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Problems with Waste

Problems with Waste. Landfills - We’re running out of space Incinerators – Produce toxins Recycling – Still consumes energy Where should we put all of our garbage?. Can We Send Garbage Into Space?. Would interfere with satellites and other spacecrafts that orbit the Earth/Universe

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Problems with Waste

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  1. Problems with Waste • Landfills - We’re running out of space • Incinerators – Produce toxins • Recycling – Still consumes energy • Where should we put all of our garbage?

  2. Can We Send Garbage Into Space? • Would interfere with satellites and other spacecrafts that orbit the Earth/Universe • Takes significant energy to launch a rocket into space

  3. Why can’t we just dump it in the ocean?

  4. And here is why not…

  5. Great Ocean Patch in the Pacific Ocean

  6. What is the Patch? • a swirling, 3-million-pound mass of plastic and other trash…a “plastic soup” • The patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of suspended plastic and other debris that have been trapped by ocean currents. • Covers an area twice the size of Texas, according to researchers with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which has been tracking the Patch for a decade. ……..And it's not going away.

  7. It is estimated that 80% of the garbage comes from land-based sources, and 20% from ships at sea.

  8. Garbage in the Ocean affects ecosystems

  9. How does garbage affect marine life? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrVCI4N67M • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a4S23uXIcM&feature=related • http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/260772/january-06-2010/charles-moore

  10. Organisms affected by Garbage • Plastic closely resembles zoo plankton, and are eaten by jellyfish • Turtles eat plastic bags, thinking they are jelly fish • Seals and other marine animals get tangled in the garbage • plastic enters the food chain

  11. A Closer Look: Albatross • nest in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands • mistake trash for food, and feed it to their chicks • 40 % of albatross chicks die from trash filling their bellies (including cigarette lighters, toothbrushes, syringes, toys, clothespins and every other type of plastic) • Chicks eat about 5 tons of plastic a year

  12. What is the Solution? • None! • Since this garbage is in “international waters” no specific country is held responsible • It is too expensive to haul the garbage out of the water • There is “no place” to put the garbage-which country should fill their landfills with “global garbage”?

  13. What can YOU do? • Prevention: reduce, reuse, recycle! • Reduce the amount of plastic that you use so it does not end up in the ocean or landfill • Reuse-Example: buy a resuable water bottle instead of buying disposable plastic bottles • Recycle: bring the plastic you use to the recycle center • Awareness • Tell your friends, family and community about reducing, reusing and recycling! • You are the future! You can make a difference

  14. What is E-waste?

  15. E-waste in Ghana (6:20 min) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr1zQrXM_7s

  16. Solutions… • What if we found a way to use these materials as fuel in the future? Then it would be all gone!

  17. SOLUTIONS? • STOP before you buy! • Is it recyclable? • Is it biodegradable? • Can it be composted? • Do you REALLY need it? • Remember… • REDUCE – (most important step!) • REUSE • RECYCLE

  18. SOLUTIONS? • Don’t LITTER! • If you see garbage, PICK IT UP!

  19. Mobro Boat • Sailed from Islip, NY for 5 months to find a place to dispose of 3200 tons of garbage • Returned to NY and burned the garbage which produced 430 tons of ash

  20. Mobro • Traveled along east coast to Belize, Cuba and back to New York

  21. Will THIS be our future?

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