Reading Rainbow: How Trash is recycled with LeVar Burton
According to the EPA, the office type of waste paper increased to 74 percent in 2009.
Americans generate more than 243 million tons of waste each year from 2011, according to the Environmental Protection Agency of the US This material ends up in the waste stream where it can be recycled, composted, placed in a landfill or incinerated Each these systems has capabilities and limitations Understand the facets of each approach allows communities to make waste management decisions that are profitable and beneficial to human health and the environment See References 1.
Municipal solid waste refers to products that consumers use and dispose of municipal solid waste can consist of grass clippings, product packaging, paper, food waste, appliances, batteries and other common elements this waste result of households, schools and businesses EPA promotes source reduction or waste prevention, to reduce the amount of waste entering the waste stream See references 1.
Recycling is a way to manage solid waste stream components Even if the amount of waste produced per person has increased over the past 30 years, the recycling rate has increased dramatically, and in 2009, nearly 34 percent of solid waste is recycled, up from about 10 percent in 1980. See references 2 Americans collected 61 million tons of municipal solid waste by recycling composting in 2009, the way of nature recycling, kept 21 million tons of materials on landfills and incinerators the amount recycled and composted also kept 178 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - the equivalent of taking 33 million cars off the road for a year See references 2 recycling also conserves natural resources, reduce emissions from new manufacturing materials f elements ial, product sales, saves energy and benefits US manufacturing jobs see References 6.
Ninety-nine percent of municipal solid waste ended up in landfills in 1980; In 2009, that number had dropped to 54 percent see references 2 Modern landfills are federally regulated and designed to minimize their impact on the environment, for example, a landfill can not be placed near a wetland fault or discharges flood plains are lined with at least two clay soil compaction feet covered by a flexible membrane a system for collecting and disposal of leachate, installed on top of the membrane collects liquids that can leach materials in landfill scientists periodically take samples of groundwater close to ensure that all systems are working and that there is no contamination See references 3 While the discharge can affect soil and water quality, air quality is a concern as well landfill contribute to the greenhouse produisan t of methane, a gas that is 20 times more effective in trapping atmospheric heat than carbon dioxide Awareness Program landfill methane EPA to try to manage this harmful gases for recent environmental ills landf harness the power of methane capturing and using to power factories, power plants, vehicles and houses See references 4.
Incineration or combustion, involves the controlled combustion of municipal solid waste incineration reduces the volume of waste and saves space in landfills Burning waste releases gases that affect air quality, but scrubbers and filters are often used to reduce impact liquid scrubbers to reduce the acidity of gases while filters prevent ash particles to be released into the combustion atmosphere can reduce the toxicity of certain waste as high temperatures can decompose harmful chemical compounds in addition, pathogens are killed by high temperatures See references 5 When an incinerator is well equipped, it can even turn water into steam for power production Some incinerators are also set place to remove recyclable materials before burning the rest of December hets See References 5.
Vs Recycling, recycling, municipal solid waste.