Box , Claremont, CA , , formed in to provide consulting to the ground water industry. Williams has over 30 years of experience in ground water consulting, specializing in ground water planning, development and management, with specific emphasis on the ground water basins of Southern California.
Tchobanoglous, H. Theisen and S. Shown here as reproduced in J. Wilcos, Ph. NOTE: When looking for information on local recycling and waste disposal, call your local municipal government.
In some cases, the county or parish will be your starting point. View this area on Terra Server. JANUARY "Lynn, I wish to bring to your attention a new paper has been published on the health effects of hazardous chemical sites such as landfills, where the authors have shown an association between proximity to such sites and increased incidence of hospitalization for diabetes.
However, our waste today is different; our trash heaps can be toxic to humans. Source: EPA. And 21st-century waste can be disastrous for the environment.
In a landfill, however, food, grass clippings, and other organic material are densely packed and thus decompose with the absence of oxygen anaerobically.
For that reason, waste—both organic and inorganic—breaks down significantly slower in landfills than it would in nature. Through its oxygen-deprived breakdown, organic material emits methane as a byproduct, making landfills volatile and gassy. These toxins can seep into soil and groundwater aquifers and affect local ecosystems, animal-life, and our drinking water. Electronic waste , for example, contains various types of dangerous chemicals, including lead, cadmium, beryllium, mercury, and brominated flame retardants.
In , we sent 2. These fluorinated, harmful chemicals are used in a wide variety of products like Teflon frying pans, dental floss, and food packaging— and they never break down in the environment, ever. And volume has created a crisis of its own. Collectively, the world produces two billion metric tons of solid waste per year, says BBC. With trash spilling out of warehouses and lots, the predicament offers a glimpse of what could happen on a larger scale over the next few decades. Some states, including New York, already ship a huge amount of waste to other states because they have nowhere to put it within their borders.
Waste processors could begin burning more waste for energy, but the emissions and air pollution this would cause may be too great to justify. The US currently burns around 33 million tons of waste each year for energy, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Other countries invest heavily in burning trash.
Sweden, for example, burns around half of of its solid waste and has developed ways to reduce emissions. The U. The US could also create more landfills to accommodate the surge in trash, but it generally takes several years to find an appropriate landfill location, get a permit for it, and then build structures that meet environmental standards, according to SWEEP.
Americans are now throwing out around three times more food than we did in the s. Have something to say about this article? You can email us and let us know. AWS Deloitte Genpact. Events Innovation Festival. Follow us:. By Adele Peters 2 minute Read.
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