Announcements. Bellingham plastic bag ban. Solid Waste. Bellingham Bay. Where does our garbage go?

Transcription

1 Announcements Bellingham plastic bag ban Final exam, Monday, March 14 th, 8 AM 10 AM Bring a #2 pencil and a spare Remember daylight savings time on Sunday Scores for final exam and extra credit will be posted by Tuesday (3/15) Today Cover solid waste Course summary Environmental film festival Final exam review Course evaluations Solid Waste Bellingham Bay Where does our garbage go? What s in our trash? Where does it go? What are the consequences? What can we do to reduce these problems? 1

2 Landfills near Holly St Whatcom Creek fill Whatcom creek and Maritime Heritage Park Bellingham Bay Cornwall Avenue Contaminated with arsenic, copper, lead, mercury, silver, zinc, cyanide, PCB, bis(2-ethylhexyl), phthalate, PAH 2

3 Bellingham Bay Squalicum 1926 Squalicum 1930s Problems with improper disposal Legacy of contamination Superfund sites (CERCLA) Solid waste debris in the environment 6x more plastic debris in North Pacific Ocean than macrozooplankton (C. Ebbesmeyer) 3

4 Plastic in the plankton Half pound of plastics found inside dead albatross Photo from National Geographic Where does our garbage go? Whatcom County no longer dumps solid waste into Bellingham Bay Instead, Whatcom County dumps solid waste in Oregon Roosevelt (WA) and Columbia Ridge Land Fill, Gilliam County, OR Roosevelt Landfill Columbia Ridge Landfill Columbia Ridge Most of solid waste from Whatcom County and Seattle goes here. 7,500 tons of garbage each day! 4

5 Landfills for profit Where does our trash go? Fees up to $100 per ton United States MSW (2010) What is in municipal trash? MSW trends in the US Predominately paper products EPA 2010 Total and per capita waste generation (EPA 2010) 5

6 MSW trends in the US Recycling in WA Total and percent recycling (EPA 2010) WA Dept. Ecology: Revitalizing Recycling in Washington Where does recycling go? Much of it to China! China s new green fence policy reject contaminated materials US companies have better incentives to innovate Bellingham recycling According to SSC: Aluminum cans Anheuser-Busch Glass Strategic materials (Seattle). Melted down at Saint Gobain glass company Cardboard Kapstone Paper (Longview, WA) Mixed paper Nine Dragons Paper (China) Plastics Pralumex, Walnut, CA 6

7 Issues with landfills The US has plenty of land for landfills Problems Leaching of contaminants Incomplete decomposition Methane production Habitat destruction Difficult to find suitable sites (NIMBY) Effects on wildlife Solid-waste combustors 80% burned, 12% recycled, 8% landfill 7

8 Issues with solid-waste combustion RE-Store in Bellingham Atmospheric deposition of metals such as lead, mercury, zinc, an important source of pollution for local waters including Puget Sound Which shall we pollute - air, water, land? Needlessly disposable products 8

9 Disposing of hazardous wastes We ve come a long way Batteries Rechargeable take to hazardous waste facility Standard alkaline trash Paint Open can in well ventilated area Mix with sawdust Toss when dry CRTs (TVs and computer screens) are toxic Concentration (ppm) Concentration (ppm) Good news: Sustainability is possible Carbon Monoxide Nitrogen Dioxide Year Concentration (µg m -3 ) Concentration (ppm) Lead Sulfur Dioxide Year Source: Environmental Revolution Importance of sustainability is recognized Transition to a sustainable economy Essential transitions: Demographic Transition Resource Transition Energy, Technology, Transportation Transition Community Transition 9

10 The revolution is now Environmental Film Festival Green-collar jobs Every major industry has a need for environmental management Workers with appropriate training relatively rare Final Exam Review Environmental Ethics The rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come; for I also am a steward. Gandalf, in The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien 10