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The most harmful way of dealing with waste is through sending it to landfill. This proves to take up huge spaces of land and is therefore extremely unsightly to individuals living close by. It is also a threat to groundwater and river quality as polluted substances can leak out of the landfill sites and find their way down into the ground or into nearby rivers and lakes. Another environmental impact is that decaying matter will produce methane gas, which is explosive and a greenhouse gas. This decaying matter will take ages…
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Finally when the plastic is discarded it is the poor in third world countries who burn it and are again exposed to dangerous fumes and chemicals…
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o Open dumps: fields or holes where garbage is dumped or burned o “Sanitary” landfills: landfills in which MSW is spread out in thin layers, compacted and covered daily – designed to reduce leachate • Pros o Low operating costs o Can handle large amounts of waste o Filled land can be used for other purposes o No shortage of landfill space (usually) • Cons o Noise, traffic, dust o Release of GHG (CO2 and methane) unless collected o Leaks and water contamination o Does not encourage waste reduction Incinerator • Incinerators (“resource recovery” or “waste to energy”) o 89 located in the US where 12% of all MSW is burned • Pros o Reduces volume of trash o Produces energy o…
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The objective of this essay is to let people know about this issue, to make you understand why is necessary reduce the use of plastic. And the better way to let you realize how important is this topic, is telling you about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.…
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The scientific realm of ocean trash and its impact has been left horrifyingly untouched and is only now being taken up. Consequentially, we have been oblivious to the negative affects of this issue to the point where (1) the largest landfill on Earth is situated in the Pacific Ocean, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Although we lack a proper understanding, it is still an enormous threat to our planet and to us as humans, a fact that we seem content to be ignorant of. Already, there are (2) well over five trillion known scraps of garbage amuck in the ocean. Another moment cannot be spared if we are to do something. The immense amount of ocean trash afloat has caused concerns for marine life, human health, and even economy. As long as…
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If the trash is continuity dumped in a landfill many miles away you just happen to forget about it, however people won’t forget if a landfill just happens to fall next to a home. Well with the growing amount of trash the amount of landfill space is growing smaller and smaller. A portion of the material is burned emitting harmful gasses to the surrounding land. The majority, however, is thrown into a landfill and forgotten. “Liquids that get thrown away will seep through the ground and could harm the soil.” (unknown). When the liquids are thrown away, they can seep into the ground and cause damage to the plants. When this damage is don’t to the plants it also affects the wildlife’s food. Under those circumstances, recycling would be much better for the environment and the…
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Burying waste causes toxic chemicals to leech into the ground water. Burning waste causes toxic ash, which pollutes the air and falls back to Earth as rain or snow.…
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The most popular and inexpensive way to get rid of garbage is burial, but burying your problems does not necessarily mean getting rid of them. Landfill sites pose as severe ecological threats as these mass garbage dump yards overflow with trash and frequently contaminate our air, soil and water with hazardous wastes. About 400 million tons of hazardous wastes are generated each year1. A large-scale release of these materials can cause thousands of deaths and may poison the environment for many years. For example many industrial companies around the world cannot afford to enforce the strict pollution regulations set by many developed countries. This usually forces these types of companies to move to developing countries where pollution regulations are very lenient. These developing countries knowingly accept environmentally hazardous companies usually because they are in desperate need of employment. The harmful effects of these companies were clearly illustrated in the 1960s and 1970s when residents living near Minamata Bay, Japan, developed nervous disorders, tremors, and paralysis in a mysterious epidemic. The root was later found to be a local industry that had released mercury, a highly toxic element, into Minamata Bay. The disaster had claimed the lives of 400 people1. Since 1970 you can bet that a lot more than 400 people have died as a result of…
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When the word landfill comes to mind, many of us think of disposal sites where solid waste, such as paper, glass, and metal, is buried between layers of dirt and other materials to reduce contamination of the surrounding land. Not all garbage ends up at the dump location intended. A river, sewer or beach cannot catch everything the rain-washes away either. In fact, Earth's largest landfill isn't on land at all. Unheard- of to many is another type of landfill, the largest landfill in the world to be exact, which isn’t visible from land. Today many are referring this landfill to be known as the “Eighth Continent”, or The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a “nebulous, floating junk yard on the high seas” that stretches for hundreds of miles across the North Pacific Ocean (McLendon, 2010). I have observed that this is an incredible issue occurring today worldwide affecting our environment caused by a large amount of pollution. Today I will be talking about how the world’s largest landfill is formed, the global health effects it’s causing, and actions that can be taken to prevent The Great Pacific Patch to grow any further.…
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The waste of mankind can literally be found throughout all parts of our planet. Contrary to what people would like to believe, not all garbage magically makes its way into some convenient dump. In fact, it is estimated that mankind dumps about 14 billion pounds of plastic into our oceans each year ("Marine Debris"). Everywhere leads to the ocean; whether pollutants travel by river, sewer, or runoff makes no difference. In recent years, the amount of debris making its way into the marine environment has been the cause of great concern. Fragments and remains of discarded plastics have been observed to be forming a landfill of sorts stretching for hundreds of miles across the North Pacific. This "Great" Pacific Ocean garbage patch has been found to be having grave effects on our environment and the wildlife that resides within it. Plastics and toxic chemicals are ending up in the stomachs of marine animals. Besides killing sea life in substantial numbers, the garbage patch is also creating detrimental toxic effects on our environment through the absorption of chemical compounds in the seawater.…
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The poorest of the poor among the people of the Philippines has been described to live in Smoky Mountain which is located in the city of Quezon. It is a 22-hectare land that is used as an open dumpsite where most of the garbage of the country’s capital is disposed of. Seeing that 3,000 unit-tons of solid waste has been deposited here everyday since the year 1993, trash can be seen piled as high as a seven-foot story building which would often result in garbage-slides. (Florano E., 2015). Moreover, the stench is also described to be unbearable. According to an insight of a journalist, “There is no inch of ground that is not covered in garbage. These would include a variety of plastics, bottles, aluminum, and cardboards.” Despite all of these,…
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Pacific Ocean plastic waste is a major issue that caught my attention many years ago. I first heard about this is issue on the Oprah Winfrey show. The topic was about the issue in the Pacific Ocean, there’s a massive plastic waste dump site two times the state of Texas and growing in the Pacific Ocean. This collection of plastic is gradually being broken down into a plastic dust that marine wildlife mistake for food. Small fish eat tiny bits of plastic as if they were normal plankton. Those fish are then consumed by larger species and the plastic contamination moves up the food chain. Floating garbage includes plastic shopping bags, pens, cigarette lighters, six pack holders, and plastic nets. This all has been cause because of people, when you don’t recycle plastic it ends up in the ocean, which in turn ends up in the wildlife’s body. When I watched the video of the sea turtle munching on the plastic bag, it really broke my heart, because I knew that I had something to do with it. I have become more aware of what GOD created. So that moment I changed my lifestyle and bought…
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The poorest of the poor among the people of the Philippines has been described to live in Smoky Mountain. It is located in Quezon City and the 22-hectare land is used as an open dumpsite where most of the garbage of the country’s capital is disposed of. In this place, trash can be piled as high as a seven-foot story building seeing that about 3,000 unit tons of solid waste has been deposited here since the year 1993 (Florano E., 2015). Moreover, the stench is also described to be unbearable. According to an insight of a journalist, “There is no inch of ground that is not covered in garbage. These range from plastics, bottles, aluminum, to cardboards.” Despite all of these, however, there are still people living there in the hopes that their…
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In the densely populated city of Hong Kong, where land resources are rare, waste is a troublesome issue. According to the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department(EDP) Hong Kong is running out of landfill space far earlier than expected, and the existing landfills will be filled up, one by one, in mid to late 2010s if waste levels continue to increase at current levels.)…
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Environment Secretary Lito Atienza released a report that the cause of the recent immense flood that submerged Manila was the clogged waterways, wherein Laguna de Bay could not flow water into Pasig River to reach Manila bay, which in turn empties out into the China Sea. Laguna de Bay and Pasig River have become Filipinos great waste bin. Filipinos have mercilessly thrown all their garbage in them that when we pass by any of the two, the stench will linger. The sight of Pasig River has been unfathomable. We did destroy them and now we are to pay. It has long been a topic that the clearing of Laguna de Bay and Pasig River has been going on for years and yet nothing has happened until now. Nature is now getting back at us.…
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