Collecting Waste Recyclable Products and Different Projects - Essay Example

 Environmental Studies Introduction The worksite where the project work was carried out is on 447 North 9th Street Terre Haute of Hulman center. The project began back in nineteen ninety aimed to reduce landfill expenses and create a positive impact to the environment. The project involved collecting waste recyclable products such as glass cans, aluminum cans and computer motherboards. The program gained momentum in two thousand and seven after they were able to hit two million pounds of recyclable materials collected from the Terre community. In two thousand eleven the project was able to save up to a million dollars that would have been spent on dispose of sites and some other relevant charges. The project managed to collect as much as forty million pounds of waste materials in this year. The project only concentrated on moving round the Terre community and collecting waste material that is recyclable and delivering it to the enterprise for recycling. As a recycling facility, Indiana State University started out with a Wastage Management department in 1990. This department, at the time, comprised of two old cubic yard compactor trucks, five employees and a Cushman truck. The knowledge regarding recycling was not as plenty as it is nowadays. In addition the department did not have the necessary budget to undertake effective recycling activities. However, this did not deter them from recycling aluminum can which was the recycling trend at the time. Since then, the department has grown in leaps and bounds to its current state. At the moment, ISU recycling activities are recognized by the Indiana community. The program has developed a drop-facility and has started accepting e-Scrap. Its recycling statistics are impressive considering they have recycled more than 2 million pounds to date. Activities description The main activity was driving round collecting garbage. We would drive around in trucks and load recyclable materials to the trucks. The materials include plastic bottles except those that carried oil, glass bottles, cardboards, old telephone books and any other recyclable materials and glass containers provided they did not contain Pyrex. While recycling trash and garbage, we learnt the procedures of handling solid waste in the county of Indiana. In the state, we learnt that the Indiana County Solid Waste Authority was the authority in matters regarding the disposal of solid waste. This authority was formed as part of the county’s compliance with the Pennsylvania Act of 101 of 1988. All members of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has to enforce the appropriate solid waste disposal techniques. During the 12 hours assigned for recycling activities were based on solid waste disposal and recycling. Drop off recycling was for those acceptable items such as paper, food remains and other similar biodegradable items. The residents of Indiana had access to deposit bins that are available all day all week. The bins were divided into: biodegradable and non-biodegradable items. The residents, to my surprise, knew which materials were acceptable and those that were not. The materials were mostly cans, glass, plastics, newspapers, cardboard, office paper and magazines. Materials deemed unacceptable included aluminum foil, grills, scrap metal items, windows, auto glass, vinyl siding, plastic toys and other related materials (Morgan 2006). During the aforementioned activities, we got to learn how the county managed the solid waste especially e-Scrap. The disposal of e-Scrap, in my opinion, was the most innovative of all recycling efforts at ISU. E-Scrap, which refers to electronic waste, tackled the side effect of rapidly advancements in technology; obsolescence. Prior to the e-Scrap initiative, there were piles of toxin of electronic waste all over. The e-Scrap initiative seeks to educate people on the safe ways of reusing and recycling electronic waste. The eScrap initiative helped me, and others, on the appropriate ways of handling eScrap. It is also on the forefront of highlighting irresponsible eScrap activities of large corporations that frequently change their computer hardware. Most people fail to realize that improper disposal of eScrap starts out as a small insignificant problem but slowly develops into an environmental hazard. The eScrap initiative borrows a lot from the San Diego Waste Management program that encourages San Diego residents to donate their ewaste. These donations go to organizations that need the electronics. For non-functional eWaste, there are recycling center locations where individuals can donate. The program coordinator, tasked with guiding us in the whole recycling, gave us the above-mentioned information regarding the safe disposal of eWaste. However, the whole process of recycling of electronic waste was mind boggling. The donations of the eWaste to organizations that needed the electronics were understandable but the recycling bit was difficult to understand. Upon further questioning and research, I discovered that the electronic waste disposal was dismantled and valuable materials recovered. Other materials, deemed useful, were either reused or refurbished. The benefits of eScrap recycling are numerous starting with new products and the production of virgin raw materials. The advantages of participating in this form of recycling are numerous but the most important one was the reduction of toxins from the environment. The recycling efforts at the Indiana State University contribute directly to the sustainability of their environment. Recycling, according to the ISU recycling team, is the cornerstone of environmental sustainability. Recycling helps humans in checking on rate at which we consume earth’s natural resources. Humans consume the earth’s natural capital at an unsustainable rate and this is countered by our recycling efforts. In short, sustainability is an ethical issue regarding the survival of the human race; are we willing to leave a healthy environment for generations to come. Sustainability urges individuals, and corporations, to use less energy, produce less waste, use less material and reduce environmental degradation. People should take sustainability as an individual responsibility. In terms of plastic waste, its recycling process is an example of how increase sustainability efforts (Vazquez 2013). Plastic being a non-biodegradable product, its use should be reduced and people should be encouraged to reuse the plastics that they currently own. Innovation into ways of replacing plastics is one of the environmentally sustainable activities that organizations and individuals are implementing nowadays. Sustainability encourages individuals to make conscious decisions in protecting the current environment so as future generations can enjoy theirs (Lee n.d). It emphasizes on practices, such as recycling and reuse, which help in the preservation of earth conditions that support human life. Sustainable actions, both for individuals and businesses, help in the reduction of humans’ negative impact on the environment. In the long run, ISU plans to implement sustainability in such a way that it develops processes that lead to firms to become fully sustainable. In its outreach programs, ISU warns individuals of resorting to quick fixes or short-term gains when it comes to matters regarding the environment. Businesses, who are contributors to environmental pollution, should take the matters of sustainable process with the gravity it requires. With these lessons on sustainability, the idea of recycling and other related activities really hit home. Future generations, in my opinion, should have the same opportunities as us in enjoying earth’s amenities. They deserve it as much as we are currently enjoying. The recycling initiative at the Indiana State University was enlightening in the very least. Activities that I had earlier taken for granted now make perfect sense. At the end of the program, we were asked to recommend the initiative to as many people as necessary. The more individuals who were aware of the program the healthier the earth’s environment will be for future generations. Sustainability, which is the ultimate goal of recycling, helps us in managing earth’s resources (Weinberg 2000). As mentioned earlier, the experience at ISU was enlightening and given an opportunity I would return. The experience gave me the necessary skills and resources to leave the environment at the same conditions as I found it. The experience taught to be environmentally conscious and help others in conserving the environment. In short, the ISU recycling initiative converted me into an earth citizen; conscious about the current and future generations. Volunteering for such initiatives should be mandatory for everyone and should be viewed as a personal responsibility. References Green, J. (2007). Aluminum recycling and processing for energy conservation and sustainability. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. Lee, G. Environment and sustainability. Morgan, S. (2006). Waste, recycling and reuse. London: Evans. Vázquez, E. (2013). Progress of recycling in the built environment. Dordrecht: Springer. Weinberg, A., Pellow, D., & Schnaiberg, A. (2000). Urban recycling and the search for sustainable community development. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Read More