Her Spin:
The city trash trucks empty their bowels of the stench of compacted trash pushing out a giant turd of human household waste onto the earth’s surface to be flushed into the landfill.
His Spin:
The other day we took a trip to the landfill to drop off an old computer and a microwave oven, among other items. Our eyes were wide open to the changes at the landfill that have occurred over the last couple of decades. There are areas to drop off metals, appliances, household hazardous waste (paints, insecticides, automotive products, etc.) and electronic waste. And of course trash.
The landfill is a huge area, which starts as a pit, lined with very thick plastic material with electrically welded seams covered with dirt then filled with layers of trash and dirt heavily compacted with more trash and dirt. All the while, four inch diameter pipes are inserted in this fill and are extended up as the fill keeps getting deeper and deeper. These become gas wells to extract methane gas, a product of landfills. This methane gas creates a condensate liquid which is burned off at about 1500 degrees F at a flare station at the landfill. Some of the methane gas is purified through a membrane system, compressed and used as motor fuel.
However, we found on our trip to the landfill that there would be an amble source of methane gas even if we learned to consume less and waste less.
It's a New Year and time to start thinking about new ways to live simply, cleanly and sustainably. To some, clean and sustainable are over used words, but to many it’s a new beginning. We really must try to live smaller and cleaner in this world with less impact. Words like “planet”, “green”, “carbon footprint” are getting almost boring to some. But let’s make 2010 a big year for those of us who really want to make a difference. Any ideas?
