1 / 23

Our Landfills Are Being Filled With Plastic, What Do We Do Now?

Our Landfills Are Being Filled With Plastic, What Do We Do Now?. Esther K. Davis Trans-Jordan Landfill Compliance and Safety Coordinator/ Public Education November 22, 2013. Plastic in the landfill. Total MSW before recycling. In the US (in millions of tons).

sanne
Download Presentation

Our Landfills Are Being Filled With Plastic, What Do We Do Now?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Our Landfills Are Being Filled With Plastic, What Do We Do Now? Esther K. Davis Trans-Jordan Landfill Compliance and Safety Coordinator/ Public Education November 22, 2013 Utah Debate Conference 2013

  2. Plastic in the landfill Utah Debate Conference 2013

  3. Total MSW before recycling Utah Debate Conference 2013

  4. In the US (in millions of tons) Utah Debate Conference 2013

  5. Comparison of recyclable products Utah Debate Conference 2013

  6. Weight –vs.-Volume Municipal Solid Waste Plastic Bottles • 350 pounds of uncompacted plastic takes up twenty times the space!. • 1 yd3 ofUncompacted municipal solid waste weighs 350 lbs. Utah Debate Conference 2013

  7. Weight –vs.-Volume Municipal Solid Waste Plastic Bottles • 350 pounds of uncompacted plastic takes up twenty times the space!. • 1 yd3 ofUncompacted municipal solid waste weighs 350 lbs. Utah Debate Conference 2013

  8. A look at your landfill Utah Debate Conference 2013

  9. Utah Debate Conference 2013

  10. Notice the recyclables especially the plastics Utah Debate Conference 2013

  11. Utah Debate Conference 2013

  12. Litter fence at landfill These fences are 16’ high. Over 70% of trash caught on fence is plastic bags! Utah Debate Conference 2013

  13. Landfill closures • the number of landfills has decreased from almost 8,000 in 1988 to 1,767 in 2012. • Factors for landfill closings: • Regulations protecting the environment of become more stringent • Consolidation • Use of plastics have filled the landfills at a increased rate since 1970. Utah Debate Conference 2013

  14. Alternatives to plastic • Glass • Environmentally cleaner • Breakable • Heavy to use and heavy to ship • Metal • Environmentally cleaner • Less pleasing as you cannot see contents • Still lined with plastic to prevent metal corrosion Utah Debate Conference 2013

  15. Needed Plastics Some items are better with plastic such as: Medical items Automobile parts (less weight better fuel mileage) Plastic is not bad Utah Debate Conference 2013

  16. What can we do? RECYCLE Utah Debate Conference 2013

  17. Salt Lake County Recycling Rate Recycling Rates National Recycling Rates 15% 47% Utah Debate Conference 2013

  18. Recycling is too hard • I don’t know what the types of plastic are? • I don’t know which plastics can be recycled? • I don’t want to wash my recycling, do I have too? Utah Debate Conference 2013

  19. What Plastics Can be recycled? • Let’s make this easy: • All clean plastic containers can be recycled • One exception….styrofoam • No need to know numbers • If in doubt, if it is clean, throw it in the recycle can! Utah Debate Conference 2013

  20. Our Landfills Are Being Filled With Plastic, What Do We Do Now? • Reduce the amount of plastics that you bring home. • Re-use the containers that you can • Recycle all clean plastic containers…except Styrofoam • If in doubt and it is clean…put it in the recycle can! Utah Debate Conference 2013

  21. Facts obtained here: • Biocycle magazine, www.jgpress.com/biocycle.htm • Environmental Research and Education Foundation, www.erefdn.org • Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, www.isri.org • “Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2011,” U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste, • www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm • National Solid Wastes Managment Association, www.nswma.org • “National Source Reduction Characterization Report,” U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste, www.epa.gov/osw Utah Debate Conference 2013

  22. Elementary Policy • The State of Utah should ban the use of plastic shopping bags and bottles. • Jr. High/ Middle School Policy • The State of Utah should establish a policy significantly decreasing plastic waste. • Jr. High/ Middle School L-D • Individuals have a moral obligation to reduce plastic waste in their communities. Utah Debate Conference 2013

  23. If you have any additional questions: • Esther Davis • Compliance and Safety Coordinator - Environmental Educator • 10873 S. Bacchus Hwy (U-111) • PO Box 95610 • South Jordan UT 84095-0610 • 801-569-8994 ext 23 • 801-352-0578 fax • edavis@transjordan.org • www.transjordan.org Utah Debate Conference 2013

More Related