What Are Some Environmental Problems That Garbage Causes?
- The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 57 percent of the toxic substances dioxin and furans between 2002 and 2004 were created by burning trash in backyards. In rural areas. people may use this method to get rid of their garbage. In addition to the toxins released by smoke, the garbage ash may have harmful toxins, and if the trash contains polystyrene plastic, pressure-treated wood, bleach and dyed paper, even more chemicals are released. The EPA estimates that burning 10 pounds of trash per household can produce as much air pollution as an efficient comerical incinerator burning 400,000 pounds of trash.
- Even if garbage isn't burned and is properly disposed through a local solid waste management program, garbage sits in landfills, taking up precious land. As biodegradable waste sits and breaks down, the greenhouse gas methane releases in large quantities. Methane is 70 percent more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, an effect linked to global warming. Nitrous oxide is also released during the transportation of waste to landfills.
- As waste sits and breaks down, harmful chemicals can leak into the ground and aquifers, contaminating local water supplies. Older incinerators also release carcinogens known to cause cancer. Air pollutants can create acid rain or cause respiratory problems. Of course, where there's decay and garbage, there are rodents. Landfills and garbage piles are hotbeds for rats, flies and vermin carrying disease.
- In the Pacific Ocean, a garbage patch exists that may cover an area 1.5 times the size of the United States and sits 100 feet deep. The garbage pile, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, consists primarily of plastic items, since they aren't biodegradable and have buoyancy, while other types of trash eventually biodegrade or get absorbed into the water. Animals may ingest or get caught in the plastics, and harmful chemicals can affect their health. Old fishnets also trap animals, turtles and dolphins. In addition to affecting the ocean's population, 2.5 billion people on earth rely on fish meeting 20 percent of their protein needs, according to an article by Thomas Kostigen in Discovery magazine.
