The Impact of Municipal Solid Waste on the Environment
The Impact of Municipal Solid Waste on the Environment
"We cannot adopt the way of living that was satisfactory a hundred years ago. The world in which we live has changed, and we must change with it"(Adler).
We are living in a consumist - throwaway society (see Figure 1815) where there is little awareness about the impact of Municipal Solid Waste, "MSWmore commonly known as trash or garbageconsists of everyday items such as paper and paperboard (35.7%), yard waste (12.2%), food wastes (11.4%), plastics (11.1%), metals (7.9%), rubber, leather, and textiles (7.1%), wood (5.7%), glass (5.5%)" as shown in Figure 18-2 (United States Environmental Protection Agency, "Municipal"), on the environment. New York City is one of the largest cities that leads the MSW production in the USA by exporting 11,000 tons per day of MSW to other states, at an average cost of $64 a ton (Wright 495). Therefore, we are facing a great challenge by trying to reduce the impact of garbage on the environment because there is a lack of education, public policy, and civil action. Our goal will be to achieve an integrated solid waste management, in order to go toward a sustainable future (Wright 506).
First, let's have an approach to the concept of consumption which refers to the goods, services, energy, and resources that are used by people, institutions, and societies (Giddens et al. 611). It is a phenomenon with both positive and negative dimensions (Giddens et al. 611). On the one hand, rising levels of consumption around the world mean that people are living under better conditions than in times past (Giddens et al. 611). Consumption is linked to economic development as living standards rise, people are able to afford more food, clothing, personal items, leisure time, vacations, cars, and so forth (Giddens et al. 611). On the other hand, consumption can have negative impacts as well (Giddens et al. 611). Consumption patterns can damage the environmental resource base and exacerbate
"We cannot adopt the way of living that was satisfactory a hundred years ago. The world in which we live has changed, and we must change with it"(Adler).
We are living in a consumist - throwaway society (see Figure 1815) where there is little awareness about the impact of Municipal Solid Waste, "MSWmore commonly known as trash or garbageconsists of everyday items such as paper and paperboard (35.7%), yard waste (12.2%), food wastes (11.4%), plastics (11.1%), metals (7.9%), rubber, leather, and textiles (7.1%), wood (5.7%), glass (5.5%)" as shown in Figure 18-2 (United States Environmental Protection Agency, "Municipal"), on the environment. New York City is one of the largest cities that leads the MSW production in the USA by exporting 11,000 tons per day of MSW to other states, at an average cost of $64 a ton (Wright 495). Therefore, we are facing a great challenge by trying to reduce the impact of garbage on the environment because there is a lack of education, public policy, and civil action. Our goal will be to achieve an integrated solid waste management, in order to go toward a sustainable future (Wright 506).
First, let's have an approach to the concept of consumption which refers to the goods, services, energy, and resources that are used by people, institutions, and societies (Giddens et al. 611). It is a phenomenon with both positive and negative dimensions (Giddens et al. 611). On the one hand, rising levels of consumption around the world mean that people are living under better conditions than in times past (Giddens et al. 611). Consumption is linked to economic development as living standards rise, people are able to afford more food, clothing, personal items, leisure time, vacations, cars, and so forth (Giddens et al. 611). On the other hand, consumption can have negative impacts as well (Giddens et al. 611). Consumption patterns can damage the environmental resource base and exacerbate
Cited: Figure 18-1. Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 492 Figure 18-2. Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 493 Figure 18-3. Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 493 Figure 18-4. Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 493 Figure 18-5. Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 494 Figure 18-6. Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 496 Figure 18-15. Wright, Richard T. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 507