Options

Yesterday we went on a field trip to the landfill; I’ve been there a lot growing up and I understood the process prior to our arrival because of my summer jobs and handy work with my dad. I didn’t however realize my classmates weren’t familiar with the process. However, they did clarify a lot of things for me such as how the infiltrated water collects at the bottom of the liner and is pumped out and treated. I am still amazed by how many codes and laws have been formed to cut down on harmful measures. With new rules installed, I can tell there have been huge steps in the right direction. But… is it a big enough step? Short answer is no. If you look past the point that people make terrible irresponsible decisions about how they choose to dispose of their “trash,” I do believe landfills are doing a responsible job with the liners and extracting of methane in better ways than in the past.  

With watching the movie Trashed, I was able to finally see how poorly we, as a world, dispose of our trash; there must be a better way. Yes recycling. But how do we get people to do it? Thats the million dollar question. As everyday jobs and tasks consumer our lives, trash is the first thing we throw out. The trash can is many times the last memory for many items. A majority of society does not think “green” and is clueless as to where their trash goes. In most US states, waste is either put in an incinerator and burnt or they directly place the waste in the landfill.

To get the record straight… neither are 100% environmentally friendly. Both cause harm, but pros and cons are something to check out! To begin, our trip the incinerator two days ago taught us the 101 on what the entire process means and consists of. What I took from it, our consumer goods are brought to the plant and essentially burnt. (there is recycling before hand for metals) The ash that is created is put in a little mixture and is then put in the landfill. The actual area that the goods take up is tremendously reduced into ash. However there are the harmful chemicals and such that enter the atmosphere from the smokestack. It’s a matter of testing and correct combustion that ensures a functional operation. From the movie I was informed of stories where the smokestack had put off such terrible chemicals that the incinerator had ruined farmers crops, food, animals, and people health. There was a big push in the movie for an emotional connection as they showed dead animals and other sensitive images that makes people rethink decisions.

As for the landfill business, consumers trash in put in a hole and buried which has a protect liner at the bottom of the pit.  Things that are recyclable sit and rot for millions of years, yet there is potential to reuse and recycle the initial products. This is where the entire picture stops, how are we going to increase our city’s recycling rate. In other words, neither the incinerator or the landfill are efficient enough for what the rate at which we should be recycling. The new proposal for Covanta’s (incinerator company) recycling addition has brought a great opportunity for our city. However, there are numerous flaws in the contract that need to be reshaped so the city and company can make a sound decision for the future of the city on how they plan to move in a more sustainable direction. But before everything can be fine and dandy, we need to educate our citizens. We MUST educate. People do not know what's recyclable if they wanted to recycle, which leads the next issue. We need to begin recycling at the household level. People need to physically see what is trash and what is recyclable. But even before that, we NEED RECYCLING BINS. Recycling bins need to be placed near every trash can. The option to recycle need to be a Redesigned.

All in all, I learned a ton of new things in the past few days about incinerators and we, as a class, are finally seeing the options society has. I firmly believe we can recycle through Covant’s new system but if we want to continue moving towards “zero waste,” we are going to have to educate and redesign items, minds, and disposal options.