OK, gang, I’m working on a project and want to use you all as a sounding board.
When it comes to garbage are there any parts or aspects of it that make you go, “huh?” Anything that you “just don’t get?” If so, let me know. I’m looking at topics like:
The Short Road from Consumption to Waste – After the Great Depression, US leaders paved the way for America to be a consumer nation. When the chips are down, we aren’t asked to cut back; we’re convinced that shopping is a solution. But where has this gotten us, besides further down the road?
Beyond the Curb – Where do trash and recyclables go? Have you ever wondered what happens to our trash and recyclables? You’ve heard about landfills and incinerators, but what do you really know about them. From environmental impacts, costs, and even benefits, there’s a lot more to garbage than you might think.
Recycling, the Myths and Truths – Many still claim that recycling costs money, but ask a recycler and they’ll say business is better than ever. Demanding manufacturing markets in China and India make recyclables a commodity, not a nuisance. Barges that bring over chachka destined to fill the shelves of discount stores across the country wait on the California coast for our recyclables that will be used…you guessed it…to make more chachka. But beyond that, steel, concrete, plastics, glass, more and more recycling is taking place not just because of regulatory requirements, but because it’s good business.
Trash is Treasure, the Business Side of the Nation’s Garbage – From Waste Management to Allied, there are companies that thrive on our throwaway attitude. It’s a competitive market that operates independently and with cities and counties. They operate collection services, transfer stations, landfills, and incinerators across the country and make a profit on every ton of garbage we throw away.
That’s all I’ve really got so far, but if you wake up in the middle of the night with a garbage question you want answered, let me know.
And please know, I'm only using you in the most appreciative kind of way, because after all, you are my friends. :-)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
A Little Help from my Friends
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2 comments:
I've got several relatives who refuse to recycle. I can't get my brain around that kind of thinking. It's like being too lazy to clean up the mess after your dog has had an accident on the floor.
But I wondered where you'd send someone in search of numbers...like how much waste one person can create and the difference even one person can make if he/she recycles.
There are several places where you can get quick facts for recycling. Here's one link that runs through different types of recycling.
http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html
And here's information from PA:
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/FACTS/Benefits.htm
Recycling had a lot of bad press in the 70s and 80s and as a result a lot of people refuse to believe that recycling is anything but a line item in a county budget. But consider the following, recycling removes waste from landfills. Landfills are expensive to site, design, construct, operate, and maintain over the long haul (many permits require that landfills be monitored for decades after they're closed). Disposal costs vary, but they can be in the neighborhood of $75 per ton, that's money usually paid by local taxpayers to dispose of their garbage. When recycling programs are run effectively (in rural areas they form co-ops to be more efficient) money is made and it's money from outside the area, money from businesses, not residents.
Also with respect to recycling, once commodities are set in place, i.e., plastic bags sorted at grocery stores and sent to carpet mills as a "raw" material, it really is a good deal for everyone involved. And that has been one of the key elements in effective recycling programs, sorting and providing a high quality stream. But the improvements in material sorting are phenomenal.
If people want to bring up the cost to transport recyclables, it has to be considered that raw materials have to be transported too. And that there are environmental impacts from obtaining those resources.
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