Waste management is a primary aspect of environmental engineering. Refuse from homes and businesses needs to be either stored properly or treated and released back into the environment. Environmental engineers design and monitor landfills that absorb hundreds of thousands of pounds of garbage per year. Without proper methods of waste disposal, toxic heavy metals (such as lead and mercury) as well as bio-hazards (like bacteria and viruses) could reenter a community's supply of drinking water.

Most drinking water comes from reservoirs and rivers and is therefore usually not potable (fit to consume without significant risk of illness). Environmental engineering makes it possible to create drinkable water from almost any source. Drinking water must be subjected to a water purification process. Usually, untreated water first passes through a water filtration system. Filtration is enough to remove larger particles suspended in the water, but it isn't always enough to make water potable. Water purification can be achieved through any number of means. When performed successfully, water purification should always yield sparkling clear water that is free of both chemical and biological contaminants.

Environmental engineering is a lucrative field of study. Students interested in becoming an environmental engineer take a series of math and science based courses ultimately earning a bachelor's degree; though many continue to pursue their education toward a higher degree. Environmental engineers can find work almost anywhere. They work for the government, as lawyers, for a private companies or public universities.