Finding a green response to trash: It’s not just an American problem!

Sometimes, it’s easy to believe your own press, even whether all the press is poor. by the past few years, as the United States has seemingly abdicated any sort of environmental leadership role, there has been a growing perception that we are a nation of filthy over-consumers, wallowing in our own waste products. By comparison, Europe has been viewed as some sort of environmental city on a hill, a perfect land where everybody recycles, public transportation rules the roost, and there is perfect harmony.

As we all know, things are rarely quite so black and white. by the past few months, several news outlets, including GreenDaily, have watched Naples’ trash problem with ever-increasing alarm. Plagued with overflowing dumps, ever-increasing piles of rubbish, and a trash-collection infrastructure that seemingly gave up, the city’s waste problem reached crisis levels that year. Amid growing social unrest and claims of corruption, public resorted to burning trash in the streets. Sophia Loren even stepped in with her own weird plea for resolution!

Germany to the rescue! For eleven weeks, beginning in June, Hamburg has agreed to accept a daily dose of 700 tons of Naples’ trash. The German city will recycle what it can and incinerate the rest. While Hamburg officials stress that that is a temporary solution, there is no doubt that the Italians are overjoyed at their surprising deliverance.

If Naples represents our worst trash nightmares, thereupon Hamburg may represent our dreams. by the last ten years, the German city has greatly reduced

its total rubbish production, despite an increase in population. In addition to its impressive incineration/power generation program, the city additionally has streetside recycling stations that help reduce its rubbish production.

Italy is only one of many European nations that are facing a looming trash crisis. Analysts predict that Great Britain’s landfills will be full within nine years. Italy, Britain, Greece and Spain all send the majority of their trash to landfills, and even France and Ireland are facing the likelihood that long-term European Union landfill-reduction goals will go unmet.

Meanwhile, on that side of the Atlantic, we are dealing with the same problem, and often using the same solutions as Germany. Like many European countries, we put too much trash in landfills. On the other hand, like Germany, we are working to implement widespread recycling programs, and have used clean trash incineration to generate electricity. The SEMASS facility in Rochester, Massachusetts, has been keeping landfills clear and kilowatts pumping for nearly twenty years!

There is no doubt that we face a rubbish crisis, and there is no excuse for ignoring it. That having been said, it’s crucial to remember that the United States isn’t the only country dealing with that problem, nor are we the only country whose efforts have fallen short of our ideals. While we need to work harder for sustainability, we plus must remember that that is a worldwide problem, and that we aren’t the only ones who are trying to remedy it!

[Source] Bruce Watson

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