The Problem Of Waste Management

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.)

When reducing waste materials, businesses could sometimes have issues with that because the businesses big ideas may require a lot of materials and they may not use it all but if the material is not provided then the idea would not be fulfilled. The impact of the businesses reducing waste in the future it would be a cycle we will be use to and the nations would be echo friendly towards the earth.

The current waste management in America should be improved. There is trash everywhere, and people do nothing about it. People are destroying our beautiful country with trash. Sure, our garbage and recycled materials are picked up once a week, but no one is worried about the trash that is just sitting there. People look at trash and do nothing about it. They walk by it like it was a squirrel or something. People should help pick it up and throw it away. It’s super simple. Just pick it up, and find the nearest trash can and then put in there. It’s that simple. The current should and needs to be fixed.

Americans make more than 200 million tons of garbage each year, enough to fill Busch Stadium from top to bottom twice a day, that’s over 1800 feet! according to Ballparks. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it says Do Something. With the invention of the virtually indestructible material well known as plastic, on top of the rapidly evolving technological world, and the extreme reduction of locations where landfills can be built, it’s hard to believe that 75% of the waste stream in America alone is recyclable, and yet only 30% of it is actually recycled. Recycling is a beneficial solution to many of our increasingly important environmental

We have become a very wasteful society where it seems as if everything is disposable; as a society, we need to be conscious of just how much waste we produce and what we are able to do to reduce that amount to protect our environment.

Another possible solution would be to give tax deductions or extra paybacks to those who recycle and clear a check for proper waste disposal. This could not only encourage it but also give a small economic boost.

The United States of America has come a long way since its inception. The development of homes, cars, technologies, goods, and services has evolved. Also, the way in which Americans consume has drastically changed. And with all these great things, came solid waste generation, and unfortunately not methods for disposing of it in an environmentally friendly manner. The United States is the top trash-producing country in the world at over 1,600 pounds per person per year. Although the U.S. accounts for 5% of the world’s population, it generates 40% of the world’s waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010 “Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash and recycled and composted over 85 million tons of materials, resulting in 34.1 percent recycling rate. On average, each American generates about 4.43 pounds of waste each day. Only 1.51 pounds of that material were recycled and composed” (EPA, 2010).

Americans alone produce 250 million tons of municipal solid waste annually, tripling from 1960 (Weeks). That cannot continue because there is not enough natural resources to be consuming and dumping into landfills. There are many consequences of not becoming concerned for the environment. The depletion of resources and supposedly safe methods of recycling or burying waste are not working. Many engineers and the US EPA acknowledge that the landfills will leak eventually and pollute groundwater (Sheehan). Eliminating forests and other sources are leaving a very fragile eco system. The more humans contribute to global warming; the more natural disasters will be seen. American consumption and lack of reducing and reusing every item not only affects the environment negatively, it also affects the workers of those behind the “Made in China” label. American consumption needs to slow down and readjust the way waste and the environment is handled, and there is a way called zero waste. Success has been seen in individuals and companies that participate and make differences ethically, cites have experienced great success with a zero waste lifestyle.

The world population is around 7 billion people and every person produces about 4.4 pounds of waste per day. More people will lead to the increase of wastes products and then will increase the risk of environmental issues. Today, the world able to recycle only 30% of waste products. According to Environmental Protection Agency “Approximately 55% of 220 million tons of waste generated each year in the United States ends up in one of the over 3,500 landfills. Municipal solid waste landfills are the second-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, accounting for approximately 22 percent of these emissions in 2008”

The faculty, staff and students at Ames University are committed to being at a zero waste and emissions by the end of 2025. To that end, Ames University, has requested that M-Global’s Department of Environmental Health, conduct a waste management and energy audit at their campus in Garner, North Carolina. This audit was prompted by a speech that the school’s president heard while attending a conference at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. The speaker, a DuPont representative, stated that new DuPont factories in Asia have almost reached the corporate goal of zero waste and emissions.

Article Summary: This article talks about how the hazardous waste regulations are meant to apply to, not only for industrial and manufacturing industries but for any non-household facility generating and managing hazardous waste. It talks about how many people tend to overthink schools and retail stores as places that produce hazardous waste. The article address that some household cleaners, automotive products, and batteries are considered hazardous waste and have to be disposed of properly and mentions that the EPA has began to focus their attentions on the retail sector. The author mentions that they have now come up with a cohesive strategy to ensure that retail stores comply with hazardous waste regulations. It builds upon regulatory efforts

MacBride, S. (2012). Recycling reconsidered the present failure and future promise of environmental action in the United States. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Waste Management, Inc., incorporated in 1968, had become a leader in the industry of waste management services ranging from industrial operations to curbside collection. This company had become synonymous with many different kinds of disposal services that allowed for the company to grow and grow with a solid base over the course of twenty-eight years. Finally in 1996, the company reported total assets of almost $20 billion with net income close to $200 million. However, even with this growth and solid base, the company was feeling competitive pressures and net income was on the decline.

My main concern about waste disposal is toward poverty. In every society, for it to work effectively the waste disposal has to be handled properly. The lack of proper waste disposal can contribute for the underdevelopment of the community. For instance, in poorer community that does not have resources to dispose of the trash properly create a series of problems. For example, when there are a lot of trashes in a community, it will prevent investors to invest in a community, the housing market, schools and stores will decline, in consequence the houses will loose its value. This will create a ripple effect because people will start immigrating toward a better place where it is much cleaner. Families will try to move to a better place where their kids can have a better future. I ask myself who wants to live in a dirty environment? I hope nobody. That’s why I believe that the government should help the poorest communities about the ways to handle waste disposal, and better educate them about recycling.

Serious environmental problems are also looming in the horizon as a result of the demographic changes that have taken place worldwide. The volumes of waste product generated by the human society constitute a major environmental problem. In 2009, U.S. residents businesses, and institutions generated more than two hundred forty three million tons of municipal solid waste. Hazardous solid waste