The Problem Of Methane Gas

America’s biggest export trash items are scrap paper and metal which the Chinese buy, make products out of, then sell them back to America resulting in an enormous profit, and creating a cycle because we throw it out again. America, the country that once made things for the world, is now China’s trash compactor. Furthermore, due to China’s skyrocketing economic growth, the Chinese are facing a major challenge in terms of waste. China, the world’s second-largest economy, is also the number-one waste producer. Almost more than 430,000 tons of waste is generated every day in China. China produces around 300 million tons of waste a year; most of it comes from cities. Currently, Chinese urban waste management services generally collect unsorted municipal solid waste to be disposed of in landfills or waste incinerators around of the city or further out into the countryside. China is open to the idea of waste recovery and of trying to reduce the impact of their waste on the

Municipal solid wastes are leftovers made by the population such as food, plastic bottles, household wares and many more. These items referred by most as “the garage” or “trash”. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015) In the early 1900’s, incinerators were used to burn waste however by the Mid-20th century, lawmakers enacted the first government regulations in an attempt to address increasing concerns about the environmental impact of unregulated waste management practices. With the first waste management legislation being passed in 1965, brought along the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, thus bringing us into a new world of waste management.(Vault, n.d.)

Group Thesis Statement: The alarming effects of consumer waste that pollutes the land, water and air will continue to rise and negatively impact numerous ecosystems on Earth if every human being doesn’t utilize the reduce, recycle, and recycle concept.

Americans have yet to face the unnerving reality of the fact that “in 2008 only 7.1% of the 30.05 million tons of plastic waste in America was recycled” (Linn). This low percentage is shocking, outrageous, and should terrify the American public, but this number can change. Recycling is not just a feel good experience; it is a way to help save energy, space, and money. However, with the enormous amount of trash being thrown out each year, landfills are increasing in size creating numerous issues. The staggering amount of waste increases greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming and building up dangerous toxins that sink underground into our soil and water, overflows into wildlife habitats and oceans, and costs a large amount of money to remove. By fining residents who incorrectly dispose of recyclable goods, implementing recycling as a requirement in educational institutions and other business and residential settings, categorizing the

In 2012, Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash and recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of this material (“Municipal Solid Waste”). There are many ways to end our environmental crisis, such as reducing our amount of trash, recycling items, and reusing other items.

The EPA has a ‘Waste Management Hierarchy’ and it begins with reducing and reusing what we consume in order to reduce waste.

In 2012, Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash and recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of this material (“Municipal Solid Waste”). There are many ways to end our environmental crisis, such as reducing our amount of trash, recycling items, and reusing other items.

The waste problem in our world has become atrocious. As explained in “A Dirty Dilema” by Zada Lipman, waste from factories is being dumped in rivers, lakes, and open areas with no one around it. In “The Truth About Recycling” written by Leo Hickman, it explains how waste is being checked for quality and how people are losing confidence about recycling. For my last article, "Recycling Rare-Earth-Metal Waste Using Hydrometallurgical Methods." by E. G. Polyakov and A. S. Sibilev, they explain how metals can be recycled for better use or better storage. Our environment is slowly being destroyed because of how we get rid of waste, but we are able to fix this problem.

1. Methane was first discovered by Alessandro Volta in 1778 while on summer vacation at Lake Maggiore in Italy. He noticed large bubbles of gas coming to the surface from the stirred up sediment of the lake, when he poked the muddy bottom of the water with a stick. He collected them for further experimentation and discovered it was inflammable. He called it inflammable air from marshlands [1].

Methane is a major component of natural gas and is largely produced by biological production and leaking from natural gas pipelines and other infrastructure. Some of the biological sources of methane are natural, such as termites. Other sources, however, are driven by increased human agricultural activity, such as the cultivation of rice. Recent evidence suggests that forests may be the source of

The average resident produces seven and a half pounds of garbage every day that is buried down in landfills and litters lands costing a great amount of money. Nowadays, people face no more critical trouble than the need to save the weakening environment, mainly in urban areas, where solid wastes are uselessly dumped. It has been observed that cities have no controlled structure for garbage disposal. Each year, millions of dollars are spent picking up litter and more is thrown away in valuable materials that could be recycled. As humanity develops new technology and equipment, the level of waste increases every day. Due to the fact that there is a huge problem with garbage disposal, government representatives must contribute to resolving

We, humans, are producing waste every day, polluting and destroying our planet. To save the world, many people believe recycling is the obvious solution. It is the process of converting certain waste into a reusable material. Therefore, the recycle motto is “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”. However, have you ever wondered why the word recycle is placed at the end? Well, it’s because it is not the only way to reduce waste and save the world from global warming. Recycling may have many advantages, but its disadvantages’ list is not a short one either. Recycling may look very simple and easy method, but when there is a need for a new unit of waste recycling, it takes up a lot of space. Not to mention the amount of money the building costs along with paying the staffs, buying new utility vehicles, upgrading the recycling unit and different types of chemical disposals. It is not only expensive but also, unhygienic, unsafe and unsightly with piles of waste materials on every location. These wastes spread infectious diseases putting human health at risk. Aside from recycling

The world has seen a drastic reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, the benefits of the transition from burning coals to using natural gases. The consequences however, are seemingly becoming more damaging than experts thought. Natural gases are primarily composed of methane gas (CH4), gases which are 35 times the potency of carbon dioxide and traps much more heat radiation. The United States alone is responsible for 30% to 60% of global growth in human-caused methane emissions in the past 14 years (Magill 2016). During the process of extraction and transportation of natural gases, is where the problem resides. Methane leakage occurs from processing plants and storage facilities becoming a major concern for the environment. The big question is, how much methane actually escapes into the atmosphere and what are the challenges humans face trying to prevent further leakages.

As a society, we have learned to dump or bury our garbage in the attempt to get rid of and forget about our litter. This worked with biodegradable litter; however, contemporary chemically created waste does not decompose. This leaves refuse within the environment that will not simply go away; instead, it collects and increases as time goes by. Actually, the data is in regard to this ever increasing pollution is terrifying, since micro plastic litter released by a single cosmetic product is estimated, on the lower range, at

Recycling is an essential part of reducing the amount of waste filling up landfills. Recycling materials cannot only reduce waste but pollution as well. Unfortunately the typical recycling programs such as curbside pick-up and recycling centers require significant commitment from the public to be successful which generally leads to low participation. However there may be a solution to the problem. The pollution prevention and reduction program suggests the use of materials recovery facilities. Materials recovery facilities sort out recyclable materials from other waste products such as compostable items. By sorting out the waste at one central location more items get recycled and waste is reduced without public participation. A recent article by Wang (2010) suggests, “The installation of materials recovery facilities (MRFs) can be an alternative solution to the problem of low participation of voluntary household and curbside recycling in fast-growing cities.” Materials recovery facilities can be a viable solution for waste management problems where public participation is an obstacle. This solution also provides less societal impact because lifestyle change is not as critical.