Waste Management |
Waste Management
One of the questions researchers are trying to answer
is what materials in the landfills and waste stream can
be reduced? Some interesting discoveries about what we
think is in landfills, what is found in landfills, and
what has happened to the garbage over time. Digs found
that less than one percent by weight and volume of each
landfill was fast-food packaging. People often estimate
that diapers take up 5 to 40 percent of the landfill,
however the Garbage Project found that diapers accounted
for less than one percent by weight and 1.5 percent by
volume of the landfills.
The Garbage Project found that plastic soda bottles
and most other rigid plastic containers were squashed.
The majority of plastics by volume were plastic film bags
such as cleaner, grocery, and garbage bags. Plastics
accounted for about 9 to 12 percent of the landfills by
volume and about 5 percent by weight although sometimes
people estimate plastics take up to 30 to 70 percent of
the municipal solid wastes.
The public often sees newspapers as being recyclable
or biodegradable and underestimates their effect on
landfills. Newspapers made up about 14.4 percent by
volume of the landfills studied. Even though newspapers
can be recycled, they represented the largest single item
in landfills by both weight and volume. Since 1970, paper
had increased in landfills and accounted for about 34
percent by weight and 38 percent by volume of the
landfills dug.
Biodegradability: Reality or Myth?
Biodegradation is a process where microorganisms
secrete enzymes to chemically break down material they
eat. Most within a few weeks or months. Laws have been
proposed in some staffs which would ban any packaging
that does not decompose in one year. The Garbage Project
discovered, however, that decomposition in landfills may
not work. Biodegradation may be a longer process than we
thought. Food and yard waste in easily identifiable form
were found in the landfills even after being buried for
years. Some decomposition of organics seems to have
occurred, but substantial quantities of all kinds of
paper also were found. Project Garbage found no major
changes in the percentage of paper found in garbage dug
up in the later 1970s and that from the mid 1980s, which
means paper was not decomposing rapidly. When Project
Garbage dug up refuse deposited between 1970 and 1974,
they found paper fractions still readable, and grass
clippings, a 1972 T-bone steak, and five hot dogs still
preserved.
Conditions are not ideal in landfills for
biodegradation. Some food does degrade, but at a very
slow rate or about 50 percent every 20 years, according
to the Garbage Project. The remainder of the refuse in
landfills seems to have retained its original weight
volume, and form even after 25 years.
Reduce, Recycle, Reuse
Waste management refers to the use of a variety of
waste management practices to safely handle the household
waste stream. Effective waste management requires an
integrated approach -- the combination of a number of
technologies including reducing, recycling, composting,
sanitary landfill and waste-to-energy. Using the
integrated approach does not mean all these options are
implemented, but it presents options for individuals and
communities to consider.
Source reduction.
People can reduce the volume of garbage they generate
by making thoughtful choices when they buy products.
Examples include providing your own reusable grocery
bags, using both sides of paper, buying products with
reduced packaging when safe to do so, buying products in
recyclable packaging, repairing existing items, not
buying products if they are not needed, and minimizing
the amount of toxic substances used.
Reuse of products. Renew the life of an object by
redefining its purpose and using it again. Examples
include extending the life of an item by repair or
modification or by creating new uses for items within the
household or for others.
Recycling of materials including composting.
Collect and reprocess manufactured materials for
reuse either in the same form or as part of a different
product. Recycling includes collecting and separating
products, preparing them to buyer specifications, selling
to markets, processing, and eventual reuse of materials.
Landfill and waste combustion/energy recovery. Manage
those wastes which cannot be recycled, reused, or
reduced. Estimates vary regarding the resources saved by
recycling. The Solid Waste Handbook suggests that each
ton of paper recycled saves 17 eight-inch trees and 390
gallons of oil. It produces 23-74 percent less air
pollution and 35 percent less water pollution than
production of paper from virgin fibers. Recycling
aluminum is estimated to use 95 percent less energy than
making it from raw ore and creates 95 percent less air
pollution and 97 percent less water pollution. Recycling
glass saves 4-32 percent of the energy needed to
manufacture new glass and produces 20 percent less air
pollution.
The lack of clearly identified markets for recycled
products results in considerable price variation as well
as making it a difficult business to manage. A list of
recycling centers or firms is available from the NSRA
Recycling Hotline, 1-800-248-7328. Consumers also can
contact volunteer organizations, city or county
officials, sanitary professionals, Extension offices,
local or area recycling organizations, or persons already
recycling items.
Consumers also can write the product |
This information is for educational purposes only. References to
commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension
or bias against those not mentioned. This information becomes public property
upon publication and may be printed verbatim with credit to MSU Extension.
Reprinting cannot be used to endorse or advertise a commercial product or
company. This file was generated from data base 02 on 02/27/01. Data base 02 was
last revised on 12/04/98.
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