One of the most daunting problems the United States and the world as a whole is facing today is the problem of garbage or municipal solid waste (MSW) and what should be done with it. To some people the solution may seem as easy as recycling; however, that is much easier said than done. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, American’s alone produce over 246 million tons of waste per year, and only recycle about 32.1% of that. This means that nearly 167 million tons of America’s garbage is being put into landfills or burned into our atmosphere each and every year. Not only are we wasting valuable resources that human kind will more than likely need in the future, but we are also using up a lot of usable land that will soon be needed by the ever increasing human population.
As a concerned citizen of the United States of America I purpose that something must be done about our waste in order to protect future generations and our planet as a whole. Whether it be through improving standard recycling techniques of collecting plastics, metals, and paper and turning them into new items, or through more alternative methods such as turning landfill waste into electricity, or converting biomass into an ethanol based fuel; it is our job as the next generation to put a stop to our unnecessary wasting and get our MSW under control.
20 comments:
I agree! It's about time we start finding a solution to this problem. I didn't realize that we wasted so much. But recycling cant do it all. It does help a lot, but I think we need to take the next step towards not wasting so much. I'm not really sure what that would entirely include, but a good start is less consumer packaging. Also, some landfills do collect the methane gas that emits and use that to create energy.
Does anyone know anything about the plastic bag ban in Santa Monica? I think Boulder should try something similar. If certain plastics are simply not offered they won't end up in our landfills!
It does seem that in America we have an intense problem with waste, much of this seems to be due to our issue with consumption. We are continuously buying new goods before our old stuff is ready to be disposed of. I feel the problem needs to be attacked far before disposing, and start with consuming less. We are always just buying "stuff" because we can and its available as opposed to buying what we actually really need.
I would agree with Hannah that the problem mostly stems from consuming too much. But I also think that a large chunk of the problem starts with the very basics of manufacturing and the materials that are used. If companies were willing to spend the money and produce goods from biodegradable materials it would be much more suitable for our environment. In addition, I think that bioremediation (the breakdown of waste by microorganisms) would be a great start to helping alleviate build up in landfills.
I completely agree that we Americans really need to cut back on our needless purchases of new "stuff". Instead I believe that we should spend our money at garage sales, thrift stores & resale shops! It's amazing what great things you can find at garage sales.
Although the ideal solution is to cut back on our buying of new products, there are already so many landfills in the United States. I actually visited one back where I'm from in IL and it was pretty cool to learn how they're using the gases that develop underground in the landfill for energy. It's kind of sick to think about how many toxic gases are developing inside of our earth but hey at least they're using it in a somewhat positive way.
Have you ever noticed how much garbage is produced by just $50 worth of groceries?
If we could get past needing fancy packaging for all of our foods we would cut down on waste immensely.
I'm guessing that every 4 bags of groceries yields about 1 bag of trash packaging. Sure it has to come in something, but does every bag of cereal need a cardboard box? Consider buying bulk.
Does every serving of water need to come in a disposable bottle?
Next time you buy a 'Dasani' [Coca-cola for municipal bottled water], consider buying a reusable water bottle and a britta filter.
Still throwing out your recyclables? Well then shame on your sorry ass!
Have you ever noticed how much garbage is produced by just $50 worth of groceries?
If we could get past needing fancy packaging for all of our foods we would cut down on waste immensely.
I'm guessing that every 4 bags of groceries yields about 1 bag of trash packaging. Sure it has to come in something, but does every bag of cereal need a cardboard box? Consider buying bulk.
Does every serving of water need to come in a disposable bottle?
Next time you buy a 'Dasani' [Coca-cola for municipal bottled water], consider buying a reusable water bottle and a britta filter.
Still throwing out your recyclables? Well then shame on your sorry ass!
I am very fascinated with this topic of waste management. Living in a house with five girls I am constantly amazed by how fast our trash can fills up, to be pilled high in the back ally and picked up once a week. We fill almost two average sized garbage cans per week, and to think we're just one house on "The Hill" in Boulder filling the cans each week, well that's a lot of crap!!! Recycling, landfills, and whatever other means we use for dealing with trash simply can't deal with that much mass for much longer. I think right now the best option is to simply use and waste less. From personal purchases to the packaging of large companies, everyone of us needs to be conscious of our day-to-day trash contributions. Frankly, I am pretty grossed out by the whole idea of this and I wish I new more ways to help, before our country itself becomes one big garbage dump.
What is interesting about this issue is that other developed countries in the world have already developed nationwide systems to deal with Solid Waste Management. On top of this, they have different cultural attitudes towards stopping this problem before it gets to US proportions, which helps a lot. I think one of the biggest problems with SWM is that the American mindset is that we must find a new, creative and ingenuous solution that is better than other countries. This should not be a competition, it should be a conglomerated effort.
I think there are many small things that can be done to help reduce our solid wastes. Everyone should recycle, many people still don't do this. Recycling should be easy for people (this encourages people want to do it more). Packaging on goods should be reduced. People should try to use a good as much as possible before throwing it away or buying a new one. Unfortunately all of these don't add up to much waste reduction. More research should be done to do some of the things suggested in the post such as converting waste into electricity or biomass into ethanol.
I agree America has a serious problem with the amount of waste we produce. I was reading an article from the New York Times on September 26, 2009 titled "Smuggling Europe's Waste to Poorer Countries". The article explained how Europe has been shipping all waste including everything from electronic waste to household trash to places such as India, China and Africa. However, Europe recently created bans on exporting waste to other countries which has led to the illegal smuggling of waste. The incentive to smuggle waste comes from the expensive costs of recycling. The problem is not only a European problem, the U.S. is dealing with the same dilemma. I was somewhat surprised to learn of this problem. In order to foster "green" growth in developing countries such as Africa and India, wealthy nations cannot continue using their land as a dumping station for the world. The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/science/earth/27waste.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
YES, packaging companies and other products could decrease the amount of waste in plastic and cardboard encasing. Imagine how much we could reduce if everything we consumed was cut in half. Yes, I agree, i think most of our problems lie within the mass of consumers we have created in the last few decades. Everyone saw "Story of Stuff" right? If not, you can check in out online. Very interesting.. we definitely have a big problem on our hands.
The problem is that a plain clear bag of Guacamole with a simple label just doesn't grab the shopper's eye in the store. And looks like a green bag of glop.
Successful packaging includes bright colors and photographs of 'what you hoped your guacamole would look like'.
The net result, garbage packaging that really has nothing to do with the flavor of the food.
I believe many health food companies are guilty of this. While perhaps using better farming practices, many "green" foods are packaged in such a way to attract "green" buyers who are generally wealthier. Does organic milk need a picture of a happy cow on the label? It all goes into cost and waste.
I think the best way to conquer an issue like this is education. People are still going to be buying things, more goods are made everyday and it is virtually impossible to lower consumption to help waste. I think the best way is to just educate people on the issue and show them what they are doing so they might be a little more mindful before the waste something or get rid of it.
It sounds easy to recycle 100% rather than 32.1%, but I think the problem is that not all of it is recycle or reusable. The best way to tackle this problem would probably be to determine which products are most populous in landfills, and change them. For instance, phone books account for 10% of all landfill waste. Since there are now free phone books online, wouldn't it be most efficient to simply eliminate phonebooks or restrict them to people without internet rather than trying to find a use for all that yellow paper? I think we need to look at this issue starting from its source, not its consequences.
I strongly, support you and the other advocates fighting the "Garbage War". I am from the south Pacific island of new britain north of of Australia. Currently, I am in Japan, learning to manage solid waste the Japanese way.
Mind you i have never imaged a sound material society based on the 3Rs, Reuse, Reduce and recycle.
Another factor to consider in this matter is where our trash goes. It is far to common (myself included) that the trash is out of sight out of mind when we dispose of it, and this is is a fair part of what causes us to dispose more; if more people could see where their trash went first hand it would likely help change their habits.
Another factor to consider in this matter is where our trash goes. It is far to common (myself included) that the trash is out of sight out of mind when we dispose of it, and this is is a fair part of what causes us to dispose more; if more people could see where their trash went first hand it would likely help change their habits.
David McKinley
Thanks!
I agree also, and one important factor also is for everyone on this planet to add value to our waste. By doing so waste generation will be decrease through Reduction, Recycling and Reuse.
The the factor is love! if you love your life and others especially your family you must add value to the environment because if the environment is adversely affected by our indiscriminating pollution our lives will be affected also. there must always be a win-win situation between us humans and the environment.
Victor Vutliu
Kobe city, Japan.
I think once of the best small steps people can take everyday is shopping at the farmers market. When I shop at the farmers market, I don't usually have anything that needs to be thrown away. It is hard because the farmers market is seasonal, and waste is generated from many other sources too, but at least its a step.
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