Waste Disposal

Waste disposal:
 Do You Know Where Your Trash Goes?

The picture is filled with splashes of bright orange, lilac, and royal blue. Beside rusty brown and white baubles, there are pockets of slate gray. Perhaps you weren't able to tell because of the vibrantly colored trash, but this is a river in Ahmedabad, India. Here a young child is pictured swimming amongst the waste and sewage of city streets.

India is currently ailed with air pollution, toxic foam, Polluted water, and waste taking up most of the land. It is estimated that India produces 25,940 tons of plastic waste in one day. (DownToEarth) 


  In past articles, we have discussed plastic pollution and dead zones.  Both are a byproduct of improperly disposed of human waste/trash. 230 million tons of trash is produced each year by the United States alone - that averages out to about 4.6lbs per person. (learner) 

   Though it may be hard to imagine, Indias waste ridden rivers are may not be too far off from our own. While not sharing massive amounts of trash with its southeast Asian counterpart, the Merrimack River is facing similar issues.

    A landfill in Rochester was allowed a permit to dump 100,000 gallons of waste into the Lowell water treatment plant. Lowell later suspended the contract after they discovered that the landfill was causing toxic runoff into the Merrimack River. This could affect many, considering that the Merrimack is a local water source to half a million people. Lowell claims that they discovered "forever Chemicals" in the water from the landfill. These forever chemicals are linked to kidney cancer, low infant birth weights, and other ailments. The company's wastewater contained 100x more chemicals than regulation allows. Lowell hopes to stop accepting the toxic water produced from the unnamed landfill.

So how do we address this issue?

   There are many different ways we all can contribute to the cause and prevent it from worsening over time.

1)  Don't throw things out, Reuse! (Learner.org)

   We can reduce the amount of trash we produce by reusing and recycling.

2) Less packaging = Less Waste (Learner.org)

    Packaging produces excess plastic and paper waste. We can reduce the amount produced by endorsing minimalistic packaging or using recycled/recyclable materials.

3) Recycling!

Learner.Org goes on to list how/why recycling is helpful:

• "Curbside recycling containers. The community provides containers in which individual families deposit such materials as newspapers; glass bottles and jars; tin and aluminum containers; plastic bottles and bags; mixed waste paper (cardboard, phone books, magazines, junk mail, office paper, brown bags); and used motor oil. The community arranges for curbside pickup and delivery to a recycling facility.

• Drop-off recycling zones. Groups of large recycling bins are installed on public property in one or more locations throughout the community.

• Recycling centers. The community provides the center itself and encourages residents to drop off or sell refuse materials there.

• Green waste diversion and composting programs. Leaves, grass clippings, and other organic waste materials are composted and used to enrich soil or as mulch or landfill cover."

we all have the ability to help change our circumstances and improve the health of our environment.

Works Cited

Abel, David, and Maria Lovato. "Lowell water treatment plant to stop accepting toxic water from N.H. landfill." BostonGobe.com, 7 Nov. 2019, www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/11/07/lowell-water-treatment-plant-stop-accepting-toxic-water-from-landfill/tmXpsDYlCI6Bow0rovemkJ/story.html#:~:targetText=Under%20pressure%20from%20lawmakers%20and,than%20a%20half%2Dmillion%20people.

Kaur, Banjout. "40% plastic waste littered on India's streets: Javadekar in Lok Sabha." DownToEarth, www.downtoearth.org.in/news/waste/40-plastic-waste-littered-on-india-s-streets-javadekar-in-lok-sabha-67887. Accessed 23 Sept. 2019.

Merrimack River. Des,Nh,Gov, www.des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/rivers/merri_river_upper.htm. Accessed 10 Dec. 2019.

Reuters, Amit Dave. A boy swims in the polluted waters of the Sabarmati River to dive for offerings thrown in by worshippers in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. 2010. PBS.Org, 2010, www.pbs.org/newshour/world/in-worlds-poorest-slums-landfills-and-polluted-rivers-become-a-childs-playground. Accessed 6 Dec. 2019.