Exploration Solid Waste Problems

Solid Waste Trends in the United States

The United States is responsible for a significant proportion of the world's waste matter. The economic powerhouse is the world leader in the consumption of retail goods. Therefore, it is also the world leader in the production of solid waste there from. According to the module around which this discussion is centered, America's production of waste matter has accelerated at an alarming rate in the last half century, rising from 88.1 million tons in 1960 to 231.9 in 2000.

Two Contributing Factors:

One of the main contributing factors in the excessive production of solid waste is the staggering amount produced at the individual level. Evidence suggests that as a matter of habit, culture and lifestyle, Americans produce a tremendous amount of garbage at the individual level and are tremendously wasteful on the whole. The module shows that in 1960, the average American produced roughly 1.2 kg of solid waste matter a day. As of 2000, this number was roughly 2kg per person, per day. One may presume that this number is yet greater a decade hence, based on the pace of acceleration. Thus, today, the average individual produces twice as much garbage in a day as did the average American in 1960.

A second contributing factor to the amassing of solid waste is the difficulty of finding ways to place all of this matter. By far, the highest proportion of items disposed of by Americans find their way to the landfill. And in doing so, most of this matter will never again be moved or recovered. All items that do end up in the landfill remain there in perpetuity, meaning that we are not only creating more waste every year than we did the previous year, but we are adding this to a multitude of exponentially growing trash piles. Even as some of the most notorious 20th century landfills are capped off and repurposed as healthy, public recreational lands, the amount of waste that we are currently producing necessitates both the continued use of many imposing garbage-based masses and the creation of new ones.

Controlling These Factors:

A number of strategies have been implemented in recent years to offset the amount of solid waste matter that does end up in landfills. The chart provided by section four of the module and entitled "Destination of Municipal Solid Waste" shows the alternative methods of waste disposal that have increasing come into usage. The combustion method has been used as a method of disposal since the 1960s and in greater proportion than other alternatives until concerns about airborne emissions diminished its appeal. By the 1980s, rising emphasis on recycling would be a significant step in helping to reduce landfill-bound waste. And with the start of the 1990s, composting would begin to gain popularity as a way of turning waste into reusable planting mulch.

Problems With Recycling Program: