What Waste Managment Really Means

In my opinion the world’s greatest environmental problem is waste disposal. It is the root of nearly all environmental problems everywhere. The disposal of garbage is a problem that continues to grow with the development of industrialized nations and the growth of population. But it’s not like it is a problem we can stop, but there must be some way to make it better. Americans alone used to generate almost 208 million tons of solid waste each year. By the year 2000, that number increased by 20%. Today, each one of us generates about 4.3 pounds of waste per day. As a country we generate more garbage than any other country by far.

There are many different methods of disposing of waste. Landfill is the most common and probably accounts for more than 90 percent of the nation's municipal refuse even though Landfills have been proven to contaminate drinking water in certain areas. But it is the most cost affective method of disposal.

The second most common way to dispose of waste is for it to be burned in incinerators. It is more expensive but a safer method of disposal than landfills. Modern incinerators are designed to destroy at least 99.9% of the organic waste material. Numerous thermal processes recover energy from solid waste. Some companies burn in-plant wastes in conventional incinerators to produce steam. This process of chemical decomposition, produces a variety of gases and inert ash. Garbage burned in incinerators has poisoned air, soil, and water.

To be continued...