WASTE
For years we have thrown our rubbish in the bin without giving
any real thought to the consequences of this action. All this
time, it has been going to landfill sites, where it is buried. Our
landfills however, are quickly filling up and we are running out
of suitable spaces for new ones. This aside, landfills use up
valuable land. Even after closure there is little that can be
done with it—it’s highly unstable, methane emissions can be dangerous,
and farming is not possible as materials in the landfill could
 contaminate food grown or animals grazing on it. Some of the items we
dispose of, like glass and
plastic will remain there for hundreds of years, while other things like paper
and food waste will decompose, producing gases which can be harmful to the environment.
plastic will remain there for hundreds of years, while other things like paper and food
waste will decompose, producing gases which are harmful to the environment.
WHY WASTE YOUR TIME?
 To replace all the tings we dump, we need to extract more natural resources from
the earth—things like oil to make plastic, rock to make metal, or sand to make glass.
These are all non-renewable, and removing them causes further damage to the earth.
During 2005-2006, households in Northern Ireland produced 937, 331 tonnes of rubbish!
That’s about 1.36 tonnes per household in a year—approximately the same weight as 1-2 cars!
|
Clearly, we have work to do!
|
We all know the slogan Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—but how does each help us deal with our waste? Use the links below to find out:-
|
|
