Hazardous Waste Management example essay topic

Municipal waste is disposed of in three different ways. As of 2004 it is estimated that 71 percent is land filled, 16 percent incinerated, and 13 percent recycled. Other wastes that have to be disposed of are nuclear and hazardous wastes. The environmental effects of different waste management solutions will be discussed as well as ideal ways, in my opinion, to dispose of different forms of solid wastes. Landfills are the most commonly used form of disposing wastes today. It is also a form of disposal that causes many environmental impacts that are in need of addressing.

A major effect of landfills is Leachate, a contaminated liquid that percolates through the waste in a landfill and probably the most addressed issue. This contaminated liquid can soak into the ground and cause water contamination according to the Department of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University. Another effect of landfills is air pollution. Not only can air pollution from landfills contribute to acid rain and green house gases but it can also have an impact on the citizens around it.

Soil gas migration can cause a four-fold elevation of risk for bladder cancer and leukemia among women reported a study at the New York Health Department's website. The second form of waste disposal is incineration. This type of disposal releases many air pollutants to include adium, lead, mercury, dioxin, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide contribute to acid rain and smog. The incinerators mainly contribute to air pollution but the ash left over from burning waste has to be buried in landfills thus contributing to ground pollution too. The last waste management system is recycling.

Recycling consists of processing used or abandoned materials for use in creating new products. This method was created to address issues created from the other two forms of waste management and has a positive impact on the environment. It helps to reduce the amount of waste needed for disposal by making a portion of it available for reuse. Hazardous and Nuclear waste disposal is a very serious issue.

It can cause soil contamination, water contamination, air pollution, and can have a huge impact on plant and wildlife. The problem with hazardous and nuclear waste is that no "clear cut" solution has been identified to properly dispose of this waste. Many of it has been buried in landfills or underground and then leaked into the earth, thus once again contributing to water contamination. It is common knowledge that the effects of hazardous and nuclear waste is very profound and can lead to death or mutation of plants, animals and people that come into contact with it. The realization of the negative environmental effects that waste disposal has can be a very sobering experience. It has enacted many people to question what we should do and how to handle this waste.

Organizations such as Green Peace and the Environmental Protection Agency make it their goal to educate society as well as implement laws to govern the disposal of waste so that the negative effects that these wastes have on the environment is reduced. These organizations have educated individuals and tried to get each person to do their part to help the environment. What can we do to help is a question that many Americans now ask. An obvious solution to handle solid waste is through recycling.

There are many useful products that can be created from the recycling of glass, plastic, paper and many other items. The major factor that should be focused on is the recycling of paper. I say this because according to EPA. gov, paper contributes to 40 percent of a landfill's contents. This staggering statistics lead to my long- term solution in handling waste.

The government should enact a law that makes it mandatory that all Americans must recycle their newspapers. This step alone will reduce the amount of garbage that goes into our landfills by 13 percent (Epa. gov). A department should be created to check for improper disposal of newspapers and provide hefty fines for Americans that do now want to obey this law. It may seem strict but the overall benefits of this enactment would outweigh the initial cry of Americans that feel that this proposal is unfair.

After this program has been implemented and the bugs worked out successfully the government should keep adding materials to the "mandatory recycling lists". To think that if we could get a 100% recycling rate of paper, that would be a 40 percent reduction of waste disposal that goes into our landfills. Another aspect of recycling that should be focuses on is the pay-as-you- throw program utilized in many cities today. Factors plaguing every American adult are economic issues because every American strives to survive economically in this world. The pay-as-you-throw program directly affects a consumer's wallet by charging for the amount of waste a consumer disposes of.

This program would make Americans more waste conscience. My idea to expand this program is rewarding households for recycling. For example, if a household recycles a certain amount of a certain product they should get a price cut in their disposal bill or rewarded with some sort of monetary item. The bottom line is that we have many different people in America and one aspect that connects us all is money. If you mess with people's money they will listen.

By implementing these programs I feel that waste making it to our landfills will be greatly eliminated. This will allow waste management agencies to focus more energy and time studying other ways of controlling the negative effects of wastes that does make it to landfills. A recycle conscience society can preserve the earth for many generations to come.

Bibliography

Getis, Arthur et al. Introduction to Geography. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004.
New York State Department of Health. Health Department Releases Landfill Study. 21 Aug. 1998.
26 June 2005.
web releases/1998/landfill.
html U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Summaries of Related Solid Waste Incineration Rules. 10 June 2002.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Municipal Solid Waste. 3 June 2005.
25 June 2005.
Zas low, Sandra. "Health Effects of Drinking Water Contaminants". North Carolina Cooperative Extension. June 1995.
North Carolina State University. 26 June 2005.