Waste disposal problems

John: What’s that?

Dora: It’s a reusable coffee cup. I’m trying to be more ecofriendly.

John: Yesterday you bought the wrong size garbage bags and then threw them all away.

Dora: But nobody saw that.

To throw away or recycle?

Do you ask yourself this question every time when you come to the bin or just throw away your chewing gum on the ground?

Unfortunately, waste disposal problems appear because a lot of people don’t care or badly informed about them.

At the lesson you’ll know:

1. what “waste” is;

2. different types of wastes;

3. harmful effects of solid wastes;

4. Waste Management and methods of waste disposal;

5. 4R’s rule.

Waste is any unwanted or useless materials.

The word “waste” has some synonyms. Choose all the synonyms from the given words: rubbish, litter, garbage, trash.

There are mainly four types of solid wastes: municipal, industrial, agricultural and hazardous.

Municipal solid wastes consist of:

Domestic wastes. It consists of materials thrown out from the homes (food wastes, cloth, glass and metal wastes, bottles, polythene bags, etc.).

Commercial wastes are the wastes coming up from the shops, markets and hotels, offices, institutions etc. (cans, waste paper, packaging material, etc.)

Construction wastes include wood, concrete, etc.

Biomedical waste is mostly waste organic materials (discarded blood, needles, scalpels, bandages, etc.).

Industrial wastes.

The sources for industrial wastes include: nuclear power plants (producing radioactive wastes), thermal power plants (fly ash), chemical industries (dealing with hazardous and toxic materials).

Agricultural wastes are generated from farming activities (pesticides, fertilizers).

Hazardous wastes could be highly toxic to humans, animals and plants. Industrial and Biomedical waste is considered hazardous. Some domestic wastes can also be categorized as hazardous wastes: old batteries, shoe polish, old medicines, paint tins, medicine bottles.

Dora: James, why didn’t you put the mask on.

James: I like the smell.

The paint releases harmful chemicals.

Harmful effects of solid wastes

Every year major health problems result from hazardous waste like skin cancer and heart and respiratory diseases.

When rain falls on soil at a waste site it can carry hazardous wastes deeper into the ground and they can pollute groundwater and soil.

Uncontrolled burning of open dumps release into the atmosphere greenhouse gases that destruct the ozone layer and cause global warming.

Rising global temperatures are expected to raise sea levels.

Even a one-meter rise would flood the homes of around 100 million people in Asia, China, and Vietnam. New Orleans Venice and Great Britain would disappear.

Solid Waste Management is the industry that is aimed at:

-                     collection of wastes;

-                     transportation;

-                     storage;

-                     recycling or disposal of wastes.

There are some wastes disposal methods:

-                     landfill – полигон;

-                     incineration (or) thermal processing – сжигание;

-                     composting (or) biological processing – компостирование.

Landfill is the most common method of waste disposal. The method involves spreading the solid waste on the ground, compacting it and then covering it with soil at suitable intervals. There are still a lot of arguments for and against building landfills.

Incineration

In this method the municipal (domestic) wastes are burnt in the incinerator (печь для сжигания мусора).

Composting

Waste materials that are organic in nature such as plant material, food, paper products can be recycled using biological composting. If you live in your own house and have a garden then dig a small pit to compost your organic wastes like kitchen wastes.

James: Hey, Dora, could you bring me the ladder. I’ve dug too deep pit for composting.

4R’s rule

There are three solutions to the waste problems. Everyone should follow the 4R’s rule:

Reduce - Reuse – Recycle – Refuse

1. Materials for recycling can be collected separately from general waste using dedicated bins. Sort your wastes so that they could be easily collected and taken for recycling.

All food wastes can be recycled (raw and cooked). Bones are accepted or you can leave them for your dog.

2-3. Reduce the generation of unnecessary wastes.

 Instead of buying new containers from the market, use the ones that are in the house. Refuse to buy new items though you may think they are much prettier than the ones you already have.

4. Use shopping bags made of cloth or jute that can be used over and over again.

Don’t throw away the soft drink cans or bottles. Cover them with paper or paint on them and use them as pencil stands or vase.

Use rechargeable batteries.

Use reusable wash sponges or cloth napkins, handkerchiefs instead of throwing away paper ones.

Wastes inspire a lot of famous artists, sculptors and photographers for creating their works of art. This art is called Recycled art. Who knows may be you’ll become one of them in the future...

James: What are you doing, Dora?

Dora: I’m decorating our Christmas Tree. Isn’t it cool?

James: Yeah, it’s fantastic. It’s a wonderful idea to use all those old stuff from the attic. Let me help you.