Solid Waste

Organized crime in waste hauling | American Mafia

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Hinchey: Organized crime in waste hauling | American Mafia

The New York State Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee has long been concerned with the growing threat to the environment caused by the illegal disposal of hazardous and solid wastes. It has also noted that an ironic consequence of the development of environmental laws to control pollution has been the creation of a new era of opportunity for those who do not demur at criminal behavior if it guarantees easy profits. There is a substantial body of evidence that organized crime controls much of the solid waste disposal industry in New York State and elsewhere. There is also evidence that the criminal activity is not confined entirely to organized crime, but is also engaged in by other unscrupulous entrepreneurs; and that there have also been instances of multinational corporations not hesitating to jeopardize public health and safety.

Official documents are available, including the congressional hearings on Organized Crime Links to the Waste Disposal Industry, held in 1980 and 1981, which suggest the extent to which organized crime has become imbedded in the waste disposal industry.

Shot

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Antifreeze carton I found in a gravel pit, that I played with a bit in GIMP to make it look pretty.

Taken on Friday March 2, 2007 at Trash.

Barn Trash Cans

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Trash cans from the barn where we keep animal feed.

Taken on Tuesday January 16, 2007 at Trash.

The 19th-Century Night Soil Men Who Carted Away America’s Waste – Atlas Obscura

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The 19th-Century Night Soil Men Who Carted Away America’s Waste – Atlas Obscura

ON A SUMMER DAY IN 1873, a cart stood on 6th Avenue in New York City filled to the brink with raw human waste. The cart was uncovered—its contents exposed to the air and to the passers-by who retched and gagged as they scurried away. Excrement dipped off the sides of the cart, and the sidewalks and gutters were smeared with the stuff. The stench was so strong that it could be smelled from more than a block away. It was another day in pre-sewer America.

So, No Plastics Aren’t Biodegrable

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A common criticism of many plastics is that they are not biodegradable – if you drop a plastic water bottle on the ground it’s not going to be eaten by bacteria and other wildlife and rot away to be soil. The bottle will last on the ground indefinitely, unless it’s pick up off the ground by a human or animal, subject to mechanical or ultra violet degradation or burned in a fire, bonding the carbon atoms in the plastic to oxygen to become carbon dioxide.

I’ve always thought this to be somewhat silly criticism — as many things said to be biodegradable do not actually biodegrade in the environment they are disposed of. Many so-called biodegradable things like paper are imprinted with toner, which is a mixture of plastic and black carbon. In other cases, the environment is too dry or oxygen deprived to allow for biodegradation like compressed inside of a landfill.

Moreover, many products that are made of so-called natural materials, rather then plastics, come with a significant ecological cost because they have to be raised and harvested. It’s not saying that they are better or worse — it’s just pointing out that there is no free lunch in trying to reduce impacts by switching to natural and biodegradable products, even if they are just going to ultimately end up in the landfill.

Reducing toxicity of products consumed and discarded is more important, as is reducing the volume of products consumed and discarded. Promoting bottles and cups that can be washed is vastly superior to any natural or biodegradable product. If you get more use out of it before the landfill, the incinerator, or the burn barrel, the better for the environment. It’s just that simple.

Plastic Bottle Litter