Abstract This policy analysis and recommendation addresses the question of whether or not the Bradley Landfill in Sun Valley, California should be permitted to obtain approval for a potentially significant increase in landfill height and overall waste disposal capacity.
From the Paper " sing the framework developed by David Easton, the various stakeholder positions are presented and analyzed. Relevant research is incorporated into an analysis of the options that are available at the present time. These options include permanently closing the Bradley Landfill, maintaining the status quo and refusing permission for..."
Tags: Bradley Landfill, environment, policy process
Abstract This paper explains that, at one time, there were no problems with landfills because trash, such as wood, paper, oxidizable metals and organic garbage, was biodegradable; now, Styrofoam and other plastic based wrappings and containers, in which almost everything is over-wrapped, survive decomposition for decades and decades even when crushed. The author points out the problems of trash handle in the 21st century are: (1) Landfills are filling up at an astronomical rate, (2) they are not decomposing at the rate they used to before non-biodegradable items were being added, (3) because of this inconsistent rate of biodegradability, many landfills are developing large pockets of methane gas and leachate or "garbage juice", which is a potential threat to the ground water and (4) companies are dumping highly toxic materials in the landfill. The paper stresses that the only ways we are going to make landfills nearly obsolete are by recycling, which must be supported by very strong recycling laws, and by seeking improved technologies for waste disposal and long-term chemical contamination.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Hazardous Waste and Landfills Problems with Non Hazardous Landfills Conclusion
From the Paper "According to the group "Make Less Waste", waste prevention is any practice that reduces the amount or toxicity of waste, including making goods last longer, reusing products and reducing packaging. It's a good way to save money, reduce pollution and conserve energy. They point out some ways we can reduce the amount of waste we generate. Some suggestions include avoiding "over-packaged" products. We should look for the most purposeful, least wasteful packaging. We should re-use or refuse shopping bags and bring your own bags. One of the best ways of making less waste is to avoid disposable versions of razors, pens, lighters, batteries, plates, cups, napkins and diapers. We cam choose products made from recycled material and buy products in glass, steel, or aluminum because all of these products have some recycled content and can be recycled. If we buy concentrates, "economy" sizes, and products selected from bulk bin, we save on packaging waste. To reduce fast food packaging, ask that your fast food be wrapped only in paper and refuse bags and Styrofoam boxes. Instead of throwing them away, donate used items such as clothes, furniture and books to charitable organizations."
Abstract This paper examines ways to stop Canadian trash from filling up our Michigan landfills and argues that the Michigan waste disposal companies are not justified in accepting trash from Canada and other states in Michigan landfills. Canadian trash and trash from other states is a major problem facing America's landfills today, and the author of this paper suggests we find new ways of dealing with waste, while finding new areas for landfills before the country's current landfills are exhausted.
From the Paper "Thus, waste from other areas would have to meet strict criteria before it could enter the state, and this would cut down tremendously on the waste coming in from Canada and other areas, leaving our landfills open for our own waste, and not filling them up as quickly. The opposition to the bill comes from landfill owners and waste industry associations, who feel they should be able to accept waste from anywhere. Clearly, the two sides must come to an agreement, and the Senate must find out how the people of Michigan feel about the solid waste from other areas coming into Michigan for disposal."
This paper discusses the issues of building multistory buildings on areas of landfill, areas of dumped discarded items such as debris and garbage, using Battery Park City, New York City as an example.
Abstract This paper reports that one way that builders are finding available land is by using places previously thought unsafe or unsuitable to build on, such as landfill sites. This paper explains that landfill sites can safely be used to build high-rise buildings, provided the density of the landfill, the size of the foundation pieces and the deepness of the foundation pilings are taken into consideration. The author points out that there have been no reported problems from the settling of the landfill site on which Battery Park City was built.
From the Paper "First, it is important to understand what landfills are and why they are here. Landfills are areas where the city or other municipality has dumped discarded items such as debris and garbage. The city often dumps large items there, as well, and eventually the landfill reaches its capacity. Landfills are important because debris and garbage has to go somewhere, but many people remain concerned that landfills are dangerous, and that hazardous materials are being dumped into landfills, which could harm people in the future. When someone decides to build on a landfill site, as the one in Battery Park City, the question of stability comes up. After all, they are essentially building on garbage and debris, which seems likely to shift and move as it settles."
Abstract The paper reviews literature on the subject of landfill covers and shows how conventional techniques are significantly flawed. The paper notes high implementation costs and leaks through the barriers. The paper looks at alternative landfill covers methods like evapotranspiration, geomembranes and anisotropic barriers that direct water away from the landfill site instead of through it. The paper shows how alternative systems are designed to work on a site-specific basis with the local environmental conditions.
Outline:
Abstract
Introduction
Literature Review
Conclusion
From the Paper "Clearly, the issue of waste management in the United States and the world is a significant one. Waste continues to pile higher every year, and landfills are filling up faster than ever (Albright et al. 71). When a landfill reaches its designated capacity, it is sealed and covered. In the past, this has meant the use of rather conventional techniques. Usually, a landfill is lined with compacted clay before even one piece of garbage is dumped there. Then, when the landfill has been filled to capacity, the entire site is covered over. The purpose of all of this engineering is simple: reduce the environmental damage and impact of the site by lessening the degree to which pollutants and contaminants can leach from the site through the introduction of either groundwater or rain."
Abstract This report examines landfill methods and techniques in the New York metropolitan Area, offering a comparison of landfill techniques in the area, an assessment of the chemical makeup of the most common wastes and the presence of heavy metals, their uses and dangers, and the issues related to cakes and pellets. An annotated bibliography of the most critical sources used in the report (along with unannotated sources of a less critical nature) are included.
From the Paper "Cities and counties are often confronted with a major problem when it comes to dealing with their solid waste. On the one hand, they are feeling pressure to reduce the volume of waste going to landfills; on the other, building and operating landfills is an expensive proposition these days (American City and County, 1, p. 40). Waste managers are confronted with these conflicting pressures as well as a functional environment in which increasing regulation coupled with financial pressure to make waste management an increasingly difficult, complex, and even tension-laden task.
Nowhere in the United States is this set of problems more difficult than in the New York Metropolitan area. Peter L. Grogan (p. 75) recently reported that the City faces a serious waste disposal problem; it is expected that the major landfill which has served the area for many decades, the Fresh Kills landfill, will be closed soon, and no suitable land for new landfills in the area has been identified. Recycling to reduce landfill-bound wastes has been attempted, but few positive results have as yet been reported. Consequently, the New York City Metropolitan area faces significant challenges now and in the future in this regard."
Abstract This essay compares landfills versus incineration as a solution to garbage sites. It takes the stance that modern incineration is a better solution. In terms of garbage disposal, it would be an understatement to say there are downsides to both landfills and incineration as waste solutions. The reality, however, is that major urban centers, let alone rural locales, genuinely need to employ one or the other.
From the Paper "In terms of garbage disposal, it would be an understatement to say there are downsides to both landfills and incineration as waste solutions. The reality, however, is that major urban centres, let alone rural locales, genuinely need to employ one or the other. As part of Toronto's comprehensive waste strategy, for instance, the city has made great strides in reducing, reusing, and recycling. But Hogtown, as it is aptly nicknamed, along with the Greater Toronto Area at large, has never dealt with its existing landfill needs. As a result, long since it became clear that Toronto's main source, the Keele Valley landfill, would close in 2003, Toronto simply did not..."
Abstract This paper looks at how formerly environmentally damaging methane gas from landfills is now being utilized for direct-use and gas-to-electric projects that not only benefit consumers but are actually responsible for improving the environment.
From the Paper "Three decades ago the notion of landfills was a distasteful one to most people. Landfills emit natural gases that are a by-product of decomposition of organic waste. Landfill gas emissions give off a noxious odor for those living in close proximity to landfills and the release of gases from aerobic and anaerobic oxygen free processes were thought to be detrimental to the environment. Landfill gas (LFG) is primarily composed of carbon dioxide and methane. Because of this it is flammable and potentially explosive in..."
Tags: waste management, greenhouse effect, alternative sources of fuel, heating, turbines, pollution, anaerobic processes, BMW, electricity, carbon dioxide
Abstract This paper looks at the problems faced by New York once the huge Fresh Kills' landfill site is closed. Private contractors will take the garbage out of the state by river barge, but in the mean time transfer stations have been set up in poorer areas of the city. The paper discusses the political arguments that have occurred concerning these problems and the huge profits to be made by the companies involved. Waste Management Inc. has a $6 billion 20-year contract for New York. It goes on to discuss environmental pollution from these dumps, industrial pollution in the Hudson River and the problems of carcinogens and clean-ups.
From the paper:
?In the garbage industry, Waste Management, Inc. remains king of garbage hauling after gaining a 20-year $6 billion contract in New York City. Waste Management Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the largest waste collection and disposal company in the United States and has annual sales in excess of $12 billion. The New York City contract calls for the waste hauler to dispose of its 13,000 tons of garbage a day. This residential, commercial, and industrial garbage will be sent out of state once the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island is closed on Jan. 1, 2002. Covering more than 2,100 acres, the Fresh Kills landfill is so large it can be seen with the naked eye from space. (McCrory) It first opened in 1947 and is now considered the largest landfill in the world. The site is unlined and leaches thousands of pounds of toxins into nearby streams. Its odors reach into neighborhoods on both sides of the Arthur Kill, which separates Staten Island from New Jersey.?
Abstract The paper compares and contrasts the limitations of each the three ways of dealing with waste: landfill, incineration and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). In particular, the paper focuses on municipal and non-hazardous waste. The paper critically examines each of these methods and their flaws. The paper argues that the 3Rs are the most sustainable ways of dealing with waste and that, despite the flaws, some of which can be fixed, this is the best long-term solution.
Outline:
Landfill Incineration
The 3Rs
From the Paper "Waste disposal presents a big environmental problem that is universal to all nations of the world. Canada is no exception. "In 2000, Canadians generated 1021 kg of non-hazardous waste per capital" Statistics Canada (qtd. in McLaren, 373.) Waste is an increasing problem within our consumerist society, since not only has it brought about adverse environmental impact but it is also becoming increasingly expensive to deal with it and we are producing more despite all our efforts. In Canada for example "non-hazardous waste disposal per capita was 7 per cent higher in 2000 than in 1996" (Mclaren, 373). Gandy states that "many US cities now face a tax burden for their solid waste management which is exceeded only by education and roads" (31)."
Abstract In this article, the writer points out that waste is a non-avoidable result of high-technology industrialized economies, as more things are produced and more waste is generated. Environmental, economic and social factors involved are examined and waste incineration is compared and contrasted with land filling and the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. The writer discusses that the growing concern for the environment, a constant increase in the amounts of waste produced, economic, land and social costs involved in developing new landfill sites and public opinion have brought about the need to approach waste management in a new way. The writer maintains that the use of waste incinerators does provide certain advantages to landfill, particularly in terms of waste reductions as well as through waste-to-energy schemes. The writer concludes that the 3Rs method of waste management has the greatest potential for growth and improvement and is a sustainable way of approaching waste management.
From the Paper "A waste incinerator involves burning waste at high temperatures inside a specially engineered and purpose-built incinerator facility. Some of the positive impacts include the reduction of the volume of waste, less fossil fuel use and less land required for disposal of leftover solid residue as well as the potential of energy-from-waste incinerators. For example, by incinerating waste, its weight and volume are greatly reduced, often by as much as 90% . Pitchtel also stated that a third, albeit unintended benefit of incineration is detoxification - the destruction of microbial and other pathogenic organisms - of the waste . Waste-to-energy incinerators boil water to make steam for heating spaces or for production of electricity."
Abstract This paper asserts that recycling should be mandatory by law to conserve energy and natural resources and to reduce pollution. The author relates the problems associated with landfills and contends that recycling centers do not have the same problems. For example, if less waste was put in landfills and recycling was mandatory, there would be less worry about water contamination. The paper concludes that the United States government needs to follow Europe's leadership in mandatory recycling to solve the waste problem.
From the Paper "Another point of view may be that recycling cannot stop air pollution, because most air pollution is caused by fossil fuels. The thing to remember is that the waste in an incinerator is not going to easily burn itself. When those fumes are released into the sky the possibility of acid rain becomes higher. Some people may argue that laws have been put in place to reduce the possibility of the methane gas and leachate becoming a problem. This is a valid point because many laws have been created to make landfills "environmentally friendlier." "
Abstract This paper discusses how, as a nation, America is beginning to realize that it is not dealing with its wastage responsibly and sufficiently and how the best and possibly only solution to this problem is to promote more and better recycling procedures. It analyzes how recycling is so important to the long-term well-being of the nation that it should in fact be made mandatory; individuals, businesses and government should all be required by law to recycle. It examines the three basic arguments regarding the necessity of recycling. The first is the issue of landfill space. The second is the issue of overall saved energy and resource. The last deals with the degree to which recycling reduces pollution. It also looks at the many objections to mandatory recycling, such as the feeling that this sort of mandate intrudes on personal conviction and freedoms and that recycling suffers from a negative cost-benefit analysis.
From the Paper "Is not the government, though, dictating an awful lot of work for individuals? They must sort their own recyclables, clean them for pick-up, and so forth. Oughtn"t they have freedom from that" Yet liberty has never been defined as freedom from a little bit of work. After all, we currently make people carry their own trash from inside the house out to the curb. We currently require that they bag it themselves as well. Trash collectors will not haul away one's trash if one leaves it unbagged on the front steps, and this is not seen as an affront to the liberties and self-determination of those who take affront at the inconvenience of picking up their own yards. In the same way, it is legitimate for a state-offered service of trash removal to require that all trash be presented for removal in an appropriate fashion. If that fashion comes to mean the segregation of various sorts of disposables, that is as acceptable as requiring that leaves be bagged separately from household garbage in the fall."
Abstract This paper explains that recycling has been around for centuries, although only recently has the modern age made efforts to promote its benefits as a crucial element of a system meant to preserve the environment. The author points out that recycling not only decreases the amount of waste in landfills and incineration plants, but also, by reusing aluminum, paper, glass, plastics, and other materials, virgin materials, as well as production and energy costs can be saved. The paper relates that the United States is not the only country currently involved in recycling programs and describes programs in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the global recycling organization know as BIR.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Centuries of Recycling
Increasing Waste
Returning to Basics
Important Facts about Recycling
Facts about Paper Recycling
Benefits of Recycling
Myths about Recycling
Those against Recycling
Recent Declines
Problems in Germany
Recycling around the World
Conclusion
From the Paper "The world has seen an increase in waste production over the past century due to increased population and technologic advances. The "average" American discards seven and a half pounds of garbage every day, and this garbage, the solid waste stream, goes mostly to landfills, where it is compacted and buried. As the waste stream continues to grow, so will the pressures on our landfills, our resources and our environment."
Abstract This paper explains that community nurses provide highly skilled health care for home-care and community group-care patients, offer advice on a wide range of issues and give critical support as needed. The author points out that nursing is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States of America and that community nursing is a growing opportunities for nurses. The paper details several types of health problems in Staten Island related to the Fresh Kills Landfills across the harbor; illegal dumping forms a major health problem causing respiratory problems and infections.
From the Paper "The situation today is that, since there is a paucity of the number of nurses, and then technology would have to intervene and make up for the lack of numbers of nurses. When the fact that American society is elderly or ageing, and the number of elderly, who have grown in the number of the population almost twice as rapidly as the younger population, who need long term health care or palliative care, and so on has also increased simultaneously, most of the nurses of today would be required to perform and meet efficiently the health care needs of the ageing or the elderly population of America. It is also a fact that technology would help these nurses meet and perform their duties with relative ease. Patient care decisions, the various decision support systems, the management protocols that are assisted in their maintenance by the computerized technology that is available today are all part of the facilities that are provided by the improvement in technology for nurses."
