Spot the difference!

We had a long bicycle tour across our city starting in Oud-Zuid which is considered a rich neighbourhood and ending up in Amsterdam-Slotervaart a part of the city that many people associate with impoverishment and radical behaviour.

Waste Project By Ali

Recycling is the process in which materials are renewed. Some can consider it the future of waste management because a lot of waste is buried under the ground, damaging the ground while other waste is burned which again leads to air pollution. Recycling has many benefits that will be discussed later.

Humans have always recycled. Whoever it was only done with simple things like melting metals to create something different with the metal. It seemed impossible to do anything with raw waste. I believe there was a time people would laugh at you if you spoke about recycling a waste because of this movie, with a car powered by waste from bins on the street and everybody laughed at the owner of the car because he was supposed to be crazy. The international symbol for recycling

Benefits

As mentioned above recycling has many benefits. the benefits of recycling written in bullet points;

· The biggest benefit is the fact that recycling has very low to no waste after the process. Ideally all parts of a used product are used for a new one but that is not always possible.

· Production of products like pens for example is a lot cheaper because there no need to import any colored plastic. The necessary materials are found in the used products saving companies loads of money.

· Recycling does the environment a good favor too. There is little to no air, soil, or water pollution.

· It saves energy.

Since recycling has this many advantages you might think why isn’t it used all over the world? That is because recycling is expensive. Many third world countries do not have enough money for that. Everything in landfills needs to be separated and transported a dedicated factory where that material

is processed. Luckly many countries already recycle on a smaller scale, the Netherlands has separated bins for glass and paper however the rest is mixed and too many citizens do not make use of this system and decide to dump everything in one bag with the rest. The problem is in the people most of the time with global issues. But Australia for example has trucks picking up waste that gets separated an then recycled. Here the government or funded companies like holleman recycling are completely in charge of recycling process and I think they should charge the people through taxes for the great service.

How is it done?

many materials can be recycled. Perhaps not immediately, but after a product is taken apart. Materials like paper or metal are recycled much faster because they do not require any taking apart. Products like phones or washing machines are more difficult. Firstly, the metals should be taken out as well as the electronical components. Every part goes through another process. Metals are melted, while papers are deinked and used again. Glass bottles for example could only need cleaning before they can be used again if not it can always be melted as well. So actually everything can be recycled as long as its components are separated.

Products that can be recycled

Waste project by Jaïr

Incineration

The European definition of waste is “Once a substance or object has become waste, it will remain waste until it has been fully recovered and no longer poses a potential threat to the environment or to human health.” To do this we have created multiple ways of dealing with waste. These are landfills and incineration for the disposal of waste, physical reprocessing, biological processing and energy recovery for the recycling of waste, and the avoidance and reduction of creating waste. In this essay I will discuss the method of incineration to dispose of waste.


Incineration is a form of waste disposal called thermal treatment and it converts the waste into ash, flue gases, particulates, and heat. When waste is incinerated the original volume is reduced by approximately 95%, which means that incineration is not a perfect replacement for land filling but it does greatly decrease the space that is needed to dispose of the waste. This also means that it is popular in countries with a relatively small habitable land surface. Incineration is a very suitable way of disposing of clinical and hazardous wastes because in some cases these can only be destroyed by high temperatures. The heat that is produced by incinerating the waste can be used to generate electricity so that waste is turned into energy.


The process of incinerating waste has both advantages and disadvantages. This is due to the fact that incineration is a process that is effective for reducing waste but also a process that causes pollution. However, due to technological improvements this pollution is decreasing. These are the advantages of incineration:

* The hazardous emissions (called dioxin and furan) from the incinerated waste that can cause health problems have been greatly decreased due to new emission control designs and strict governmental regulations.
* Incineration plants produce electricity and heat which can substitute power plants.
* The ash that remains after incineration is proved to be harmless and can be easily land filled or used as a construction aggregate.
* Due to the growth of populated areas space for landfills becomes scarce and incineration reduces the space that is required drastically.
* The fine particles inside the flue gases that are harmful to us can be efficiently filtered through the use of baghouse filters.
* The incineration of waste prevents the release of methane into the atmosphere.
* Incinerating medical waste and sewage sludge produces a harmless and sterile ash.


These are the disadvantages of incineration:

* Incineration produces fly ash which is harmful and which must be disposed.
* There is a reasonable chance that the emission of old incinerators which contains dioxin and furan has negative health effects.
* Incinerators emit varying levels of heavy metals which can be toxic at very minute levels.
* Alternative technologies are being developed that are cleaner and/or more efficient, such as Anaerobic Digestion.
* Building and operating an incinerator requires long contract periods to recover the initial investment costs.
* The fine particles inside the flue gases can be filtered by the baghouse filters but it is impossible to filter them all so a small portion does end up in the atmosphere.
* Communities are usually against the building of an incinerator in the vicinity.
* It is more important to minimize, reuse, and recycle waste than to incinerate it; some people see incineration as a barrier to recycling.


Even though incineration has both advantages and disadvantages it is a valuable method to dispose of waste. I believe that if we want to decrease our waste we have to focus more on minimizing, reusing and recycling waste but since space is quickly decreasing in populated areas incineration is a very effective method for the disposal of waste today. The fact that the emissions from incinerators can be harmful to our health must instigate more research to counter this and to develop better alternatives.


Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incineration

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_management

Waste project by ward

Landfills

‘A landfill, also known as a dump or tip, is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment. Historically, landfills have been the most common methods of organized waste disposal and remain so in many places around the world.

Landfills may include internal waste disposal sites (where a producer of waste carries out their own waste disposal at the place of production) as well as sites used by many producers. Many landfills are also used for other waste management purposes, such as the temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or processing of waste material (sorting, treatment, or recycling).’ (Wikipedia).

When we take a look at the landfills in Western-Europe we will find that these are all organized companies. The landfill area is qualified for waste disposal via several requirements. These requirements are set in place to avoid environmental hazards to take place in these areas. Some of the requisites are:

• It should be easy accessible via road transport.
• It should be situated in a stable geological position.
• Drainage systems should be apparent.

There are three different types of landfills. A pit, a canyon and a mound.

Pit; is the filling of holes in the ground with waste. Typical sites are old mining areas. Typically covered with dirt.

A canyon; is the filling of natural valleys and canyons with waste. This is also typically covered with soil.

Mound; is the type of landfill where garbage is disposed upon the land. Different techniques are used to cover the waste. Such as soil covering and foam products in form of a blanket.

The picture aside shows us a landfill site which uses a blanket to cover up the waste. On top of the blanket another layer of soil is placed. Often another layer of waste is added. Than the covering is repeated.

The non hazardous waste landfills in Western-Europe and other well developed parts of the world are suited on an as small area as possible. This is done to prevent far stretching environmental impacts. To achieve this the waste is compacted to a volume as small as possible. To prevent diseases it is (as described earlier) covered.

The waste collection vehicles are weighed and inspected for wastes that do not accord with the acceptance criteria. For example some landfills will not accept rubber or glass in a specific area of their landfill. Te collection vehicle is then inspected to prevent any of these materials to enter the area. The vehicle then enters the facility and dumps its load. Dozers then typically compress the waste. In some cases the waste is poured into machines to compress.

When the collection vehicle has dumped its load it exits the facility. However, first is has to be weighed again and the tires are cleaned. This way they daily waste income is measured and diseases will be prevented from spreading.

Sources:
•http://loma.civil.duth.gr/
•http://www.swana.org/www/default.aspx
•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfill

Waste project by Gina

Waste management in Amsterdam


Amsterdam is divided into different city ‘districts’. Each district has his own set times at which garbage man pick up the trash. If citizens set out the trash later than the appointment time that person will receive a fine. This prevents the city from getting into situations such as shown in the picture taken in new york city.

The people of Amsterdam pay tax in order to get their trash removed. The government tries to keep this as low as possible, depending on how much it will cost to get the trash removed/ pay the garbage man etc. The amount of money paid also depends on place: In some city districts its more expensive.

Amsterdam trash is separated into the following: glass, paper and carton, electrical devices, gross waste, asbestos, chemical waste and textile. Each sort of trash has special facilities and is treated in different ways. Glass as well as paper and carton is collected in trashcans, which have extra space underground. (see picture). Where to ‘throw away’ electrical devices differs. If this electrical device contains a refrigerating element, which contains CFK’s, which cause damage to our environment. In this case you should bring it too one of the waste points (Amsterdam has six waste points, you can find them with the internet) or call your city districts sanitary department. If the electrical device is rather small you can give it too the chemical waste van. Gross waste can be brought to one of your city’s waste points. In Amsterdam asbestos belongs to build and destruct waste. Asbestos needs to be rapped up in a double layer of plastic. This is obtainable at the waste points. Chemical waste is collected at the waste points, with the chemical waste van or through retailers. Textile is collected in the same way as glass and paper, but can also be brought to the different waste points. Secondhand clothing shops are also an option.

Something I have always wondered is how much garbage man makes. I personally think that being a garbage man must be one of the hardest jobs. Physically, but probably mentally as well. It cannot be nice to know that you smell due to the fact that you’re picking up someone else his trash. That is This was a campaign due to why I looked it up. To compare: A the 130 years existence of the director makes 129000 a year
Amsterdam Sanitary department (gross), a truck driver makes 23000 a year (gross) and a garbage man make 21000 a year.

Sources http://www.afval.amsterdam.nl/clients/dmb/ap3.nsf/framedefinitions/main/?Open

Diary: Jair

My Diary: Gina

My Diary: Ward

My Diary: Ali

Environmental Justice

"Environmental Justice:
A condition of environmental justice exists when environmental risks and hazards and investments and benefits are equally distributed with a lack of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, at any jurisdictional level; and when access to environmental investments, benefits, and natural resources are equally distributed; and when access to information, participation in decision making, and access to justice in environment-related matters are enjoyed by all."

"Environmental Injustice:
An environmental injustice exists when members of disadvantaged, ethnic, minority or other groups suffer disproportionately at the local, regional (sub-national), or national levels from environmental risks or hazards, and/or suffer disproportionately from violations of fundamental human rights as a result of environmental factors, and/or denied access to environmental investments, benefits, and/or natural resources, and/or are denied access to information; and/or participation in decision making; and/or access to justice in environment-related matters."