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Page 4 · column 3 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
BY DR. J. WINSTON PORTER
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
Do you know what will happen to this newspaper after you finish reading it and throw it away? If you are like most people, you will probably say, “The garbage hauler takes it away.” The more important questions will be where the hauler takes the trash, and for how long it can be taken there. Most likely, it will end up buried in a landfill. In fact, more than 80 percent of all household and commercial garbage ends up this way.
Is this a problem? Indeed it is.
A quick look at a few key facts will help to explain why we are heading for a major solid waste disposal problem.
• In the U.S. we relentlessly produce more and more garbage—more than 150 million tons per year. By the year 2000, we may be producing more than 190 million tons per year.
• Nearly one-third of our current landfill capacity will be full within five to six years.
• It has become increasingly difficult to obtain citizen approval to locate new waste treatment or disposal facilities in their areas.
How should we deal with this very serious problem? The answers are not simple ones, and they will require considerable effort on the part of all citizens. In fact, they will require us to develop a whole new attitude about solid waste. We may even ultimately have to develop new 1 behavior patterns as consumers.
As a start, we need to accept the fact that municipal landfills and trash incinerators will be needed for years to come. No matter how hard we work to change our behavior, there will continue to be garbage to be disposed of. But we must also learn to decrease our reliance on
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