Hawaii has run out of immediate and viable options for trash disposal and so they are currently collecting large quantities of garbage until it reaches a certain capacity and then shipping it to the mainland where it will be discarded. Without major road ways connecting the island to the rest of the country, Hawaii is confined to a restricted numbers of means to get rid of their refuse. The process of transporting the trash was only meant to be a temporary effort, but has carried on because of such reasons as the expansion of the incinerator and the soon to be terminated landfill. Opposition to the smell of the trash and anesthetically pleasing sight of garbage concerns some residents, while others are dissatisfied with the mere amount of waste that the state produces and how much is thrown out and not reused. Proponents for this measure, argue that it is the only present option that is a feasible way to alleviate the ever compiling trash dilemma. One solution to this problem is to try and reduce the amount of trash that is generated and advocate recycling programs.
Personal response: I agree with those who are opposed to the idea of shipping off their garbage to the mainland. This process would only be a temporary fix to a ever present problem. If they do not have their facilities do not have the capacity to handle their rubbish, than this is an indication that there is too much to begin with. Instead, effort s to promote sustainability and recycling would greatly benefit the island not only economically by not having to pay to ship off their trash, but also environmentally since the residences would be require fewer new items and less fossil fuels would be used in production. Also, the transport of the trash would need fuel to sustain each voyage and increase our dependence on foreign oil and petrodictatorships as well as negatively contribute to our carbon footprint.
Cooper, Michael. "Packed and Ready to Go in Hawaii - 20,000 Tons of Garbage - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 21 May 2010. Web. 27 May 2010.
I feel their idea has strong roots. Just imagine if we wanted to switch from fossil fuels straight to hydrogen fuel cells in one night, it'd be horrendous. Perhaps if they had a timeline where they weaned this practice off i would be in full support of it.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Hawaii is using too much trash for such a small state, they should implement more effective trash disposal methods like recycling and reusing of resources, rather than throw them to some other place, what happens when the mainland has too much garbage to handle, where will the trash go next? Hawaii is doing this as a temporary replacement, but I have a feeling that this wont end so soon, and it will go on for a while, People need to stop creating so much waste, it harms the environment and we are running out of options, if people don't stop their waste output, the world will become filled with trash.
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