Environmental Issue Paper

Environmental Issue:

The Environmental Issue I will be discussing is Waste Management and Recycling in my local town/city of Plymouth County Massachusetts.  Recycling has had many effects to our environment, and especially to the quality of air we breathe.  In Massachusetts air quality from waste management and recycling is a topic of discussion in recent years.  The impact from recycling and how it effects the air we breathe can be seen from certain toxics that are released when recycling, for example when plastic is recycled it releases petrochemicals which last for almost forever.

  Due to decomposition and properties of different wastes, there are gases when there is discharge produced when garbage is left unintended as litter or even in landfills.  These can be released into the environment and pollute air, surrounding soil, or water sources leading to health problems for people, animals and damage to vegetation.

Quality of life has been affected in certain ways such as pollutants and high emissions can cause symptoms like, asthma, heart and cardiovascular, irritation to eyes nose and throat, as well as shortness of breath.

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Another example of affects from air pollution can be linked to diseases such as, lung cancer, autism, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, retinopathy, fetal growth, and low birth rate, as well as psychological problems.  I think that with the help from organizations such as (CAA) Clean Air Act can help regulate the pollutants that are released from recycling will go a long way with the current demand of recycling.

  The local economy has seen some benefits such as, more jobs in Massachusetts, and millions in tax revenues.  The more the population grows the more landfills will be needed, which in return will create more jobs for those looking to help the environment by delivering of recycled materials to said landfills.

Another way waste management and recycling is seen as a positive impact for the local economy is through programs that will be in demand to come up with innovative ways of recycling through new technology such as RFID tracking which allows waste management to track participation rates throughout your local state giving them an idea of how many homes are recycling and how much they are recycling which helps in determining how certain demographics are participating in recycling programs. Looking at how society reacts to recycling can be seen through locally and state wide. When someone recycles they can be influenced by how recycling is perceived from the way they actually feel about what should and should not be recycled and what are the environmental impact they personally contribute to the problem, and this gives them more insight to the importance of recycling.

Whether that be because they feel as though they are obligated to recycle or they see others recycling and hopefully they see the positive impact from recycling. For example, if someone was to recycle just because they know it is the morally right to do so, as supposed to recycling because of the way they were brought up. If more people believe in the process of recycling and tie this into their own personal values and hopefully we will see a more positive outcome in recycling. This really comes down to the bias we see from recycling and how one perceives it will ultimately show how we can work together to make a change in society as a whole, and this will help in a societal sense that everyone is doing their part.

Let us look at the political reactions to waste management and recycling. A collective strategy approach to waste management and recycling should allocate landfill and other discarding costs to producers and not taxpayers big corporations would seek out more organized ways of packaging, more inclusive recycling procedures and other ways to economize on their use of disposal resources. Recycling laws are different from state to state, for example, some states like Massachusetts gives you five cents forreturns on soda cans, and plastic bottles.

This gives the consumer incentive to recycle, and helps with the local economy at the same time and influences how a consumer sees recycling in a positive way.

Sustainable Solution:

Looking at the sustainable solution for waste management and recycling in Massachusetts. Plastic Eatin Enzyme is a substance which is built upon an enzyme called a “biological catalyst” according to (Michelle Hampson) who writes for the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) “PETase is an enzyme discovered in 2016 from aJapanese rubbish dump from Ideonella sakaiensis bacteria. PETase breaks down PET-plastic to monomeric mono-2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (MHET) molecules”. This is a breakthrough for all scientists alike and is currently being led by scientists from the Britain’s University of Portsmouth and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  Scientific evidence and according to the (Journal of Chemical Education) shows chemistry laboratory activity that can be used to demonstrate the recycling of plastic containers is described. In the first of 2 laboratory sessions, a sample of the widely used plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is depolymerized by refluxing with either potassium hydroxide or potassium tert-butoxide/water in pentanol or the mixed isomers of commercially available amyl alcohol.

In the second session, an esterification reaction of the terephthalic acid obtained from the PET hydrolysis is conducted. Students that have completed this activity have expressed satisfaction in the recycling process and have indicated that the issue of recycling plastic products has become more meaningful to them”. With this breakthrough could be the answer we all have been looking for, but it will take time to implement this new type of recycling procedure. This sustainable solution is being addressed on a continues basis.  There is not timeline as of yet to implement this new solution but could take years to develop into a permanent solution and according to (Harry Austin) who is a post graduate from the University of Portsmouth.

He said: 'This research is just the beginning and there is much more to be done in this area. I am delighted to be part of an international team that is tackling one of the biggest problems facing our planet.' So, there is no definite timeline, but this is a solution that we have all been waiting for.  The cost consideration is being funded by the University of Portsmouth through grants provided by specialized government agencies also known as research councils, and through corporations with special interests.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this type sustainable solution such as, this new process can help to reduce recycling by the PET digesting enzyme contributes a new way to frankly recycle plastic, and could be attach to tanks of waste, fragment all the bottles and plastic units down into easy to handle chemicals. Once this is done then could be used to make new plastics and produce a real recycling system that is self-efficient.  The disadvantages could be will this be implemented before the number rise in recycling worldwide, for example we manufacture over 300 million tons every year worldwide. If we do not further our resources in recycling the number will rise and make it that much more difficult to come up with a continues solution for recycling.

This is a disadvantage because the more we recycle the more pollutants are released into the atmosphere. If we as a society do not come up with a viable solution to recycling we can see the quality of life be interrupted because we have so much plastic that we cannot keep up with the recycling demand of plastic being recycled. This can create problems not with just humans but the massive numbers of plastic that end up in the ocean is staggering hundreds of millions of tons a year, and this has become disastrous for marine wildlife as we know it and is getting worse. The environmental consequences are very real, for example plastic accounts for around 10 percent of the total waste we generate. Another example is 50 percent of all plastic we use we only use once and throw it away. So, as you see this is a problem not just here in Massachusetts but worldwide.

Environmental consequences if this sustainable solution is not meet can result in changes in the atmosphere and on land, for example by not keeping up with recycling we can see increase in toxins that are released into the air and can affect our environment.

For example, by not reducing, reusing, and recycling, we are destroying natural habitats. The trees are being cut down quicker than they can regrow, thanks to consumers who don’t recycle paper and other wood products. Scientific fact, Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade, so just about most of it still exists in some way or form. Only 12 percent has been incinerated and this is a problem that can only get worse if not addressed with sustainable solutions that we all can benefit from.

Personal Impact:

Looking how my personal habit that contributes to recycling.  I could do more things like switch from using plastic bottles to water bottles, I can also start purchasing recycled paper.  When I go to the supermarket I can bring my own bags for groceries. I can start to buy more environmentally friendly cleaning products. By me not doing these things to help my environment I am adding to the toxins in our atmosphere, and creating more waste that could end up in landfills and this would increase my carbon footprint. When looking how I can promote recycling in my own life. I can be more aware of how I see the environment in terms of being more conscientious on going green in my daily life.

For example, I can explore more ways of introducing more environmentally friendly products in my home. I can also start using waste zero boxes that gives me the assurance that everything I put in them will be recycled 100 %, leaving nothing to end up in landfills. There are many ways I can promote environmentally responsibility within my own community.

For example, I will start by talking to my neighbors about the importance of recycling and help them to more aware of the benefits to the environment by recycling. I will start a community garden and help others to understand the benefits of growing their own vegetables. I will donate my free time to the local boys and girls club and talk about the importance of recycling.  I will also ask friends to join me and donate more free time to go around my local community and pick up trash. If we all take small steps to reduce our carbon footprint through the awareness of the benefits of recycling is the first step. Being aware of the problem is just the beginning, but putting a plan into action is the real way we can be more aware of the environment we live in.

Recycling has come a long way over the past couple of decades and has shown a positive impact on the environment.  Breathing clean air should be everyone’s rite of passage, but if we do not come together and start really coming up with more solutions to the problems we face on the level of recycling we will see an even more negative impact on the environment and the air we breathe worldwide. Recycling is not just about recycling it is about being more environmentally aware of the problems that are created from not implementing a sustainable solution that will increase everyone’s perception on the unwanted toxics and chemicals that are released in the atmosphere as well as polluting the soil in the ground and creating a negative impact on our environment that can effect generations to come.