Practical Waste Management Blog

Most eco-conscious people think about planting trees or attending an Earth Day fair on April 22 every year. So, why would you celebrate Earth Day with a dumpster? It’s a fair question, but the answer is fairly simple – you can reduce the amount of refuse that goes to landfill by renting a dumpster and collecting recyclable materials, especially materials that are toxic to the environment.

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970, back when there was no Environmental Protection Agency or Clean Water Act to regulate pollution. However, it was 20 years later that Earth Day saw an upswing in popularity thanks to the efforts of environmental leaders who worked to bring a worldwide focus on the day to celebrate the earth.

Anyone who has gone through a remodel or a massive cleanup can tell you the amount of refuse that is generated can be overwhelming. From kitchen remodels to basement clearing/cleaning to new landscaping – the tons of material can be a burden unless the right solutions is in place.

Some municipalities offer special spring-cleaning programs that give residents the option to bring their junk to the curb, but it can be too much of a burden for trash crews due to non-residents taking advantage of the program. Highland Park, for example, offers four spring-cleaning pickup days in April, but the city council is prepared to shut that program down in favor of a different one that would be more efficient.

Some fortunate residents, like those in Provo, Utah, can take advantage of free dumpsters placed throughout the city from the end of March to the beginning of May – perfect timing for spring cleaning. Not all items are acceptable though, including various landscaping materials, appliances, tires and concrete, which means these folks might still require the services of a dumpster rental company to get them through their spring-cleaning project.

Most states have a department of environmental quality or something akin to it that addresses illegal dumping and littering and the ramifications that go along with it. For instance, Illinois’ Environmental Protection Agency addresses everything from safe disposal of pharmaceuticals and medical sharps to electronic waste recycling to waste disposal.

Illegal dumping occurs for a variety of reasons, but none are acceptable:

• Lack of convenient alternatives
• Increased disposal costs
• Lack of public awareness
• Lack of understanding of laws

Health and the Environment are at Risk

Regardless of the reason, the side effects of illegal dumping are very real. The Illinois EPA partners with other state departments in an effort to prevent illegal dumping because of the potential threat to public health and the environment. Illegal dumping goes by a variety of names, including fly dumping, open dumping, midnight dumping.

Most can agree that recycling programs are a positive step to a healthier environment. Unfortunately, there is a multitude of disinformation about recycling that circulates the WebSphere. Let’s tackle 10 myths that need debunking:

1) Recycling programs got there start in an effort to reduce waste.

A survey in the mid-1990s revealed that Americans thought trash was the nation’s top environmental problem, and nearly 80 percent of those surveyed said recycling could be a way out of the problem. This myth/belief system rose out of EPA regulations in the 1980s that caused a shift in the waste disposal industry, which began moving to larger landfills, thus causing the number of smaller landfills to go out of business. While the number of landfills might have dropped, the amount of landfill capacity certainly didn’t.

2) Energy costs associated with transporting recyclables negate the benefits of recycling.

Sure, there are costs, both environmentally and economically, that impact recycling efforts related to transporting materials from the curb to recycling plants. However, it’s really a fraction of the energy it takes to turn those recyclables into something usable. For instance, to manufacture products from a ton of recyclables takes 10.4 Btu. Collecting, hauling and processing a ton of the same materials only adds up to .9 million Btu.