not affect the processes, they are usually well accepted by those in charge of production.