Problem Identification

Problem Identification: Excess and Mismanagement of Municipal Solid Waste

Some kind of waste is generated by nearly every action performed daily by humans. The Environmental Protection Agency lists the following examples as various kinds of waste: agricultural and animal waste, medical waste, radioactive waste, hazardous waste, industrial non-hazardous waste, construction and demolition debris, extraction and mining waste, oil and gas production waste, fossil fuel combustion waste, sewage sludge, and municipal solid waste. While the full list is much more extensive, the focus of this study will be on the excess and mismanagement of municipal solid waste.

Municipal solid waste is used to group food waste, packaging materials, or disposable or single-use products; it often references everyday products that get used and quickly disposed of. This is an incredibly serious and growing problem, as the wealthiest developed countries are responsible for nearly half of all the world’s trash, and the United States is the leader, with the average person producing four to seven pounds of solid waste every day. To put the problem into perspective, the United States throws away enough trash to fill over 63,000 garbage trucks daily.

The “out of sight, out of mind” is very dangerous when it comes to garbage waste. Once it leaves our house, it is easy to believe that it will be taken care of properly, but that is not the case. Most garbage ends up in landfills, is burned, disposed of into the ocean, or just piles up in various areas as litter and pollution. In addition to overflowing landfills, mismanaged waste ends up polluting the air and water, disrupting ecosystems, congesting bodies of water, and emitting greenhouse gasses.

While the waste mismanagement issue is extremely complex and has numerous causes, a handful of them stand out as more immediate. The increase in production and consumption, and increased economic activity as a whole, is largely responsible for the excessive amounts of solid waste. Each year, the world produces over two billion tons of municipal solid waste ​. Much of this stems from the production and consumption of unnecessary goods through unsustainable shopping habits, creating a vicious and environmentally unfriendly cycle. Society has trained us to always want more or to want the newest thing, which means tossing out the old thing for essentially no reason. This is especially true in the fashion and technology industries. It gets even worse with the growing popularity of online shopping. Not only are products being thrown away before they need to be, but there is a large influx of additional packaging materials and transportation effects that damage the earth. The production and consumption levels increase even more when you consider population growth. More people on earth means more people to consume products, which means more waste generated. While we have discussed some of the environmental and economic aspects of waste mismanagement, there are social justice issues as well, especially in regards to poverty. Not having the money or resources to dispose of waste in a proper manner leads to buildup of waste in poorer communities, which remains uncollected. Waste buildup in waterways not only infects the water, but causes flooding and in turn, waterborne illnesses. wastes.

Additional health risks come when trash is incinerated and pollutes the air, causing respiratory issues, when animals consume waste mistaken for food, and when fishing opportunities are limited due to waste contamination in their environments. Uncontrolled waste severely limits food source opportunities in poorer communities that do not have as many options, and leads to food insecurity. The list of stakeholders that are affected by mismanaged waste is extensive. It includes animals that suffer from habitat alteration from waste accumulation, chemical contamination from plastic debris in the ocean which is consumed by fish and then by humans, ingestion of debris in general by animals, human health impacts, environment contamination…

Throughout this class, I intend to approach this issue by researching sustainable solutions to waste management in a way that fits the discussed definition of sustainability. An important aspect of a working sustainable practice is the threefold approach of protecting the social, economic, and environmental needs. As I touched on earlier, the waste mismanagement problem can stem from economic activity such as consumption, which clearly affects the economy but also intertwines with human and environmental effects as well. Rather than mismanaging waste, our definition encourages renewal and reuse to minimize waste while protecting natural systems as well. It encourages equitable economic opportunities for all to meet their own needs, which is applicable when considering waste in situations regarding poverty or environmental racism. The consumption issue is interesting because it begs the question if the amount of waste we see not properly taken care of on a regular basis is actually a need. Probably not. Rather, it should inspire economic decisions to be made considering the long term effects it holds on not only economic prosperity, but society and the soon to be irreversible damage it causes within ecosystems.

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