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One Man’s Trash: The Domestic Implementation of Sustainable Waste Management

Techniques

Katherine A. McDonald

First Colonial High School

Legal Studies Academy

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Abstract

There is a complex and important history of information about recycling in America that gives

significant context to the causes of a current misunderstanding of the waste management

industry. The result is a misinformed public which relies on their understanding of the issue that

had been explained far too simply. A misinformed public only worsens the issue since it results

in most Americans wrongly recycling products that, while technically recyclable somewhere,

may not be recyclable in their municipality. Additional insight to the waste management industry

is given by professionals in the industry, as well as comparing America’s waste management

techniques, local techniques that are used in the Hampton Roads area, and global approaches to

sustainable waste management. In the future it is important not only to inform the public about

how they can properly and simply dispose of their waste, but also to take notice of international

techniques in waste management as the issue of increasing waste in landfills gets worse every

day.
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One Man’s Trash: The Domestic Implementation of Sustainable Waste Management

Techniques

In 2021’s America, improperly handled waste and the effect it has on the environment is

one of the most well-known issues. Television advertisements broadcast that Americans are the

answer, with cheery clips of eager volunteers collecting trash and undoing the harm done to the

Earth by mankind. The image of the good Samaritan, a good citizen who recycles and sorts their

trash, can be seen in all types of media, especially that which targets young children. Growing up

in the United States exposes people to an extensive amount of information that aims to inform

about the adverse effects of littering, not recycling, etc, but sometimes all of this information

taken in from a young age can result in a numbness and ignoring of the issue. Americans are

acutely aware of the crisis presented by mass consumption, but only a small representation

(about 48,250 people in 2020) (Tiseo, 2021) of US residents work in fields related to waste

management. This means that the proper disposal and handling of waste is rarely grappled with

by the average citizen. This is an entirely intentional result of the waste management system that

is designed to allow citizens to compartmentalize deeply rooted issues that have plagued

America for more than a decade. There is more to be done than to remain in blissful ignorance

about the state of waste management today. Due to economic motivations and misleading

advertisement campaigns, popular media has allowed Americans to stall without confronting the

reality of waste management as the problem continues to compound.

How Did We Get Here?

With the issue of proper waste management being so widespread, the events that brought

the American waste situation to where it is now are key in unpacking why and how the issue
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came about. For generations, popular culture has emphasized the importance of the individual’s

choices and how one person’s activism affects the accumulation of difficult to process waste;

however,no issue as complex as waste management can be fully explained from one perspective.

This oversimplification of the issue results in a misinformed public and without a clear

understanding of the root of the systematic problems in waste management, it becomes

staggeringly difficult to find relevant solutions.

Plastics & Patriotism

Coming out of World War II, the United States had a newfound desire to rapidly expand

its economy. With new man-made materials widely available, manufacturers across a plethora of

industries were able to increase their production resulting in a rise in American-made goods. The

rise in production also led to a higher sense of national pride among Americans through strategic

marketing and advertising techniques.

One key player in this game was the new plastics industry. Doubts from many citizens

towards plastics being used widely led to ad campaigns and propaganda made by these plastic

companies to convince the public that their products were safe, profitable, and the best option for

America. This actually continued all the way through the 1990’s where television ads showed

healthy, happy young people enjoying the many different uses of plastic (Young, 2020).

Advertisement as a persuasive technique to shift public opinion would continue to be used for

decades as the issue shifted towards the handling of the same plastics that were once advocated

for towards the environmental responsibility that average citizens had to fix what had been done.
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Symbolic Deception

The three chasing arrows make up an instantly recognizable symbol of recycling. This

symbol holds an important weight especially for plastic manufacturers. In fact, there was intense

legal discourse between recyclers and plastics companies where the symbol was being placed on

products that were not easily recyclable simply because the symbol has such a strong connection

for consumers to environmentally-friendly packaging. Recyclers wanted people to know the truth

and to reduce hassle in processing, but when the issue was brought to state governments, the

plastics industry came out victorious. Now, products that often can’t be recycled in most of the

country, even in most of the world with any kind of economic justification, are still being marked

with the friendly chasing arrow symbol. Consumers will see this symbol and recycle the products

without hesitation, thinking that they are doing a good deed and leaving the waste to be

processed by recyclers. However, when recyclers receive these products, there is no justifiability

in recycling them and no other countries are willing to accept mixed plastics as raw materials, so

they end up in essentially the same place as all other municipal solid waste (Sullivan, 2020).

Another contributing factor to the reduction in efficacy of recycling in recent years may

seem counterintuitive. There was a significant (just under 24%) increase in recycling between

1985 and 2010 which also coincided with widespread usage of pro-recycling messages at

disposal sites. For example, in an attempt to encourage people to be more environmentally

conscious, owners of disposal sites often post signs which say “landfill” on trash bins to remind

those who use it of where the waste they dispose of will eventually end up (Catlin et al., 2021).

This makes the act of disposing of waste and the accumulation of waste in landfills feel less

disconnected and much more relevant to the disposer. However, despite the intention behind
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these signs to keep recyclable waste out of landfills, they often contribute to the improper

disposal of non-recyclable waste. In an attempt to avoid the guilt of adding to waste

accumulation in landfills, people who are unsure about whether their garbage can be recycled or

not often air on the side of recycling. This ultimately does more damage to the recycling process

and wastes energy and time by increasing the amount of waste that needs to be sorted out at

treatment centers.

Local and Global Waste Management

With an area of 268,597 square miles, the US state, Texas, is comparable to the size of

the entire country of France (sitting at approximately 210,016 square miles). Considering this,

although innovations which are rolled out in a particular country may seem like a realistic means

to an environmentally sustainable end, it is important to consider the geographic, legal, and

cultural differences that could make or break its possible implementation in America. As land

and space is limited, but waste production is incessant, all countries have had to confront the

issue of sustainability. Looking abroad is an instrumental piece to understanding both how

America’s handling of waste management stacks up globally, but also how we could improve

and where the future of waste management is heading.

Chesapeake, Virginia

Jerod Roberts is the District Manager for WM (Waste Management) which is a private

fortune 200 company that has offices throughout the country. The office which Roberts works

from is located in Chesapeake, Virginia. According to an interview with him conducted in 2021,

the thing that citizens fail to recognize in the Hampton Roads area is that “food waste can be

recycled and turned into compost”(Roberts, 2021). Composting may seem trivial, but reducing
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the amount of food present in solid waste is comparatively low in cost and required time as

opposed to breaking down non-biodegradable materials that linger in landfills and take up space.

The compost can also benefit local ecosystems and farming so it represents a solution which has

a net positive outcome. Another misconception that he reported was that local citizens place

glass waste in the recycling bin when it is not a viable product to recycle. He reports that “most

cities are charged in recycling based on the weight, so recycling glass that already breaks back

down to sand does the cities no justice”(Roberts, 2021).

Although there are a few ways in which Roberts believes that the people in the Hampton

Roads area could improve their understanding of the waste management system, he also says that

he believes that any benefits gained from recycling far outweigh the negative possibilities that

could arise from costly sorting and people recycling waste that cannot be recycled reasonably.

He says that since we have limited options for how to deal with waste in the area, if everyone

stopped recycling it would result in a loss of potential for the future since it would harm the

environment significantly to have all MSW placed solely in landfills.

In waste management, there is a balance that professionals must be cognizant about

between the economic strain of a certain method of waste management and the environmental

benefits that it presents. This dichotomy can be complex to navigate because in the long run,

choosing waste disposal methods that do not prioritize the environment can lead to negative

effects that will have a representative economic toll. For example, improperly managed landfills

can lead to leachate developing and causing harm to both people who drink water from a source

surrounding the landfill, or to local wildlife that lives or drinks water that gets contaminated.

Leachate is what is generated when water filters through municipal solid waste, collecting
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particles of the waste as it filters down, and gets absorbed into the ground below the

waste(Youcai, 2018). One of the most common adverse effects of typical landfills is the potential

for leachate produced to leak into local groundwater and contaminate it. Leachate must be

properly treated before it comes into contact with public drinking water. If local people drink

water that has been contaminated by leachate, they can develop illnesses which represents

another cost that cannot easily be calculated in terms of concrete numbers.

When asked about the most sustainable method of handling waste in the Hampton Roads

area, Roberts reported that WM (Waste Management the company) works with another company

in the area referred to as SPSA (Southeastern Public Service Authority). This authority allows

WM to collaborate with other surrounding cities to determine the most sustainable methods of

waste management that can be used in that area. Roberts says that currently the most

environmentally sustainable method that SPSA is using would be Waste to Energy. This method

is significantly more expensive than just using a combination of recycling processes and

landfills, but he says that the Waste to Energy method results in many environmental benefits

since the incineration used in the process avoids placing waste in direct contact with the ground,

leading to the other possible adverse effects previously detailed (Roberts, 2021).

Throughout America

Jennie Romer, author of Can I Recycle This?, says in her interview with PBS that many

people don’t know what to recycle, even if they have good intentions and separate their

recyclable waste (Romer, 2021). There are levels of plastic that are worth more and less based on

what they are made of. Certain plastics labeled as level 1 or level 2 (you can tell by looking at

the number inside of the triangular recycling symbol on the packaging) have value for resale and
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conversion to new plastic items, but plastics classified as level 3 to 7 (mixed plastics) actually

cost the recyclers money to send out for processing. Small items that can fall through the

recycling machinery have no value to be recycled (Romer, 2021). Additionally, there are

consequences to not recycling at all. Since the US ships a lot of the country’s recyclable waste

abroad, people in other places around the world have to deal with the effects of those

long-lasting, non-biodegradable products on their environment: agriculture, environment, animal

health (Romer, 2021).

The overall system in American food production and packaging is not conducive to

sustainable consumers’ lifestyles and is often incompatible with recycling. Romer says that

although she will go out of her way to be sustainable in her purchases more than the average

bear, it is undoubtedly difficult to keep waste to a low. This is especially true when budget is a

concern to consumers and when they have limited options in where they can shop (food deserts,

etc). She says that she believes there should be more thought given to sustainability in the design

of packaging for products (Romer, 2021).

Moderation in Morocco

Morocco’s waste generated per citizen is 0.76 kg (just under 1.68 lbs) per day. In 2018,

the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimated that in America each person generates

about 4.9 lbs of waste each day (EPA, 2018).

In Saghir’s report about the possible efficacy of converting solid municipal waste

(generated at a rate of about 143,454 tonnes per year) in the Moroccan city of Oujda, he found

through extensive calculations about the waste make-up of the city that the implementation of

waste to energy conversion would be viable in Oujda (Saghir, 2019). Because the conversion of
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municipal solid waste has the potential to prevent the development of greenhouse gasses, which

in turn aids with the slowing of global warming, Sahir claims that using this waste management

method would also help to keep the city’s air and water safer for residents as well as generate

more sustainable power for the city which would reduce their reliance on non

globally-sustainable fuel sources such as fossil fuels which are not environmentally sustainable

for use over long periods of time. Since Virginia Beach has a similar climate to that of the

Moroccan city Sahir conducted in his research, conducting similar tests about the waste

production statistics combined with how much it would cost to implement in the city more

widely could be of benefit to the area (Saghir, 2019).

Dismantling Inefficient Waste Management in Denmark

Denmark is considered to be one of the most sustainable countries, including their waste

management. In particular, their construction and demolition waste management is notably

efficient when compared to other countries in the OECD. However, similarly to America

Denmark’s recycling infrastructure is lacking because of their comparatively high investments

into municipal waste incineration. People in Denmark are creating large quantities of municipal

waste and their infrastructure is not particularly conducive to recycling, therefore it is largely

avoided.

Despite how Denmark’s environmental sustainability is commended, their resource

productivity is relatively low. There have been plans in the past proposed to improve their

management of municipal waste such as in 2016 when they aimed to integrate both public and

private sector recycling and incineration, but they proved to be ineffective.

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Because Denmark has a limited capacity to reuse/ recycle certain materials they also

engage in trading of waste with neighboring countries. In particular, they export large quantities

of paper, iron, and cardboard. Denmark has no steel mills that can recover scrap metal, so they

end up sending most of it to Turkey and other European countries. Since 2011, the imports of

waste in Denmark rose because of their ability to incinerate waste sustainably, but since 2014

these levels have stabilized because of guidelines on the capacity for excess incineration.

Solution in Singapore

A universal trend in the disposal of waste has been to dump garbage in underprivileged

communities. As a result, economically disadvantaged people often suffer severely from a lack

of waste management regulation. This rings especially true in Singapore where much of the

country lives in confined spaces due to the growing population and lack of land (CBNC, 2021).

Many of the same issues in America present themselves in Singapore too, with

improperly disposed of waste occupying valuable space in landfills. Most waste originates from

commercial and private buildings, or industrial facilities such as electricity plants or hospitals,

and because of the CoronaVirus, there’s been an increase in the amount of medical waste

generated as well (CBNC, 2021).

The solution presented by Tuas South Incineration Plant in Singapore is burning the trash

and they are then able to harvest the byproducts into energy. After incineration, waste volume is

reduced by 90% compared to its original, solid form, which saves a dramatic amount of space

that would have been occupied before this. Additionally, another waste management facility

being built by Mitsubishi corp., which is another waste management project based in Singapore,

is estimated to eventually be able to incinerate 3,600 tonnes of waste per day. In both of these
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facilities, The ash that gets incinerated is dumped into water inside of a controlled landfill. The

water is contained by a man-made island that has access to a water treatment plant so the

contaminated water can be released back into the ocean once it is safe. However, this waste

handling method is even better than a net-zero waste outcome since the ash at the bottom of the

incinerated piles (referred to as NEWSand) can be processed into concrete to create

infrastructure such as benches and possibly foundation for buildings(CBNC, 2021).

Conclusion

The state of waste management in America has increased along with the professional and

scientific understanding of various methods and their effects. However, it is still true that most

people give little thought to where their waste ends up. Despite the efforts of propaganda to

increase the salience of compounding waste to young people, many still have no idea where their

recycling ends up. In the future, it is necessary for government officials to take this into

consideration and not be influenced by the gleam of immediate economic gratification. Instead,

the voices of waste management experts must be amplified. The adverse effects of landfills are

significant and many are not widely known to those in power who mandate necessary disposal

methods. There must be a drastic increase in the amount of Americans who know how to

properly dispose of their waste as well as the prioritization of long-term economic benefits from

lawmakers to protect our wildlife and slow global warming.

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