Waste & Recycling

        The United States always seems to be in demand to cater to the economy and markets immediate needs but does not face the negative consequences to their alternative methods. The Materials and Waste Management (MSW) and Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LOMP) are landfill projections from the US Environmental Protection Agency data source. MSW database calculated landfill, recycled, and combusted waste generation from 1960-2017, while LOMP database contains specific information about landfill gas emission by each state in the US. The state being analyzed is Maryland. In this study, Tableau is the software that will be used to conduct a visualization of the greenhouse gas emission, locations of active/inactive landfills, and types of waste generation. The Slate, a national online magazine, wrote the article “Go West Garbage Can,” will be the main source to support and provide reason for the data findings. They give insight to the leading substance that caused major gas pollution as well as the fix, leachate. Leachate is the liquid from the decomposition that drained to the bottom of the hole and secreted into the soil. This harmful substance emits large quantities of methane, which is 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide. There have been alternative methods put into place to fix this problem but the health of environment is still facing tradeoffs and issues as a result. 

        The first data analyzed was the amount of landfill gas generated in each state using a map graph. This graph was chosen because maps are effective in visualizing geographic information that correlate with data trends. The variables used were state, LFG generation, number of records, percent methane and waste in a year. This chart shows the estimated amount of gas generated by landfills in each state nationally excluding Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. To visualize easier the color palette of different shades of brown were used to see each state's gas secretion. The lighter shades of brown reflect lower gas emission, while darker shades of brown reflect higher. About 40-50% of the outflow is made up of methane. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition wrote a newsletter about the importance of limiting methane gas stating, “reduction can deliver energy, safety, local air and water quality benefits”(Ferrini, 18). The air pollution is reflective on the data map, as every single state in the US has a slight tint of color. That is because if there are not many landfill holes in the area trucks will have to drive to other parts of the country to dump their waste. The trucks carrying the waste are then giving off large quantities of greenhouse gas in their travels before even getting to the hole to dump. In the image majority of the eastern parts of the US are significantly darker than the west beside Texas and California. This may be due to these states having larger populations, factories, and larger holes. 

        The second data analyzed a symbol map of where landfills are in the state of Maryland. This graph was chosen because it plots the size, activeness, and exact location of each dumping ground. The variables used are current landfill status, current landfill area, landfill name, county, and if LF recirculates leachate. The size of each circle is based on the amount of landfill and the circumference of the hole, while the color is based on the status if it is open or closed. In the mid 1900s there were large amounts of air pollution, as a result in 1976 congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which requires dumping sites to line their holes with clay, vent their methane gas, and drain their leachate to sewage plants. Although this was great for the environment it became very cost effective and many dumping sights had to be closed. In the article by the Slate, they discuss the results of the landfills after the act was imposed voicing, “In 1986, there were 7,683 dumps in the United States. By 2009, there were just 1,908 landfills nationwide”(Palmer). This article gives insight to the data findings as to why a little over 35% of the landfills in Maryland are closed. On the graph there are six tan circles (closed) and there are eleven dark brown circles (open). Of the closed, three of those were near major cities and two were near highly populated counties. Operators are trying to move their landfills to less populated areas to allow for compensation of space to build mega ones. At the new plants to save money owners value the technique known as, recirculation of leachate. This is when the leachate is put back into the hole to help stabilize the landfill, improve the quality of the leachate, and enhance the gas production. Enhancing the gas production might sound bad at first but it is controlled in a way so the site can create waste-to-energy producing electricity. 

        The third data analyzed an area chart graph of waste generated characteristics in the US from 1960-2017. This chart was used to show quantitative values over a period of time. The variables used were year, landfill, combusted, generated, and recycled. On the data table the three area measurements are made up of landfill, recycled, and combusted waste to show how much of each were put into landfills for each year. A reference band was added to the graph to mark the specific region of the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. After this act was put into place on the visual it is evident that from 1980 more products were being recycled and combusted instead of just being put into the ground. However, it is also apparent that there is a significant amount of more waste being generated overall. The Environmental Protection Agency, mission states “EPA began collecting and reporting data more than 30 years ago. The Agency uses this information to measure the success of materials management programs across the country”(EPA). In our findings from 1960-2017 MSW increased from 88.1 million tons to 267.8 millions. Over the past couple of decades the average human waste generation per day is inhuman and it is hard to keep up with its negative effects on the environment. In class we watched a video about hiking the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. I only thought a handful of people had ever done it but in truth thousands have. As the climbers go up the mountain they are leaving behind copious amounts of trash and human waste that is not able to decompose at such frigid temperatures. However, the liquids from this waste are draining to the bottom polluting the water sources at the bottom that animals are drinking. This relates to our study of landfills because the leachate is the waste dripping to the bottom causing air pollution just like the waste is dripping to the bottom polluting the animals water source. Even more specifically the hikers in Nepal and the citizens in the US shouldn’t be allowed to be doing what they are doing because their waste generation is skyrocketing as each year passes. Changes need to be made whether that be less people allowed to hike Mount Everest or a limit on the quantity of waste generated in a day in the US to help restore the health of our environment.