Waste Management By Taylor Ireland, Allie Winglosky, Dirk Bell For Environmental Studies 1/7/14

Table of Contents

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Subject Title Page Table of Contents Position and History of Waste Management Causes and Consequences of Waste Management Solution to the Problem and Opposition Works Cited

Waste Management
The IWMA seeks to promote awareness on the growing problem of improper waste management and the effects it has on the environment, as well as educate and influence the public on how to responsibly minimize and dispose of waste. We believe that it is possible to achieve sustainable development by carefully monitoring our impact on earth, namely through waste management.

The rapid growth of waste that the world has experienced is directly linked with the exponential growth of the human population, caused primarily by technological advancements especially prevelant in the industrial revolution. As the ability to cheaply produce larger quantinties of goods became a possibility, the human population began to skyrocket. However the problematic increase of waste and pollutants did not garner attention until years later when it became a major health hazard. One of the most prevalant and pivitol examples of the consequences of improper waste management was the Great Smog of London. In December of

1952 a thick cloud of coal particles and other pollutants decended on the city of London causing the death of an estimated 4,000 citizens and harming the respiratory system of over 100,000 other citizens. This event marked a major turning point in how governments around the world handled environmental crisises and their efforts to prevent them. In 1970 the United States formed the Environmental Protection Agency in order to protect the environement and ultimately its citizens health. Since its founding the EPA has helped promote and pass many laws and regulations that protect the environment such as the Clean Air Act, Water Quality Act, and Food Quality Protection Act, as well as laws aimed to stop misproper disposal of waste such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Solid Waste Disposal Act. But while numerous laws and regulations have been passed to help protect the environment, the United States has continued to be one of the highest waste producing countries in the world.

Although these laws have certainly helped stunt the growing levels of waste, it is now time to reduce them. This can be accomplished by targeting the sources of waste. Improper waste management is caused by excessive production of waste and pollutants, lack of awareness and education, and absence of alternative methods of waste disposal. In the past several centuries many methods of waste disposal were created to handle the influx of the population. Three of the most common practices of waste disposal are incineration, landfills, and recycling. A landfill is a specified area, above or underground, where

trash is collected. Most landfills are engineered to try and stop runoff water from interacting with the waste, which could potentially harm the environment. However there is no guarantee that the landfill will be successful. Another method, incineration, was developed in the late 19th century to dispose of trash. Todays advanced trash incinerators are able to reduce waste down to 20% of its original volume. While this is remarkable, it nonetheless has its faults. When waste is burned many pollutants are released into the atmosphere causing major damage to ecosystems and organisms. The most green method of trash disposal is recycling, a procedure where waste is converted into other forms and eventually reused. However, even this method has its faults. Many modern products are not created to be recyclable. Countless forms of plastic, metal, and glass are unable to be used in this process. It is evident that all three of the most common methods negatively affect the environment in one-way or another. So if all three methods are inadequate, what can we do? The answer lies with not how to dispose of our trash, but how to reduce our production of it in the first place. The hierarchy of waste dictates that the most desirable course of action is the prevention of creating it in the first place, followed by reduction, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, and disposal respectively.

Our faulty decisions have had an immediate impact on the environment and the health of ourselves and other organisms. Prolonged use of current practices will result in dire future consequences. The various gasses and pollutants produced form improper waste management has contributed to the depletion of the O-Zone layer and global warming. Due to the exponential growth of the population it is estimated that by 2025 trash production levels will have almost doubled and by 2100 trash levels are expected to have tripled, crippling ecosystems worldwide. This incredible output level of trash would cost billions of dollars to clean and would adversely affect the worldwide economy as a whole.

The IWMA aims to promote change through various social programs. One of the most immediate and helpful of these programs is the Trash Tax. Already adopted by several cities and governments around the world, the trash tax aims to reduce the amount of waste that citizens produce. It is simple, citizens are allowed to recycle as much waste as they would like, but the disposal of any non-recyclable waste over a certain limit will carry a fee. Many argue that implementing such a trash tax would favor smaller families because they are able to produce less trash and the wealthy that would be able to afford the trash tax fee. However, the Trash Taxes beauty comes from its simplicity. The limit of non-recyclable waste that is allowed, as well as the fee that is charged when one goes over, is based on a variety of factors such as the size, income, and location of a family. This assures that everyone is willing to reduce his or her trash no matter the circumstances. The unbelievable success that the Trash Tax program has experienced has helped promote a healthy and sustainable future.

Works Cited

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"Waste Management." Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries. Ed. Lynn M. Pearce. 6th ed. Detroit: Gale 2011. 1029-1035. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. Clarke, David. "Garbage." Environmental Encyclopedia. Ed. Marci Bortman, Peter Brimblecombe, and Mary Ann Cunningham. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 617-618. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

"The Basics of Landfills." The Basics of Landfills. 26 Mar. 2003. 28 Dec. 2013 <http://www.ejnet.org/landfills/>. "Environmental Services Department." What Can Be Recycled? 05 Jan. 2014 <http://www.sandiego.gov/environmentalservices/recycling/residential/curbside/list.shtml>. "EPA." Recycling Basics. 02 Jan. 2014 <http://www2.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics>. "Integrated Environmental Health Impact Assessment System." Health effects of waste management. 05 Jan. 2014 <http://www.integratedassessment.eu/content/health_effects_waste_management>. Jacquot, Jeremy. "ArsTechnica." Ars Technica. 1 Nov. 2013. 2 Jan. 2014 <http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/11/global-waste-production-to-triple-by-2100-ledby-sub-saharan-africa/>. Kaufman, Leslie. "Nudging Recycling From Less Waste to None." New York Times 19 Oct.

2009. Meinke, Howard. "The Wrong Approach to Waste Disposal." New York Times 9 Mar. 2003. "Municipal Solid Waste." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. 03 Jan. 2014 <http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm>. Seltenrich, Nate. "Incineration Versus Recycling: In Europe, A Debate Over Trash." By Nate Seltenrich: Yale Environment 360. 28 Aug. 2013. 2 Jan. 2014 <http://e360.yale.edu/feature/incineration_versus_recycling__in_europe_a_debate_over_t rash/2686/>. Shafahi, Nazanin. "Effects of Waste and Dirtiness on our Health and Wellbeing." Heinrich Bll Foundation. 20 May 2010. 05 Jan. 2014 <http://www.af.boell.org/web/113-309.html>. Sweb, Amy. "Landfills And The Environmental Effects :: Live Life Green." Live Life Green. 6 Aug. 2009. 05 Jan. 2014 <http://livelifegreen.com/landfills-and-th-environmentaleffects/>. Walls, Rachel. "A WORLD OF WASTE: Effect of poor waste management on the planet." Http://www.themindfulword.org. 29 Jan. 2009. <http://www.themindfulword.org/2012/improper-waste-management-disposal/>.

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