[21]
Waste / Garbage / Landfills
20
1. One of the most important reasons is our
consumer and materialistic culture.
2. Products are not made to last.
3. As the prices have decreased thanks to
mass
production, if something breaks, we
throw it away and buy a new one.
4. Advertisers are also to blame:
We are persuaded to follow the latest
trend. Clothes which have been worn
only a few times
and gadgets that are
still perfectly usable are discarded
because of what the fashion dictates.
They create demand for things we do
not need.
5. Most foodstuff is
sold in non-biodegradable
packaging.
6. People do not recycle.
7. When population rises, the demand for
manufactured products grows, which in turn
increases waste.
CAUSES
1. Companies should make goods that last
longer.
2. They should
not use so much packaging, or
at least use biodegradable kinds.
3. We should not be brainwashed by
advertisers and buy what we do not need.
4. Households should separate waste so that a
part of it could be recycled.
5. More collection banks for glass, paper and
plastic bottles need to be established.
6. People need
to be educated and informed
about the advantages of recycling and the
threats of having countless landfills.
7. Consumers need to avoid purchasing over-
packaged products.
8. We should reconsider our consumption
habits and only buy what we think is
necessary and useful.
SOLUTIONS
1. Methane gas is produced during the process of organic matter decay. It is 20 times more effective than
carbon dioxide in trapping solar radiation and causing global warming.
2. Landfills seriously impact air quality in their vicinity.
3. A huge percentage of landfill toxins infiltrate the soil, reach waterways, and eventually end up in the
domestic water
and the foods that we consume, causing many diseases.
4. Landfills render the soil and land where they are located unusable. It also destroys the adjacent
soil because the toxic chemicals spread into the surrounding soil, upsetting the land ecosystems.
5. Landfill gases, together with a substantial amount of landfill waste, can easily start a fire.
EFFECTS of Landfills
