Page 640 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

ended up in seemingly random places, Leonia
perhaps having fallen off a garbage Plastic Teterboro
truck along a roadside. Container of Ridgefield Fort Lee
Park
A few items made very long Liquid Soap Palisades Park
journeys. Two printer cartridges were Little
Ferry
driven down Interstate 5 to California’s
border with Mexico, perhaps to be Ridgefield
disassembled at a factory. Two cell
phones were transported halfway Rutherford East
across the country to Dallas (one flown Sep 5th, 2009, 07:18 AM Rutherford Edgewater
directly and one making apparent Traveled 18.3 miles
stops at three other cities). A compact Sep 5th, 2009, 07:22 AM
fluorescent bulb went to St. Louis after Lyndhurst
traveling to Portland, Oregon, and back Sep 5th, 2009, 09:02 AM North
Bergen
to Seattle. Chicago received a coffee North Arlington Disposed of at
cup that apparently made its way east Secaucus 457 Madison Ave.,
on the nation’s interstates. Shipments Union City New York, NY
of batteries were flown 1500 miles to Sep 5th, 2009, 05:19 AM New York
Minneapolis, 2500 miles to Pittsburgh, Sep 5th, 2009, 04:13 AM
and 2600 miles to Atlanta. Sep 8th, 2009, 07:26 AM Sep 5th, 2009, 05:02 AM
The longest-traveling piece of trash Kearny
was a cell phone that was transported Hoboken Sep 5th, 2009, 04:34 AM Sep 5th, 2009, 04:21 AM
over 3000 miles from Seattle to the
other corner of the United States, end- Last detected along
ing up near Ocala, Florida. Bellevue Turnpike, Green
In general, hazardous waste items senseable city lab Kearny, NJ Point
and electronic waste items tended
to travel farthest because they often
needed to reach special facilities for han- FIGURE 2 Follow that trash truck! A plastic soap container put out with the trash on
dling. This raises the question of whether Madison Avenue in New York City looped through midtown Manhattan, crossed the
this special handling is worthwhile, given Hudson River, and was last detected traveling down the Bellevue Turnpike in New Jersey.
the impacts of the extra gasoline use
and greenhouse gas emissions it entails. Why did each of the tracked items waste of resources? Do we need more
Posing this question in a 2012 research migrate so far? How much gasoline recycling and disassembly facilities
paper, the Trash Track team suggested was used to transport them? When we nearer to each major city? Researchers
that we find ways to make our process- move items great distances to dispose and waste managers hope to use data
ing systems for hazardous and electronic of them or recycle their parts, does that from the Trash Track project to address
waste as efficient as those for curbside reflect efficiency from an economy of such questions and improve the way
waste collection and recycling. scale—or does it indicate an excessive we handle waste.

America (FIGURE 22.13). The mix is then passed through a are turned into new newsprint and cellulose insulation, and
finer screen and left outside for 4–6 months. The result- cardboard and paper are converted into building paper and CHAPTER 22 • MAN A GING OUR WASTE
ing compost—80,000 tons annually—is made available to shingles. Household metal is made into rebar and blades for
farmers and gardeners. The facility even filters the air it tractors and graders, and recycled glass is used for reflective
emits to eliminate odors. paint and signs.
Edmonton’s program includes a state-of-the-art MRF, a Edmonton has just built a new integrated processing
leachate treatment plant, a research center, public education and transfer facility to handle compostable and recyclable
programs, and a wetland and landfill revegetation program. In waste from homes and businesses, and the city will soon
addition, 100 pipes collect enough landfill gas to power 4600 complete a biofuels facility to create ethanol (p. 587) from
homes, bringing thousands of dollars to the city and helping to waste that cannot be recycled or composted. With these
power the new waste management center. Five area businesses new facilities, Edmonton hopes to achieve 90% recovery
reprocess the city’s recycled items. Newsprint and magazines in 2013. 639

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