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John Ashmore
Thurman
BSC1050
15 November, 2016
Wasting the Earth Away
The growing rate of consumption across the world is leading to increased pollution due to
inefficient disposal techniques and lack of consideration for the environment. There are many
methods humans use to dispose of wastes, and some are better than others, but none are without
their environmental impacts.
It is stated by Toxics Action Center that in 2007, America contributed more than 30% of
the worlds solid waste, totaling roughly 570 billion pounds. This rate comes to a staggering 4.62
per person, per day from only 4% of the Earths population. This total does not include the waste
that people are too lazy to properly dispose of and ends up in the middle of nowhere, just heaped
into a pile and left to rot. This is a problem because now there isnt a single place on the Earth
habited or otherwisethat is untouched by human waste. The world is running out of space to
dispose of its garbage and for the sake of the future, safer, more efficient ways of trash disposal
must be devised.
The ways we dispose of our garbage, even our safer techniques, are leading to an
increasing rate of pollution and land degradation. Recycling is by far the best option, allowing
for the slower depletion of renewable and nonrenewable resources, as well as lower energy
consumption and decreased air and water pollution. Not all waste can be recycled and must be
disposed of in other ways. Sanitary landfills use liners of either natural or manmade material to
keep these wastes isolated from the environment. In theory, this can greatly decrease air and

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water pollution rates. This is, however, not always the case as liners eventually degrade and
allow chemicals to seep into the ground, polluting the store of groundwater. As the waste decays,
it also releases carbon dioxide and methane, two of the biggest contributors to the greenhouse
effect. This gas emission is often monitored and can be used as a power source, or sometimes a
tube is placed in the ground for the gasses to escape from and then lit aflame to prevent it from
entering the atmosphere.
Another issue facing the world is the disposal of hazardous wastes. Oftentimes, people
are too lazy to have these wastes properly disposed of and find a way to send them to landfills or
dumps, or they even take them to remote areas and forget about them, leaving them to pollute the
environment around. Actions are being taken to lessen the impact on the environment and
properly dispose of hazardous materials, either by treating them to make them safe to dispose of
regularly, or by putting them into specialized facilities for their handling.

http://www.guyenterprisegy.com/solidwaste/dumpvslan.htm
http://www.toxicsaction.org/problems-and-solutions/waste
http://www.pollutionissues.com/Re-Sy/Solid-Waste.html
https://www.britannica.com/technology/hazardous-waste-management