Global Garbage Problem and Its Solution: Analysis of 'Garbology'

From the moment we are born we are contributing to one of the biggest problems in modern America, garbage. Garbage has created a national crisis and it may not be what comes to mind when thinking about a crisis. This response is the biggest problem, we as Americans do not realize how big of a problem garbage has become. Pulitzer prize winning author, Edward Humes is calling attention to the problem with his book Garbology. Garbage problem and solution are partly revealed in this essay with the help of Humes book. 

Disclosure of Urgent Garbage Problem Through Humes Book

The book starts out with a tragic story in May of 2010 on the south side of Chicago, inside the remains of a ruined house. An elderly couple were trapped within the ruined house. However, they are not trapped because of the building collapsing but, the couple were hoarders, which contributed to trashing piling up. Over the years, the elderly couple trash piled up until it hit the ceiling. The house was covered with old newspapers, bottles and various other kind of junk that contributed to the pile.

There was no space left unused, the house became so full of their garbage the couple was trapped inside until they passed away. After not being seen for 3 weeks police and firefighters were called to the scene to discover the house that looked as though it had been hit by a title wave of garbage. Surprisingly, this was not as rare of a case as it should be; up to 6 million Americans are compulsive junk hoarders. Hoarders are quite symbolic of the American garbage crisis. The average American leaves behind 102 tons of garbage in their lifetime, 102 tons! Although most Americans do not hoard, in their homes the garbage will eventually be piled up in a dump, which is no more of a solution than keeping it piled inside a house. Since 1980 the average American trash output has increased by a third, since 1960 its more than doubled. This is not a worldwide problem however, when compared to other countries with similar living circumstances like Germany, Austria and Denmark the average American will produce 50 percent more garbage. The problem clearly starts with us as Americans and our waste habits, it cannot be solved by some outside source, we must make a change to our garbage habits.

Edward Humes takes the reader to the landfill in Los Angeles County’s garbage, Puente Hills. The Los Angles County’s garbage employees a man by the name of Bike Mike, to which he has worked at the landfill for 20 years. Big Mike utilizes a German made machine called a BOMAG to deal with the garbage. The BOMAG (14 feet tall and 30 feet long bulldozer), pushes garbage with a force of 100,000 pounds.

The massive machine may seem extreme to simply move around garbage but, in a single day at work, Big Mike shapes 13,000 tons of garbage into the size of a football field. No other machine can do the job like the BOMAG. Big Mike job is extremely dangerous due to the amount of garbage, 2010 alone 8 landfill workers lost their lives, the garbage they deal with can pile up to 30 feet high.

The job is ranked as the 15th most dangerous occupation according to Business Insider. When comparing other jobs on the list like pilots, deep sea fishermen and loggers who all deal with death every time they go to work, it shows how extreme the amount of garbage is that men like Big Mike work with on a day to day basis. Over the years Puente Hills has been the final burial site for 130 million tons of garbage and it grows every day. For comparison that would be about equivalent to every single car produced in the US in the past 15 years. The mass of garbage is so big that it has its own ecosystem. Los Angeles County landfill is only one of many landfills throughout the United States.

I recently attended a lecture by Dr. Bill Kabasenche who shed some more light on the garbage problem. He shared with me yet another startling fact just like so many others discussed in Garbology. As it turns out there is a startling large number of landfills that are placed close to African American and Hispanic neighborhoods, and near Indian reservations.

Placing garbage near African American and Hispanic neighborhoods, and near Indian reservations is unacceptable in a Country that prides itself on being equal. It is very unsettling for the garbage problem to also become a racial one. Dr. Kabasenche brought up an acronym that explains many Americans mindsets when it comes to trash, NIMB not in my backyard. This mind set is one of the biggest problems in the garbage crisis, we want the trash to go somewhere but not in my backyard, and if it is not there then the problem is solved. Although it may not end/come into our back yards eventually it will turn up in someone else yard. No matter if it is in the backyard of animals or in landfills throughout America, it is a problem. Due to not seeing the trash, does not mean it has disappeared.

A common belief is that recycling is the answer, if we recycle more then we can eliminate the garbage piling up. It is easy to think that Americans are doing a good job of recycling, anywhere you go there are recycling bins for glass or plastic. According to Columbia University/BioCycle data Americans only recycle 24 percent of our garbage while 69 percent go to landfills and the remaining garbage is waste converted to energy.

Clearly, we are not up to par with our recycling as most American’s think. On page 16 alone in Garbology there are enough stats to prove how behind we are with our recycling. 5.7 million tons of carpet is sent to landfills when it could be recycled, 35 billion plastic bottles, and 40 billion plastic spoons, knives and forks. Enough aluminum is thrown away to rebuild the entire commercial air fleet 4 times over, enough steel to rebuild Manhattan from the ground up. These statics are astounding, and American’s need to realize the effects of garbage in the United States. Even worse when we throw these items away, we are spending more money for additional items that continue to accumulate in landfills (garbage). Aluminum takes 95 percent less energy to recycle than it does to produce it. If we recycled all our aluminum, we would never again would need to produce millions of sodas cans each year because, every single can that is recycled could be reused forever.

Not only do we cost ourselves millions in not recycling what goes into landfills, much of the recycling we do collect when we ship out to other countries. In 2010 our biggest export to China was scrap metal and paper waste, about 8 billion dollars’ worth of it. A year or two later Chine sell the product back to the United States. China is making billions off our laziness to not recycle when it could produce thousands of jobs back in the United States. A paper business by the name of Nine Dragons Paper started in 2000 by a Chinese woman who exports massive amounts of old paper. In 2010 the value of Nine Dragons Paper was worth 4.4 billion. That is 4.4 billion that the United States gave away because we were too lazy to recycle on our own.

Although recycling could be used to expand the United States economy and help to deal with a large amount of the trash, this is not the final solution. The United States has dug a hole, for that we must change the American mentality when it comes to garbage. David Steiner believes part of the answer is in the landfill themselves “Landfills are amazing resources; they are not just holes filled with trash.

They are the not the problem. They are part of the solution”. Steiner runs WMI a company that turns trash into useable energy, with over 100 power plants converting landfill gas into electricity. The electricity that is produced powers 1.1 million homes that is more output than the entire United States solar industry in 2011. Just like recycling, this is a big help to turn around the garbage problem in America but, there is one other thing that must be done to truly turn the country’s problem around. “Presidents used to fret that Americans did not save enough. Now they worry when we do not shop enough”. The American dream has become a wasteful one we feel empowered by going and buying whatever we think we would enjoy. It is this wasteful spending that separates us from other countries. We buy so much junk that end up in the garbage after no time at all. Americans must think about how much wrapping is used, it is not necessary for objects to be wrapped in so many layers of plastic that it requires a knife and a strong arm to cut through. When we ship objects in the mail, we use an entire box full of plastic peanuts. It is our wasteful mindset and reckless packaging that can be reversed and lead to less trash being produced and turn around the 102-ton legacy of trash that each American is currently doomed to produce.

Solutions That Can Be Implemented To Address This Issue

The problem of garbage has become a significant concern in many parts of the world. Below let's find out what stept we can take to solve the problem of garbage. 

1. Recycling and Waste Separation: Encouraging and promoting recycling initiatives is crucial. Implementing effective waste separation systems that allow individuals to separate recyclables from non-recyclables at the source can greatly reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills.

2. Composting and Organic Waste Management: Establishing composting programs for organic waste can divert a substantial portion of waste from landfills. This process converts organic waste into nutrient-rich compost that can be used in agriculture or gardening.

3. Waste-to-Energy Conversion: Investing in waste-to-energy technologies can help convert non-recyclable waste into energy sources such as electricity or heat. This approach not only reduces the volume of waste but also contributes to sustainable energy production.

4. Reducing Single-Use Items: Encouraging the use of reusable items, such as water bottles, shopping bags, and coffee cups, can significantly reduce the consumption of single-use plastics and other materials that contribute to waste generation.

5. Education and Awareness Campaigns: Educating the public about the importance of waste management and providing guidelines on proper disposal and recycling practices can promote responsible behavior and foster a culture of waste reduction.

6. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Implementing EPR policies can hold manufacturers accountable for the disposal and recycling of their products. This encourages companies to adopt sustainable packaging and design practices, reducing the environmental impact of their products throughout their lifecycle.

7. Community Engagement and Participation: Involving local communities, businesses, and organizations in waste management initiatives can create a sense of ownership and responsibility. Community cleanup drives, volunteer programs, and collaboration with local authorities can significantly contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable environment.

8. Government Regulations and Policies: Governments can play a crucial role in implementing comprehensive waste management policies, setting targets for waste reduction, promoting recycling infrastructure, and incentivizing sustainable practices.

9. Innovative Technologies: Exploring and investing in innovative technologies for waste management, such as advanced recycling techniques, waste sorting technologies, and waste treatment systems, can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of waste management processes.

10. International Collaboration: Recognizing that waste is a global challenge, international cooperation and knowledge-sharing platforms can foster collaboration and best practice exchange among countries to tackle the issue collectively.

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Conclusion

Through the book Garbology Humes shows us how much we contribute to the garbage problem and how quickly the issue is getting out of control. As Americans we are born into the garbage problem, from day one we contribute to it. We must change our ways as a nation to reuse what we can and stop the massive output of trash that currently exists. Garbology brings the problem to our attention and shows us the solution. The change begins with each individual American. By implementing a combination of above solutions, we can work towards minimizing the impact of waste on the environment, conserving resources, and building a more sustainable future for generations to come.

Work Cited

• Plummer, Ken, William Rathje, and Cullen Murphy 1993! The Archaeology of Garbage… Contemporary Sociology 22(6): 870
• Lehmann, La 2015 The Garbage Project Revisited: From a 20th Century Archaeology of Food Waste to a Contemporary Study of Food Packaging Waste Sustainability 7(6): 6994-7010
• Camp, Stacey Lynn 2010 Teaching with trash: Archaeological Insights on University Waste Management. World Archaeology 42(3): 430-442
• Leone, M.D. 1981, Archaeology’s Relationship to The Present and The Past. In Modern Material Culture: The Archaeology of US (eds & R.A. Gould and M.B. Schiffer). New York: Academic Press.
• Lipe, W.D. 2000. Archaeological Education and Renewing American Archaeology. In Teaching Archaeology in The Twenty- First Century (eds S.J. Bender and G.S. Smith). Washington, D.C: Society for American Archaeology, pp. 17-20.
• Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 5 Aug. 2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2014. .