I didn’t know what to expect of the landfill field trip,
for I have never visited a landfill before. In my mind I pictured a massive
power plant emitting large amounts of pollution and a deep pit where all the
trash would be dumped. Instead, DADS Landfill was a dry plain with
approximately 2,500 acres soon to be filled with trash. The picture I captured
below illustrates how Waste Management goes about unloading trash. Garbage
trucks come from all over to deliver a load to DADS, where they then stack the
disposable material to a specific height and cover it with soil. I took this
photo because it captures the insurmountable amount of trash citizens in Denver
dispose of. This mound of trash represents an overwhelming amount of
consumption and waste production caused by people in just a few days. Not only
does this increase the amount of pollution, it can also be reduced and in a
sense avoided. In fact, approximately 75 percent of the waste held at DADS can
be recycled. That alone shows how lazy individuals can be and how individuals
don’t have the recycling knowledge to know which items are trash and which
items are not. In the article, Earth in Mind by David Orr, he touches
upon “the power of examples over words” and the importance of “institutions
[being] capable of embodying ideals wholly and completely in all of their
operations.” I related these words by Orr to the company Waste Management. I
strongly believe this company should invest in programs that provide tips to
produce less waste and information of what to recycle, allowing the citizens of
Denver to experience reality. For example, Waste Management could send
representatives to classrooms and allow them to visually experience recycling
and its guidelines. What I gained from this experience is a better
understanding of waste production and management and a reality check of how
much trash I am actually producing. In the future, I will try to dispose of my
waste in smaller amounts and be mindful of recyclables.
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