While I applaud Monroe County’s efforts at recycling, I do not believe that a landfill, any landfill, is an “environmentally sound” way to dispose of waste. The Zero Waste committee of the Rochester Sierra Club has hosted a park cleanup in the county’s yearly ‘PickUpTheParks’ program for four years. Our group and many other groups and residents cheered the long-awaited decision by Monroe County to recycle #3-#7 plastics. Monroe County’s eco-park, a residential drop-off point for recyclables and hazardous waste, is an incredible service that all residents should use. Everyone can dispose of paints and old gasoline and other environmentally hazardous stuff. However, according to an eco-park representative, only 1% of the public is availing themselves of this critical service. That is unacceptable, and one has to wonder where the other 99% are dumping their hazardous waste. Landfills as a waste option are becoming suspect. Yes, they’ve come a long way from the toxic garbage dumps of the past. And of course Monroe County does need to provide the public with a waste removal system. They do not have the luxury of eliminating landfilling as a waste option at present, so landfills may well be a necessary evil at this point. But landfills are never ‘environmentally sound’ and we should be moving away from them as quickly as possible. When we try to solve our energy and waste problems by capturing and then burning the methane gases that naturally accompany landfills, the public gets the false impression that this solves either problem. What it does is perpetuate landfills as a basic component of waste management thus sweeping our waste, energy, and resource problems under the rug. It is a better idea to get rid of the idea of landfills and instead find ways to recycle those things we toss into them. Recycling our waste—organic, furniture, plastics, aluminum, etc.—would provide a wealth of resources for businesses, instead of having to further deplete our natural resources. “Landfills are the largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions in the U.S., and the impact of landfill emissions in the short term is grossly underestimated — methane is 72 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year time frame.” (Page 7, Stop Trashing the Climate) Also, this is interesting “…according to an audit, 69 percent of county households participate in recycling, while 53 percent of Rochester residents participate.” It’s interesting because in Buffalo, where the press follows recycling rates very closely, they have a recycling rate of only 13.6 percent. The national average is 34 percent. Hard to believe we are wildly above the national average. Anyway, I am in total agreement with Mr. Garland’s statement about updating plans on landfills, which includes “…develop public education programs about proper disposal, recycling, or reuse of different wastes.” Not only should there be widespread education about proper waste disposal, I believe our local media should step up to the plate and provide this educational component free of charge, as it is in the public interest.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:07:37 +0000
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