What We Do With Our Waste

For a few months in my junior year of high school I worked online for a small consulting company that was hired to recommend the best overseas waste management company for the international offices of a large corporation. These companies– like Waste Vision of the Netherlands and Sensoneo of Slovakia– sold sensors meant to be installed on large waste bins to provide feedback on when the bins were full, so corporations could create a more efficient schedule with the waste hauling companies that transported their waste to processing centers. These sensors allow companies to monitor their waste output and save money on hauling disposal. It also decreases the miles the hauling trucks have to drive, which saves gas and reduces emissions. When I began my research for this job, I had never even thought about what we do with our waste, but it sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to understand how the US deals with the massive amount of waste we produce. 

A common phrase heard in the conversation around waste is “Not in My Backyard” (or NIMBY), an attitude that has led to the unequal distribution of landfills in the United States. There are many criteria when it comes to selecting a site for a new landfill, including: land area, topography, climate, proximity to bodies of water/groundwater, and accessibility. Proposed sites are ranked according to these criteria, and though the sites with the highest scores should be where landfills are built, this is not always the case. Wealthier areas have a lot more power to nix a new landfill proposed near them, which means sometimes the optimal sites for landfills are passed over for lesser quality sites in poorer areas. This is an issue because landfills emit greenhouse gasses and leak toxins and leachate into the soil. This can cause a multitude of problems that disproportionately affect communities of color and communities of lower socioeconomic status, due to the NIMBY attitude. Another issue with American waste management is that we ship a considerable portion of our recycling waste, primarily plastics, to other countries. This is the case for wealthy European countries as well. This presents an issue because these plastics are often shipped to countries with poor waste management systems, and the exportation of plastics contributes to ocean pollution. Between 16,000-112,000 tonnes of plastic are estimated to end up in the ocean every year due to plastic trade. However, this number is still only contributing to 5% of the total yearly plastic pollution, meaning that most of it comes from domestic mismanagement. 

To really address these issues, waste management needs to be scaled up in wealthier countries and improved in lower income countries. Wealthy countries should have the infrastructure to manage the amount of waste they produce without having to ship it elsewhere. In addition to this, waste management infrastructure needs to be developed in poorer countries. The technology I researched for my job barely addresses these issues, it is more just to make waste management for large companies and facilities much more efficient, sustainable, and affordable. However, new technologies, like a new process that can turn several varieties of plastic into propane, could help reduce the overall amount of waste that is polluting our oceans and land. However, as with many of the solutions we have discussed in STS302H, people also need to adjust their habits. While improving infrastructure and technology can make our waste management systems more efficient and effective, people, especially in wealthier countries, must also adjust their lifestyles and try to reduce their overall waste. 

Sources: 

https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-waste-trade

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/11/30/1063837/how-chemists-are-tackling-the-plastics-problem/