Landfill Or Recycle?

Urban Garbage: Landfill or Recycle?

Introduction Contents In most people's minds garbage is unsightly, smelly, and frankly disgusting. Yet this unappealing subject matter has been featured heavily in the media over the Introduction past year as communities across Canada have implemented programs to deal with

the disposal of their solid wastes. For many Canadians, the biggest garbage Decision-making decision they face is determining whose turn it is each week to put the cans and bags by the curb. The issues are much more complex for the municipalities and provinces. The centuries-old method of filling holes with garbage and forgetting A Culture of Waste about them is failing. Canadians generate more than 29 million tonnes of garbage a year and only recycle about 30 per cent of that material. The sheer volume of Toronto's Political- waste means that many existing landfill sites are approaching capacity, and few Environmental Dilemma people want new sites built near their communities. There are examples from

every province of toxins leaching into the water table, discoveries of contaminated In the Interim soil, not to mention the accompanying foul odours and mess. At the same time, pressure is mounting on provinces and communities to meet national and international standards. Once a trend-setter with respect to recycling programs, The Halifax Solution Canada now lags behind many industrialized nations in waste diversion. A decade ago, the Canadian federal government set a goal of 50 per cent diversion by the Cash for Trash year 2000. With a few exceptions, most provinces are nowhere near that rate. Another problem created by poor waste disposal is the production of greenhouse The Old Ways? gases (methane and carbon dioxide) in landfills. Reducing or eliminating organic wastes is necessary to help Canada meet its international obligations. This News Catch-Up in Review program examines how two cities, Toronto and Halifax, have decided to deal with their garbage. Toronto's Keele Valley landfill site, the largest in Canada, is due to close in 2002. Toronto's city councillors voted to send its garbage by train Discussion, Research and 600 kilometres north to an abandoned mine site in Kirkland Lake. The landfill was Essay Questions put forth as an innovative and safe method of dumping Toronto's waste. The decision sparked volatile protests, and the deal collapsed during contract negotiations. Toronto immediately switched to trucking its trash 600 kilometres south to a landfill in Michigan. Despite the choice to stay with landfills, the controversy focused attention on rectifying Toronto's meagre 25 per cent recycling rate. By contrast, in September, it was announced that Halifax had attained a NiR Home diversion rate of over 60 per cent. It is the first community in Canada to achieve the nationally established standard. Faced with a landfill problem similar to Toronto's E-Mail four years ago, Nova Scotia banned most items that could be recycled from landfills. Halifax went a step further and instituted an organic waste collection CBC Learning Home system. While it has not been an easy program to initiate and run, Haligonians for the most part have embraced it. Every community in Canada faces the same challenge of decisive and long-term action in terms of waste disposal. Whether opting for an improved landfill technology or a comprehensive recycling program, it is clear that no community can sit on the fence.

Comprehensive News in Review Study Modules

Using both the print and non-print material from various issues of News in Review, teachers and students can create comprehensive, thematic modules that are excellent for research purposes, independent assignments, and small group study. We recommend the stories indicated below for the universal issues they represent and for the archival and historic material they contain.

"The Clean Air Act," December 1990 "Disappearing Ozone: Danger in the Sun?" March 1992 "World Population: Controlling the Explosion," November 1994 "The New Toronto: Is Bigger Better?" December 1997 "Environmental Cleanups: Who Pays?" October 1998

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Urban Garbage: Landfill or Recycle?

Decision-making Contents An examination of the garbage issue reveals many methods of dealing with waste disposal. Edmonton, Alberta, for example, created a super-sized composting Introduction facility that is based on the premise that helping the environment can be linked to

making a profit. Guelph, Ontario, has implemented a wet-dry collection system Decision-making where sorting is performed at a central location. Some communities promote voluntary recycling, others have mandatory systems. However, there is no

A Culture of Waste standardized program that fits all communities perfectly; diverse situations require unique solutions. And the success of the method of waste disposal decided upon depends in part on how receptive the community members are to it. A community Toronto's Political- must feel assured that the program tailored for its use is practical, effective, and in Environmental Dilemma their best interests.

In the Interim Sorting It Out 1. On a piece of paper, write the headings, "Negatives" and "Positives." Working in small groups or pairs, brainstorm a list of actions or consequences (with reference The Halifax Solution to the way in which communities dispose of their garbage) that fall into one of

these categories. Be prepared to explain your choices. Do any of the actions or Cash for Trash consequences you have identified fit both categories? Discuss why this is so.

The Old Ways? 2. Now brainstorm a "fact sheet" of what you know about how your community disposes of garbage. What specific waste disposal programs can you identify that affect your life at home, at school, or elsewhere? Catch-Up

Identifying Needs Discussion, Research and 1. Now, as you watch this News in Review report, jot down point-form notes Essay Questions regarding individuals and/or groups who helped influence the selection of waste disposal systems used in Toronto and Halifax. Categorize these "selectors" as governmental, business, special-interest groups, or ordinary citizens. How did each person or group have an impact on the decision-making process?

2. During a second viewing, compare the structural and demographic aspects of NiR Home Halifax and Toronto, that is, identify problems that are common to each or unique to each city.

E-Mail Follow-up Discussion Now that you have worked your way through this issue to some extent, discuss CBC Learning Home how you might have had pre-existing opinions on the issue. To what extent are you tempted to declare one of the cities profiled in this report "right" or "wrong"? How has this program altered your point of view or confirmed your initial perceptions?

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A Culture of Waste Contents "We have a disposal society," said David Bell, director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at York University, in a Canadian Press interview. Introduction According to Bell, we need to change this collective behaviour pattern or risk an

environmental catastrophe. According to this point of view, humans worldwide Decision-making have created a culture of consumption and waste. However, the extent of those problems is not uniform; it varies according to the culture and values of each nation

A Culture of Waste or region.

Culture involves beliefs, values, social norms and behaviour patterns, and history Toronto's Political- and geography. As you read the statistical information below, consider what Environmental Dilemma aspects of culture in particular they demonstrate.

In the Interim . According to Statistics Canada, Canadians produce about 21 million tonnes of trash annually, about 690 kilograms per person. . In 1998, Albertans produced the most garbage, at 870 kilos per person. The Halifax Solution . Nova Scotians produced the least garbage, at 540 kilos per person.

. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans produce 725 Cash for Trash kilos per person. Australians produce 690 kilos per person. . The average for the 29 nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation The Old Ways? and Development is 500 kilos per person. The lowest amount was 230 kilos per person, in the Czech Republic. Catch-Up . As of 1998 (the most recent figures available), Canadians diverted 30 per cent of their solid waste. This will likely be increased by the various provincial and municipal initiatives that were started in the last four years. Discussion, Research and . Australians divert 70 per cent of their solid waste from landfills; the U.S. and the U. Essay Questions K. only divert 25 per cent. The stated recycling goal in the U.S. is 35 per cent by 2005. Britain's is 67 per cent by 2015.

. Switzerland buries only 12 per cent of its garbage. Japan buries only 20 per cent. . The cost of burying waste in Canada ranges from CA$80 to $100 per tonne. . The cost of solid waste disposal in the Netherlands is $300 per tonne.

NiR Home Discussion Brainstorm factors that can alter a nation's values and policies regarding waste E-Mail disposal. Categorize your ideas as "push" or "pull" factors. In other words, which considerations will force change and which will entice it? Which will create a more effective or lasting outcome? CBC Learning Home

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Urban Garbage: Landfill or Recycle?

Toronto's Political-Environmental Dilemma Contents xIn many ways, Toronto is a typical large and growing urban centre. Until the summer of 2000, garbage was a relatively low priority for Toronto's residents and Introduction politicians. Most of the city's garbage was sent just north of Toronto, to the Keele

Valley landfill site, the largest in Canada. Although this landfill site is slated to be Decision-making closed in 2002, Toronto residents continued to recycle only 25 per cent of their waste, sending 783 000 tonnes to the landfill each year. On top of that, businesses and government agencies annually generated 613 000 tonnes of landfill waste. A Culture of Waste Many Torontonians apparently believed a solution would appear before a crisis struck. But a political controversy developed that suggested the situation was Toronto's Political- already critical. The issue became a political hot potato when contracts for the Environmental Dilemma proposed solution were finalized. The plan involved shipping Toronto's garbage

600 kilometres north by rail to Kirkland Lake for 20 years, to be dumped into In the Interim another landfill site, the abandoned Adams mine. Toronto's City Council voted 33- 23 in favour of going forward with the deal. Suggesting that there was no easy or popular way to dispose of the city's garbage, Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman said The Halifax Solution after the contentious vote, "A decision had to be made. Under the circumstances, I know Council made the right decision." All that remained was to define the terms of Cash for Trash the contract and sign it. What appeared to be a fait accompli, however, was stalled by virulent protests from environmentalists, Native groups, disgruntled northern The Old Ways? residents, and dissenting councillors. The Council meetings slowed almost to a halt during debates over the contract. Angry opponents staged protests inside and Catch-Up outside the council chambers. Emotions ran high on both sides; garbage was dumped outside Toronto's City Hall to symbolize some northerners' opposition, and other groups threatened to block rail lines north to prevent the garbage trains from Discussion, Research and passing. Rail Cycle North, the company that was to provide the landfill and rail Essay Questions transport for Toronto's garbage, withdrew from the contract at the height of the debate. The decision hinged on a clause in the contract that specified liability for unforseen costs created, for example, by new provincial regulations or environmental cleanups. When it approved the contract in principle, Toronto City Council asked that the clause naming Toronto as responsible be removed. Rail Cycle North initially agreed, but insisted later that it be included in the final NiR Home contract. When City Council refused, Rail Cycle North backed out. Toronto has now made arrangements to ship garbage to Michigan, which has caused protests E-Mail from environmentalists and communities en route.

CBC Learning Home Clarifying the Issue Like most controversies, the Adams Mine landfill solution was multidimensional; opposition and support came from many different groups and areas. Research the

issue and decide in a group whether or not the Adams Mine was an appropriate option. A recommended source for research is the Web site www.adamsmine.com. Although created to oppose the use of the mine as a landfill site, it contains arguments from both sides, as well as archives of news articles and pictures from the region.

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In the Interim Contents Since the Adams Mine requires two years of preparatory work to meet landfill standards, there is insufficient time to renegotiate a new contract to use that site. Introduction Toronto City Council has decided for now to ship the city's trash to the Carleton

Farms landfill site in Wayne County, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Like all Decision-making solutions, this option has both benefits and drawbacks. On the plus side, Carleton Farms landfill is an established site that has been operating for years. Unlike the

A Culture of Waste Adams Mine site, Carleton Farms sits on six to 12 metres of clay, a natural near- impermeable block needed to reduce the risk of the garbage contaminating local groundwater. It met the various U.S. governments' environmental standards for Toronto's Political- safety long ago. Meeting similar Canadian standards was uncertain in the Adams Environmental Dilemma Mine site solution. The Carleton Farms pit is lined with thick plastic, and rain water

is pumped away from the site. There is also less dissension from the municipality, In the Interim which views the garbage as an opportunity for jobs and income for the township. While some Torontonians may be relieved to have found a ready-made solution,

The Halifax Solution there are considerable drawbacks to this plan. One primary concern is that Michigan could at some point close its borders to Canadian trash. Michigan Governor John Engler has stated his opposition to the importation of garbage from Cash for Trash Canada and from other states, but noted that Michigan currently has little say in the matter. When the Toronto deal was announced, his press secretary, John The Old Ways? Truscott, said, "The state's hands are tied. This is an issue of free commerce, even if it does eat up Michigan's landfill capacity." This is not to say that future politicians Catch-Up or popular opposition could not attempt to scuttle the contract. Environmentalists are generally opposed to landfill options, since the latter do not modify our society's wasteful habits. The Michigan option has another strike against it. It will require Discussion, Research and 200 trucks a day to drive 600 kilometres to haul away Toronto's garbage. This Essay Questions solution would consume more fuel and create more pollutants than would a single daily train. It also would increase traffic on an already overcrowded Highway 401. The border cities of Windsor and Sarnia, the two potential crossing points to the U. S., immediately voiced their opposition to the dramatic increase in transport traffic on their roads. NiR Home Discussion 1. Should Canadian cities be allowed to use U.S. landfill sites or should they be E-Mail forced to solve their garbage problems locally? Discuss this problem in small groups. CBC Learning Home 2. What are the implications for short-term and long-term thinking in this issue? In what ways do both apply? Where is each appropriate and necessary?

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Urban Garbage: Landfill or Recycle?

The Halifax Solution Contents As a province, Nova Scotia was forced to deal with its garbage problem four years ago. Faced with the prospect of landfills reaching capacity with few new options Introduction available, the provincial government adopted a hardline approach to waste

disposal. It banned many common dry recyclable items from landfills. These Decision-making included newsprint, cardboard, tires, compostable organic materials, and food containers made of steel, tin, or glass. It also placed a deposit on beverage containers, both alcoholic and not, resulting in an 80 per cent return rate. In A Culture of Waste addition, it has required garages to accept used oil for recycling and is developing a similar program for used paint. The results have been excellent, with the Toronto's Political- province as a whole reaching its goal of a 50 per cent diversion rate on its waste. Environmental Dilemma The effects are tangible and measurable. Nova Scotia has reduced the more than

100 dumps and open-burning sites in the 1970s to 19 landfills, with only nine In the Interim expected to be operating by 2005. Halifax went a step further with its recycling and diversion programs, diverting over 60 per cent of its waste, the highest in Canada. The goal is 65 per cent by 2001. It achieved this by embarking on a "green bin" The Halifax Solution program whereby Halifax residents collect compostable household materials for biweekly collection. Over 100 000 households in Halifax were provided with a large Cash for Trash green bin for curb-side pickup, and a small green bucket to keep in their kitchen. Food waste such as fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds and even meat, as well as The Old Ways? yard waste, paper towels, and wood shavings may be collected, something not possible in most recycling programs. The organic waste is transferred to a compost Catch-Up facility where it is "aged and cured" for a few months. The end product is rich brown mulch, ideal for lawns and gardens. The program has not been problem- free, however. The smell from the compost dumps has elicited complaints from Discussion, Research and area residents and had managers scrambling to fix the problems. The city has also Essay Questions been periodically hit by plagues of fruit flies attracted to the fermenting garbage in the green bins beside residences. Some residents have also complained that the multi-streamed approach to waste disposal is complicated, inconvenient, and, quite frankly, stinky. According to Halifax officials, it also costs more to run than a dump or an incinerator. Despite these drawbacks, municipal officials have promoted this environmental solution and point to the fact that their city and province are a model NiR Home that representatives from cities around the world come to view and study. It is also a source of community pride, as Halifax is the first Canadian city to hit the goal of a E-Mail 50 per cent diversion rate (by 2000), a target established by the federal government in 1989. CBC Learning Home Follow-up Discussion Opportunity cost is the economic term that denotes the sacrifices made when

making a difficult choice. For example, to build a new arena, a town might have to postpone road improvements. Many communities in Canada and the United States choose the cheapest solution when trying to solve their waste disposal problems: usually landfills or incinerators. Suggest what the opportunity costs of a waste diversion program like Halifax's might be. Should municipalities have the right to choose their solutions (and their opportunity costs)? Should provincial/territorial governments limit the options?

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Introduction Contents xIt is becoming increasingly clear that there is money to be made from garbage. John Hansen, a spokesperson for the Recycling Council of Ontario, has noted that Introduction waste management is a huge business because ". . . we're constantly producing a

never-ending stream of garbage. It's almost like guaranteed revenue." The more Decision-making restrictions on landfills increase across Canada, the more innovative and popular waste disposal companies become. One of the largest and most creative garbage solutions may be the TransAlta Corp. Composting Facility in Edmonton, which A Culture of Waste opened in March 2000. Like Halifax, Edmonton diverts much of its organic waste to be processed into compost; it also processes the city's sewage. Each day, 150 Toronto's Political- trucks deliver garbage to a building the size of eight football fields. The plant is Environmental Dilemma expected to produce 125 tonnes of compost each year from the 180 000 tonnes of

garbage and 22 500 tonnes of sewage sludge. When fully developed and In the Interim combined with a recycling program, 70 per cent of Edmonton's garbage is expected to be diverted from landfills. The best news is that the plant will generate a profit from sales of the industrial grade compost, to be split between the city and The Halifax Solution TransAlta. Another profitable venture is the capturing of methane gases from landfill sites. Landfills near many cities such as Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Cash for Trash Edmonton already run such programs. The largest such site, Toronto's Keele Valley dump, produces enough methane-generated electricity to power 22 000 The Old Ways? homes, and the city collects $1.5-million annually in royalties from its system. Private companies are willing to take this process further. Alberta's Suncor Energy Catch-Up and Ontario's Conestoga-Rovers are planning to develop six new sites to collect methane and carbon dioxide. The methane would be used to generate electricity, and the carbon dioxide would be used to nurture seedlings in nearby greenhouses. Discussion, Research and Simpler garbage projects are also generating profits. Salvatore Oliveti developed Essay Questions attractive "silver boxes": stainless steel recycling containers for the streets of Toronto. Featuring advertising posters on each side, the boxes have the potential to generate $11-million for the city over the next 10 years. Approaching garbage from a different business perspective, Vancouver residents Alexander Wardle and Mike McKee parlayed a short-term summer job hauling away appliances into a $3- million-a-year business operating in six cities in Canada and the U.S. Their NiR Home company, TrashBusters.Com Ltd., hauls away bulky residential junk for a fee. The company employs primarily college students to do the collecting. E-Mail Follow-up Discussion CBC Learning Home Although growing, the market for environmental ventures is not profitable enough to encourage many companies or individuals to join. Many of our natural resources products are still cheaper than those made from recycled materials. How could

governments encourage greater private initiatives? Should they subsidize "green" companies with grants or tax breaks? Should they increase the price of energy or raw materials to make environmentally generated products more attractive? Should they stiffen regulations requiring companies and municipalities to utilize more recycled material? How can we protect the environment through waste diversion programs and not interfere unduly in the economy?

Open For Business Design and create an imaginary business plan for a local waste diversion initiative whose purpose it is to make a profit. Proceed as follows. 1. Identify a waste resource in your local community that you can, in theory, turn into cash. 2. Create a name, logo, and promotional slogan for your company. 3. Write a proposal in which you describe how your company serves the needs of the local community by "taking your trash off your hands" (or some such wording), at a reasonable price. 4. Prepare a one-minute television commercial to run on your local cable channel in which you pitch your services. Role-play your commercial or videotape it with a camcorder. 5. As a class, discuss which business plans actually might be workable.

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The Old Ways Contents Critics say that landfills today are simplistic solutions that reflect the way humans have dealt with their waste products over the millennia but that, in modern times, Introduction no longer are appropriate. Filling a hole on the edge of permanent settlements with

what you don't want and forgetting about it until it comes time to dig and fill another Decision-making hole does not seem like an ideal solution. Burying garbage was manageable in pre- industrial societies, given population sizes and the types of materials that were buried. Today's landfills however are huge, covering many hectares of land and A Culture of Waste containing millions of tonnes of refuse. The volume and variety of organic wastes and toxic chemicals in landfills have increased exponentially, as have the amounts Toronto's Political- of synthetic products. At the very least, landfills represent unimaginative or Environmental Dilemma environmentally unfriendly solutions to garbage problems. They can also create

serious ecological predicaments. The primary concern for landfill sites is the In the Interim leaching of toxic chemicals or organic byproducts into the water table. While landfills are supposed to meet stringent safety guidelines, the technology is not foolproof. Scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki expressed his concerns to The Halifax Solution Toronto city councillors in September 2000 over the Adams Mine proposal. He called the proposal a "massive experiment" because no one had ever undertaken Cash for Trash such a project before. Suzuki was concerned about inadequate testing. "You don't have to believe me. You just have to look at history. The history of technology is The Old Ways? that we're always finding unexpected consequences," he said. Many older landfills were basically holes in the ground. Into these holes went massive amounts of Catch-Up household cleaners, solvents, batteries, corrosive chemicals, paints, and of course, organic waste. There are numerous stories from each province of contaminated liquids leaching into a community's source of water. Even with the proper modern Discussion, Research and plastic liners and clearance from environmental ministries, leaks still occur. Essay Questions Ironically, the organic materials that most people take to be the harmless part of garbage are having a considerable impact on our climate. As the organic waste decomposes, it produces methane gas. Canadian dumps release about 1.2 million tonnes of methane, a gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Canada agreed at the 1997 Kyoto Conference on Climate Change to cut its greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) by six per cent NiR Home between 2008 and 2012. We and other nations are struggling to meet our targets. One solution is to capture the methane gas from landfills and use it to generate E-Mail heat or electricity. According to a federal advisory committee, tapping the gas from 40 landfill sites would have the effect of removing 1.5 million cars from the road. CBC Learning Home Another solution is to divert the organic waste from landfills. The Toronto Atmospheric Fund notes that these materials comprise roughly 70 per cent of municipal waste. Diversion of these minerals would avoid the production of 1140 kilotonnes of landfill methane per year in Canada.

Hands-on at Home Analyze the composition of a typical garbage can in your home. Using rubber gloves and newspaper on which to spread the garbage, record your data. If possible weigh the garbage can before and after sorting out recyclable materials. Classify the items from the can as organic, other recyclable materials (plastics, batteries, chemical, etc.) Return only the materials that cannot be composted or recycled to the can. Weigh the can again and then calculate the percentage of waste from your garbage can that could be diverted from landfills.

The Three-R Classroom Working in pairs, explore the three-R possibilities (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) of your immediate environment, the classroom. Conduct your investigation as follows and then produce a "Three-R Report Card" for your classroom in which you assess its waste management program.

1. Make a list of all materials (personal and communal) that are used in the classroom-that is, materials that are not permanent fixtures and as such are in some way consumed. 2. For each of the materials you have listed, calculate how much is used on a daily basis. 3. For the same materials, determine which ones are consumed completely, which ones have leftovers that must be disposed of, and which ones are reused or recycled in some way. 4. Suggest what materials, in your opinion, might be overused and could therefore be reduced. 5. On a scale of one to five (one is easy and five is difficult) suggest which materials are the easiest or hardest to reduce, recycle, or reuse. Give reasons why this might be. 6. Produce your report card and post it with those made by other students. Compare your results. Did you miss any materials that others discovered? Did you find some that others missed?

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Catch-Up Contents Once a world leader in recycling initiatives, Canada is now far behind many other industrialized nations. The utilitarian Blue Box was invented by Derek Stephenson, Introduction a Canadian waste consultant, and the Blue Box program is now used in 47 million

homes in North America alone. European and Asian nations once visited Canada Decision-making to learn more about the Blue Box system and other Canadian projects. Today, the process has been reversed. Canadian cities and provinces are emulating what other nations are doing. In the Netherlands, unlike most of Canada, with the A Culture of Waste exception of communities like Halifax, recycling organic wastes is mandatory. The Netherlands and other European nations go a few steps further, however. The Toronto's Political- Dutch government placed more stringent production regulations on the Environmental Dilemma manufacture of paper products. It increased the amount of recycled paper that

must be used. The Dutch have also reduced the amount of glass that is used for In the Interim glass containers, since every little bit counts. Commenting on the European approach, Derek Stephenson noted that creating something out of recycled material takes just a quarter of the energy needed when using "virgin" materials. The Halifax Solution The Dutch even recycle cars that have been damaged beyond repair in collisions. Since 1995, a network of garages, repair shops, and car dismantlers has agreed Cash for Trash informally, even though the law doesn't require it, to reuse metal, rubber, plastic, and glass from these cars. Between 1995 and 1997, about 86 per cent of 250 000 The Old Ways? tonnes of recyclable cars were processed in this way. While Canada is nowhere near this level of legislated waste management, jurisdictions do have various Catch-Up recycling laws and production regulations in place. The difference is that there is no coherent national plan. Each province establishes its own programs, which vary dramatically across the country. Canadian politicians are unable or unwilling to Discussion, Research and impose the restrictions that exist in the European Union. Traditionally in Canada Essay Questions and the U.S. the onus for implementing waste diversion initiatives has been on the end user-residents and businesses-and in this area government has not played a major role. Many of the European nations, however, have implemented policies that make manufacturers responsible for reducing and recycling their packaging. Germany recycles about 64 per cent of packaging, France 44 per cent, and the Netherlands 50 per cent. NiR Home

Follow-up Discussion E-Mail Europe has a greater tradition and history of government involvement in the marketplace through the regulation of various industries. The United States, and CBC Learning Home Canada to a lesser degree, has been focusing more on deregulation. Deregulation presupposes that business is more profitable and efficient when the government lets producers and consumers dictate how products are made and sold. For

example, optional environmentally friendly products are usually placed alongside traditional products, placing the onus on consumers to choose. Do you agree with this description of the North American marketplace? How well would a "European solution" apply to Canada's approach to reducing, recycling, and reusing? To what degree should government be involved in waste management?

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Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions Contents 1. Start a composter in your school, home, or office. Traditional backyard composters are easy to build or buy. A more ambitious project is to research worm Introduction composters and start one up. Research where you can reduce, reuse, and recycle

in your community by accessing the Earth's 991 Web site at www.1800cleanup. Decision-making org.

2. The state of California has pursued legislated environmental regulations as the A Culture of Waste method for fixing its environmental problems. Research California's environmental

laws and write a report outlining how far-reaching their impact has been on the Toronto's Political- state and on companies and other states and provinces. Environmental Dilemma 3. The production of greenhouse gases is directly related to waste management. While some headway has been made with respect to reducing the number of In the Interim landfills and capturing some of the gases released from those sites, Canada will have difficulty meeting the emissions goals set at the 1997 Kyoto Conference on The Halifax Solution Climate Change. A United Nations Climate Summit was held in November 2000 in

The Hague, Netherlands, to finalize the rules for 170 nations to attain those goals. Cash for Trash Canada and the United States have angered many European nations because their proposals, if adopted, would appear to create loopholes that would increase The Old Ways? greenhouse gas emissions rather than reduce them. Research the outcome of this conference and evaluate its proposals and Canada's participation. A useful research site is the David Suzuki Foundation at www.davidsuzuki.org. Catch-Up

4. Research the design and technology requirements necessary for modern Discussion, Research and landfills to meet provincial and federal standards. Create a display that illustrates Essay Questions and explains the different components of a landfill site. This could be presented as a poster, a three-dimensional model, a computer slideshow, or a video.

5. Examine the disposal system used by your community. How could it be modified either to make it more environmentally sound or easier to utilize? Write a letter to the appropriate government official or company summarizing your findings and NiR Home outlining suggested changes.

6. Incineration is another method of dealing with garbage. While Canada has E-Mail relatively few incinerators, other nations, especially geographically small ones like Switzerland and Japan use them extensively. In the past, incinerators were a poor CBC Learning Home alternative to landfills because they emitted toxic fumes. Incineration proponents contend that new technology has made them a safe method of waste disposal. Opponents maintain that there are still significant environmental and health risks posed by their use. Research incineration technologies and write an essay arguing for or against Canada increasing its use of such facilities.

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