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Essay #4
Such a Waste
During the winter rains of 1992, water roared down the normally dry bed of the Salt
River and ripped open an immense gash in the side of the Tri-City Landfill. Tons of
waste washed downstream, polluting the riverbed for miles. This brought heightened
local attention to the problem of solid waste management or, as most people know it,
garbage disposal. The amount of solid waste generated in this country is a significant
problem that must be addressed through application of the principles of reduction, reuse,
and recycling.
The seriousness of the solid waste problem was recognized years ago. In 1960, social
critic Vance Packard wrote in his book The Waste Makers, "Historians may allude to this
an the 'Throwaway Age'" (qtd. in Griffin 250). It is over three decades later, and the
population of the United States throws more away than ever before. In 1960, an average
of 2.9 pounds of waste was sent to the dump each day for every American. By 1990, this
figure had increased to five pounds. This resulted in approximately 160 million tons of
solid waste added annually to municipal landfills. Further, the toxic content of garbage,
including such substances as nail polish, batteries, oven cleaners, and pesticides, turns
landfills into "a carcinogenic soup, every bit as dangerous as the chemical waste
generated by industry" (Rosenblum 86). Currently, 17% of United States municipal
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garbage is recycled, 1% is incinerated, 16% converted to energy, and 62% is landfilled
("Fresh…" 3).
An example of the solid waste problem is Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, New
York. This place is a monument to today's throwaway society and a symbol of the landfill
problem. Fresh Kills Landfill was established on a wetlands in 1948. Today, it receives
about half of the garbage produced in New York City. The Fresh Kills Landfill site
covers approximately five thousand acres. It currently holds about 2.4 billion cubic feet
of refuse. That is more than twenty-five times the volume of the Great Pyramid at Giza.
Before recent cleanup efforts, over a million gallons of leachate (liquid waste) seeped
into nearby waters daily. Natural biological processes in the waste produce so much
methane gas that is mined to provide natural gas to ten thousand homes. Fresh Kills is
slated to be closed sometime in this decade. When that occurs, the projected height of the
landfill will be five hundred and five feet above sea level. The top of the landfill will be
twice the height of the Statue of Liberty and will be the highest point on the East Coast
(Rathje 126).
Reduction of the amount of solid waste that ends up in landfills must begin by
changing the total volume of garbage generated. The first elementary principles of
reduction begin in the home. If it isn't needed, one should not buy it. Researchers note
regularly the amount of perfectly good food products people throw away. Partial
containers of cleaners, pesticides, and paint are commonly found in trash containers. It is
evident that the source of reduction is at the top of the hierarchy of effective waste
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management techniques. People cannot seem to grasp this, however, and it is difficult to
get them to employ this method.
Reuse is considered part of both reduction and recycling. What reuse means is that
items are repaired, given to charity, used as hand-me-downs, etc. In this manner, the old
product doesn't end up in the trash immediately. Clothing should be worn by as many
members of a family as practical and then donated for other people to wear. Furniture can
be reupholstered. Cars and appliances should be maintained and used for as long as
possible. Reuse requires a major change in personal attitudes. Rather than being slaves to
the latest trend, people should use what they have for as long as possible.
Recycling is the one method of waste control that nearly everyone knows about and
claims to support. Estimates of the amount of material that could be recycled range as
high as ninety percent. Advertising showing how aluminum, glass, paper, and plastics are
recycled is everywhere. The sad truth, however, is that recycling is not the simple
successful solution people believe. The public must get away from the idea that merely
putting items in containers at the curb is recycling. The material is not recycled until it's
used again (Van Voorst 80). Recycling is voluntarily performed only when the
companies that buy the recycled material save money by doing so. This has been true for
aluminum cans and nearly seventy percent are recycled. Plastics and paper are cheaper to
buy new than recycled, so they aren't profitable. It is only when recycling is required,
without regard to cost, that progress is made. By rigid enforcement of mandatory
recycling, New York City has cut the landfill waste at Fresh Kills from 21,200 tons per
day in 1986 to the current 13,000 tons per day ("Waste Disposal…" 1).
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Too much material is ending up in dumps. The example of the Fresh Kills Landfill is
too powerful to ignore. It will be necessary to require everyone, both consumer and
producer, to reduce, reuse, and recycle. As John Langone stated in Time Magazine's
famous 1989 Planet of the Year edition, "If such wastes continue to proliferate, man will
have all but declared war on the earth's environment-and thus, in the end, on his own
richest heritage" (47).
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Works Cited
"Fresh Kills Landfill." 25 June 1997. 2 July 1997
.
Griffen, Rodman. "Garbage Crisis." CQ Researcher 20 Mar. 1992: 243-254.
Langone, John. "A Stinking Mess." Time 2 Jan. 1989: 44-47.
Rathje, William. "Once and Future Landfills." National Geographic May 1991: 116-134.
Rosemblum, Gail. "Air, Earth, and Water." Longevity Aug. 1990: 86-87.
Van Voorst, Bruce. "Recycling: Stalled at the Curbside." Time 18 Oct. 1993: 78-80.
"Waste Disposal in New York City." 6 Feb. 1997. 25 June 1997
.
Questions on Technique
1. Which sentence is the thesis (main idea) of this essay? Are there any words in
the thesis to indicate that the author feels strongly about his or her subject?
If so, what are the words?
2. Does the introductory paragraph stimulate the reader's interest? Do you like
the introduction? Why or why not?
3. Does the author use good examples to persuade his or her readers? If so,
what do you think of the examples? Explain.
4. This author ends the essay with a direct quote. Is this an effective ending?
Why or why not?
5. Do you see any problems or errors in the use of MLA documentation? If so,
explain them.