An Evaluation of Composting, Incineration, and Recycling

1852 Words4 Pages

One of the most important environmental problems in the world is waste. The world population is growing speedily and recently reached seven billion people. As a result, the amount of waste produced by people is also increasing rapidly. This problem affects all countries without exception because people cannot live without producing waste. Moreover, people are also generating new types of waste, such as the space waste, the chemical waste, and the nuclear waste. For instance, as a result of development of space industry, in the recent decades the amount of the space waste has increased significantly. Some countries or companies left their old satellites, idle equipments in the open space, which then became space debris. This space debris can collide with working space station and damage them. In addition, sometimes these wastes enter the atmosphere and do not burn during their falling, so this debris can fall on the earth and kill or damage someone (Chen 2011). It has been suggested, therefore, that waste problem is more serious than people think; hence, this problem needs rapid response. However, because of word count limitations, this essay will describe and explain in depth only one type of waste - municipal waste or municipal solid waste (MSW) - in the particular country - the United States of America (U.S.A.). Also, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate three different solutions to the problem of municipal waste in the U.S.A. They are composting, incineration, and recycling waste. Firstly, this paper will briefly explain current situation in the United States and explain municipal waste in depth; followed by a particular explanation of each solution. Finally, this essay will evaluate solutions according to the criteria of: ...

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...tp://www.epa.gov/Region5/waste/permits/tr-ohd980613541-heritage-wti-fs.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2009. Backyard Composting. Accessed February 19, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/tools/greenscapes/pubs/compost-guide.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2012. A Citizen’s Guide to Incineration. Accessed February 19, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/tio/download/citizens/a_citizens_guide_to_incineration.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2013. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2011. Accessed January 21, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/MSWcharacterization_508_053113_fs.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2014. Municipal Solid Waste. Accessed February 18, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/

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