NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
GARBAGE: TRIM THAT TONNE TABLE OF CONTENTS Preliminary Consideration A. Inherent implications in the situation 3 B. Possible causes 4 2. Identify the Problem A. Ten different perspectives of looking at the problem 4 B. Best expression of the problem 4 3.
Research the Problem A. Sources to use in order to gain knowledge of the problem 5 4. Range of Possible Solutions and Refining the Best one. A. Ten possible solutions 6 5. Justification for best solution. 7 B.
Possible objections to solution 8 C. How to counter or correct 8 6. The Essay 8 WORKS CITED 12 1. Preliminary/ Consideration A. Inherent implications in the situation In considering the implications and issues inherent in the situation of pollution and garbage, one needs to understand the issues inherent in the situation. In most discussions and media reports, the word that usually follows environmental is problem.
One tends to associate the environment with bad news, disasters one would rather ignore, hopeless situations that make one feel powerless. Sometimes people hope that these problems will not touch their lives. But these are not self-contained problems that can be disassociated from the larger system of interrelationships or from cause and effect. In fact, most problems are really symptoms, the causes of which can be found in human activity such as mans efforts to control nature, over consumption of manufactured goods, and growing population.
In short, man has developed a lifestyle that is propped up by environmental destruction. Man has lived for short-term goals at the expense of long-term sustainability. B. Possible causes Waste and affluence seem to go hand in hand.
The better off we are as a nation, the more secure our natural resources, the more we waste. Throw away seems to be a measure of prosperity. 2. Identify the Problem A. Ten different perspectives of looking at the problem 1. What is in your garbage? Are there things there that may be hazardous to your health? 2.
Do you know where your garbage ultimately goes? 3. What are the toxic wastes that emanate from ones household garbage and how can it be eliminated? 4. What can you do as an individual in order to properly dispose your garbage? 5. What can local officials do in order to properly address the problem? 6. How can the household members contribute to the pollution of its community? 7.
What are the concrete courses of action one can take to jumpstart efforts of proper waste disposal? 8. What are the products that are packaged for convenience without concern for the environment? 9. How can one make a compost heap? 10. Are there any local agencies that can help train and orient people about proper waste disposal in their own surroundings? B. Best expression of the problem Unless we change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.
This is an old Chinese proverb but it has a lot of truth in it. Every social system depends on the environment. If we dont change our notion of progress, if we continue to measure it in terms of blind growth, then we will destroy every environment that makes our progress possible. A. Sources to use in order to gain knowledge of the problem. The Household Hazardous Waste Wheel outlines the toxins found in everyday materials, the non-toxic alternatives and disposal recommendations.
This is available from The Hazards Management Institute. Contact local environment groups working on hazardous waste issues and find out how one can help. Local groups are excellent sources of information when one starts to research. Talk to people: a neighbors hazardous waste may end up in ones common water supply.
If one has a question about a chemical that one thinks might be hazardous or toxic, call any of the Chemical Referral Centers which could provide information about safe disposal. If one needs toxicity or disposal information about any pesticide, herbicide, insecticide or agricultural chemical, one can call their National Pesticide Information Service. If one wants information about any hazardous product that is used in the workplace, there are Occupational Health and Safety Centers that can provide as excellent data banks. The Environmental Protection Agency has developed a data base called the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory, which will provide facts about the manufacture of chemicals and where to get more information. 4.
Range of Possible Solutions and Refining the Best one. A. Ten possible solutions 1. Many food wastes can be recycled through composting. The nutrient-rich, decomposed material can be used to improve the soil in the yard or garden.
Turning your compost heap (exposing the buried material to the air) will speed up the composting process and keep the heap from giving off odors. The heap should be turned every 1 to 3 weeks. 2. Build your heap on a well-drained site. 3. Dont buy over packaged products.
You can go even further by letting store managers and manufacturers know why you are refusing over packaged goods. If enough people use their power as consumers to reject over packaging, the message will get through the manufacturers. 4. One good way of reducing the amount of garbage in the bin is to reuse the materials. For example, take your own carrying bags to the store and reuse them every shopping trip. 5.
Households produce tons of food waste every year. Most of this material is not waste at all, but potential fertilizer for the yard and garden. Organic material is broken down naturally by bacteria and fungi. 6. Recycle plastics.
The plastics industry is researching and experimenting with various processes and some municipalities are accepting plastics too. Dont pour hazardous wastes down the drain. They can release toxic fumes, harm the necessary microbes in the sewage treatment process, and contaminate surface and groundwater. Is the product available in a non-aerosol container? Propellants such as butane that are used in aerosols are released as fine droplets that can lodge deep in the lungs. They are a source of indoor air pollution.
Has the product been tested on animals? Some synthetic cleaning products are routinely tested on rats, rabbits and guinea pigs before being release for commercial use. 10. Is a safer product available? Is the company concerned about the environmental effects of the product? Try to buy your cleaning products at a health food store or ask the store manager at your grocery store to stock non-toxic products. 5. Justification for best solution The best solution here is the composting part because one can readily do this.
When the bacteria and fungi breaks down the material, the process of composting speeds up this process by providing an optimum environment for the transformation of organic wastes to the nutrient rich end-product that is, humus. Composting is a bit like cooking: you combine a number of ingredients, stir them around and leave them to simmer for a while. What you end up is an earth-smelling soil conditioner. The whole process takes anywhere from weeks to months, depending on the composition of the pile, and can be done in a corner of the yard or even on a balcony (Bem, Robyn 1978). B. Possible objections to the solution Some objections to this form would be the time and effort one expends in order to come up with a compost heap.
People can react by saying that it will take too much of their time in doing that. They can argue that it is easier to just pack their garbage and let the garbage man collect it. There are many reasons one can create just to justify ones actions. C. How to counter or correct To counter this reaction, one can enumerate all the benefits of composting.
Some of these benefits are reducing of the amount of garbage going to landfill sites or garbage incinerators. Another is that it adds moisture to the soil and improves the soils structure. Another important benefit is that it adds nutrients to the soil. 6. The Essay Since the Industrial Revolution, we have been using the atmosphere as a convenient dumping ground, spewing noxious and toxic wastes. Confident that the atmosphere can tolerate, dissipate or otherwise cope with the unwanted by-products of industry and fossil-fuel combustion, we continue to pump poisons in our environment.
However, the hidden cost of our negligence is now coming to light. The greenhouse effect, and the resulting climate change, is rapidly being acknowledged as the most serious environmental threat to our community (Global Warming Facts and our Future). CAUSES In a community, for example, garbage disposal seems to be a never-ending problem. It is said that approximately one-third of the household garbage is composed of paper, another third is organic waste (food scraps and yard refuse); and the third is glass, metal, plastic, textiles and wood. Residential wastes make up one-third to one-half of the total waste stream; the rest is produced in manufacturing and industrial processes that provide us with the goods we buy and the services we demand. If this waste is added in, there will be tons and tons of garbage every year (The Greenhouse Effect).
There may be several businesses around a community that indulge in products requiring packaging. For example, near a village there may be a pizza shop, a pastry nook and several other small-scale industries that utilize packaging. Packaging is a billion-a-year industry in many countries employing thousands of people. Packaging is used to keep a product fresh, pure, free from contamination and breakage (Martinson, Charles). However, if packaging is a measure of a consumer society, it also characterizes the many problems that arise from our consumer habits. The more layers there are of different materials, all combined for maximum protection, the more difficult it is to recycle the package.
As a result, the package is disposed of in landfill or is incinerated. There is also the problem of the materials themselves. Some foam contains CFC plastics that release toxic chemicals when burned and they dont break down in landfill sites. (Martinson, Charles). The whole issue of excess packaging is wrapped up in a circular blame. The packaging industry claims that consumer demand has created the monstrous pile of garbage; yet consumers continue to buy products that are over-packaged thinking that they have no choice that manufacturers have produced the excess packaging problem. (Martinson, Charles). EFFECTS Taxpayers, therefore, spend billions a year on waste management.
Most of the garbage produced are sent to landfill sites; a small portion is incinerated. Both of these options are not really waste disposal, but rather volume-reduction techniques. When garbage is incinerated, part is left in the form of ash. When garbage is dumped in landfill sites, it is basically being stored and reduced by compaction, shredding or decomposition. Both landfill and incineration have environmental price tags. One of the main problems with incineration is that, if the incinerator is not highly efficient, the emissions from the burning process and the resulting ashes may pose risks to human health and to the environment.
Because in most cases, little is known about the exact composition of each load of garbage; there is no control over what gets burned. Toxic and hazardous materials may be going up the stack and into the air. The resulting ash may also contain toxins or hazardous substances that are transported to landfill sites (Dadd, Debra Lynn 1984). SOLUTIONS One of the more viable solutions is to reduce what one throws out by reducing what he takes home on his shopping trips. This is because garbage is a consumer issue.
A good way to start is to consider the implications of a purchase before buying a product. One can also try to find out what is being done in his own community by phoning the Public Works Department. Is there a curbside recycling program? If not, are there recycling bins or depots where people can take their recyclables? If there is no recycling, community leaders can write letters to the mayor and to the other local officials in support of setting up a program. They can send a copy of the letter to the newspaper and find out if there are any environment groups trying to set up a recycling system in the community. (Dont Trash Wildlife).
Given the potential health hazards, the unsightliness, the odor and the constant line of trucks, it is not surprising that a lot of people are fighting decisions to locate landfill sites. At the same time as landfill sites across the country are foiling up, it is getting harder and harder to find new locations. But to be able to halt the process of degradation, every person must be aware of the situation in his own community, and be armed with the knowledge that will help him save the environment from further destruction. The task at hand, then, is to educate every citizen about these environmental issues and the corresponding efforts one should take. This task will undoubtedly be difficult but it will prove to be a vital tool towards achieving the common goal of protecting and preserving the environment, while pushing forward to a new millennium. WORKS CITED Bem, Robyn, Everyones Guide to Home Composting, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1978 Dadd, Debra Lynn.
Non-Toxic and Natural: How to Avoid Dangerous Everyday Products and Buy or Make Safe Ones. New York: St. Martins Press, 1984. Dont Trash Wildlife. The Humane Society of the United States. Accessed 26 August 2005 at: web Global Warming Facts and our Future.
About. com. 2004. 26 August 2005. < web > Martinson, Charles. Air Pollution Control in the flexo graphic printing industry. Accessed 26 August 2005 at: web Greenhouse Effect Wikipedia. com. 2004. 26 August 2005. < web >
Free research essays on topics related to: global warming, greenhouse effect, hazardous waste, waste disposal, toxic wastes
Research essay sample on Toxic Wastes Hazardous Waste
