We spoke about re-use being the answer to our growing waste challenges. But what happens when we have re-used that plastic bag until its handles are broken and it has holes bigger than anything you might want to store in it? What do we do when the water bottles we have been refilling start to stink no matter how hard we wash them; or become ugly and misshapen? What do we do with our plastic buckets when they start to leak and we have enough flower pots and, therefore, no alternative use for them? We have no option, but to throw them away.
environment: By Thandekile Moyo
The world is currently facing a problem of plastics ending up in our rivers and lakes and eventually into oceans. All rivers ultimately flow into oceans, so waste from all over the world, even landlocked countries such as ours, can find its way into the oceans. What this means is that when you throw a paper out of the window when driving, it will probably find its way into a river. Rivers, lakes and oceans are complete ecosystems that house a host of animals and plants. Polluting them kills these plants and animals, disrupting thriving ecosystems.
Chemical waste consumed by fish, such as mercury, can find its way into your dinner plate. We usually take for granted the effects of our unsustainable waste disposal practices because we have no idea how far-reaching the effects are. When the ecosystems in the rivers are disrupted, what this means is that the plants and animals in the rivers are at risk. This reduces our fish populations and those people that survive on fish and fishing have their livelihoods affected. Any type of waste, be it sewage or chemical, can end up in our drinking water, causing us health problems. If we use contaminated water in our gardens, we run the risk of growing contaminated plants. To avoid this, we must prevent waste from contaminating our water bodies.
We cannot deny that there comes a point where one no longer has use for a product and must dispose of it. Before we knew better, all we were concerned with was making sure all waste was transported to the dumpsite and burnt to ashes. As our knowledge base grows, we have come to know that there are many problems associated with dumping and burning waste. From releasing harmful chemicals into the air as smoke and into the soil and underground water as ashes, burning waste creates more problems than it solves.
Health-wiki, a website dedicated to health and environmental matters, has a paper entitled: The problem of burning waste. They say, “Plastics used to make intravenons and blood bags, tubes and some syringes produce highly toxic chemicals called dioxins and furans when they are burned. These chemicals have no smell or colour and can cause cancer, make both men and women infertile, and lead to other serious health problems.” Releasing chemicals into the air has also been known to cause acid rain, one of the most dangerous types of precipitation known to mankind.
Burning waste does not completely reduce all of it to ashes. Some of it remains solid and this solid waste residue has to be disposed of. It is usually dumped in landfills. With our growing populations, our growing industries and our growing addiction to consumption, extreme amounts of waste are produced on a daily basis and thus our landfills are filling up at alarming rates. There is a growing concern that waste landfills are taking up too much land and thus something has to be done to reduce our waste or to find an alternative and more effective waste disposal methods.
The most sustainable solution is waste reduction. And this can only be done by you and I. What this means is that before you throw anything into the bin, you must be conscious of where it will end and where it should end. Once your mind is tuned to the idea that you must send as little waste as possible to the dumpsite, you will automatically be able to separate your waste. This means that once you decide something is trash, you should automatically be able to distinguish what type of trash it is.
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Is it biodegradable, meaning is it the kind of waste which will eventually break down and be part of our soil structure? This is the best type of waste to burn in your backyard or send to the dumpsite. Instead of throwing left-overs into the bin, how about giving them to the neighbours’ dogs if you do not have any of your own? Or throwing them into the compost heap for use in the garden?
One should also be able to tell what is recyclable in their waste. Zimbabwe has several companies that collect plastic, glass and scrap metal for recycling. All responsible citizens should avoid sending recyclable products to the dumpsite. Instead one must have separate bins for plastics, another for glass and another for tins. Developed countries actually have clearly labelled bins where people can throw different types of recyclable products. But even without those, we can condition ourselves to separating our waste and giving or selling whatever we can to recycling companies.
Once we have done our part, the responsible authorities should also play theirs. Research and practice in many countries has shown that waste can actually be turned into fuel. A process called waste to energy has been discovered and is used by several countries to turn the methane gas released by rotting waste into energy. Methane gas is used for many things, especially heating and lighting. In this era where environmentalists and scientists are looking for new and environmentally-friendly sources of energy, waste to energy would be a positive step for Zimbabwe to take. This would help reduce our electricity woes, at the same time reducing the amount of land we use as landfills. It would also reduce greatly the amount of pollution from burning waste.
Environmental management is the responsibility of the people and the government. Without government support, efforts to maintain a clean and healthy environment by the people would be futile. In the same breath, without efforts and action by the people to protect our environments, government effort would be in vain.
Sustainable development is everyone’s responsibility. We should leave the earth in a state that will allow future generations to also enjoy nature and everything else the earth has to offer. Effective waste disposal means that we will be able to leave our descendants a clean and habitable environment.
