Let’s start with paper, and your first thought might be that burning paper would not be all that bad. There is another option, and that is burning our paper and cardboard, which is another widely used practice for getting rid of this type of trash but how bad is this for the environment? Does the Burning Paper Have a Negative Impact on the Environment? The good news is that paper and cardboard are some of the most recycled materials we create, but still, a significant amount of them makes their way to landfills. In fact, an enormous wall could be built from New York to California with the paper that is wasted by the US each year. It is high-income countries, of course, that produce the most waste and around 20% of all our trash is made of paper and cardboard. Waste is an inevitability of life, and humans produce over 2 billion tons of waste every year, a third of which is disposed of in an environmentally negative way. What happens to all this cardboard and paper once we have used it, and is it an environmentally friendly product to dispose of?Įnvironment protection and conservation are the focus of many people across the world as we investigate the damage human activity is causing to ecosystems and biodiversity. We are not savvy with our use of paper and cardboard either, and one shocking fact is that offices throw away 45% of the paper they use in just one day! The planet’s paper and pulp needs are set to double by 2060, which means there will be double the amount of waste to deal with. Globally, we use over 440 million tons of paper every year. They have become so ingrained in our everyday existence that modern life would grind to a halt without them. They help us share information through the written word, and to package and transport goods across the world. Soon, the amount of trash will grow exponentially, producing a great need for a reliable technique of getting rid of trash, and Singapore’s solution might be a viable option for the rest of the world.Paper and cardboard are two of the most useful materials in the world and we certainly would struggle to get by without them. Also, the heat can be harnessed, which gives electricity to power many homes. I believe incinerating the trash and filtering the smoke is a very good way to meet both of these requirements. The method of trash disposal should be cost-effective and have little environmental impact. Ideally, there should be little leftovers left from all trash. Many factors are impacting our environment, and choosing a reliable method of emptying our fuel is crucial for improving the condition of the world we live in. Even though it may take some initial investment to build an incineration facility, incineration would most likely cost a similar amount as landfills in the long run. With incineration, however, it just has to be dumped into safe water, which can take little money. However, landfills require more maintenance, which can also cost a lot of money. From this information, it may seem that landfill is a better choice. According to BetterMeetsReality, it costs $50 to send a ton of trash to the landfill and $65 to $75 to incinerate it. This is how a Singapore incineration plant looks like (Source: SecondsGuru) Will Other Countries Use This?įirst, we must analyze the cost of it. Surprisingly, this solution offers an additional benefit: the heat from the burned trash is then harnessed to power thousands of homes with electricity, all from incineration plants. Additionally, the ash is dumped in the water of the man-made island, which does not touch ocean waters, therefore making no harmful impact. The harmful gases are filtered out so the air that is emitted from the incineration plants is very clean. However, Singapore was able to overcome these problems. The only drawbacks are the harmful gases and the ash that is left over. It can easily get rid of the trash through burning, and there is little wait needed. Out of the options mentioned above, I believe incineration is the best. The same applies to composting since only organic materials such as food and tree scraps can be composted. There is also the option of recycling, but not all materials can be recycled (ex. Obviously, landfills are very costly in terms of money and space. There are many other methods of getting rid of an area’s trash. How Singapore’s “trash island” looks like (Source: Pinterest) How This Method Compares to Others
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