The environment is a very delicate structure. When a foreign, unnatural object is not disposed of properly it enters the environment and can leave lasting effects. There are countless types of waste that can negatively impact the environment.
There is simply no way around rubbish. Every single person in the world produces some form of rubbish each and every day, and with the rising population, this means that there is physically more rubbish than ever before that needs to be removed and disposed of properly. The World Counts explains that so far in 2017, the global population has dumped over 500 million tons of waste.
Rubbish removal is a very serious matter because if rubbish is not disposed of properly, it has the potential to make irreversible changes on the environment. The problem we have as a society is that people either don’t know how to properly remove rubbish, or they simply don’t care. Either way something has to change because every piece of rubbish that is not properly disposed of is leaving lasting impacts on the environment.
Almost all the types of rubbish take a fair amount of time to breakdown. Below are some of the most common forms of rubbish that people will see simply laying in the street and not disposed of properly:
- Paper is the fastest to decompose in 2 ½ months.
- Orange peel (even though it is organic) still takes 6 months to breakdown.
- Milk cartons will take around 5 years to decompose.
- Plastic bags will start to break down after 10 years.
- A can of beer will take more than 400 years to decompose.
- Glass bottle will never properly decompose.
It is important to think twice before disposing of rubbish because your negative impact on the environment could be felt long after you are gone. Still, illegal dumping and the burning of rubbish is taking place. This makes the impact of rubbish far greater and it can have immediate impacts on both the environment as well as humans.
The impact of improper waste disposal
There are three key impacts that poor rubbish removal has on the environment. People have been incorrectly throwing away their rubbish for generations which has certainly caused detrimental impacts on the environment. Also, the physical place people dispose of rubbish can certainly impact different sections of the environment.
Below are the most problematic impacts improper waste disposal has on the environment:
- Pollution – This is probably the most obvious one and pollution directly effects the environment and can lead to issues such as climate change, etc. When waste is poorly disposed of it can produce harmful odours which can impact the hygiene and overall health of those living close by. As well as this, when someone dumps waste, it attracts pests such as rodents, houseflies, cockroaches and many more. These animals have the potential to contaminate the food humans eat, which in turn, makes them sick. This also produces more harmful odours which can contaminate the air and when people are continuously breathing it in, it can result in adverse health effects.
- Soil becomes contaminated – When waste such as damaging chemicals make their way into the soil, it has the potential to contaminate nearby plants. Local animals that feed off these plants will also subsequently be affected and become sick.
- Water becomes contaminated – All drains lead to the ocean. Therefore, significant amounts of waste tend to make their way into water. This water then becomes contaminated as the waste changes the water’s chemical composition. This also affects the humans and other animals that drink the water.
The impact of poor rubbish removal on the environment can be felt far and wide for many years to come. However, in recent years, more and more people have been better educated about the proper means of disposal and they are taking action.
A light has been cast on the issue of rubbish removal and there is now more being done to protect the environment for future generations. More countries and government understand the benefits of recycling and Planet Aid explains that Austria is leading the way. Austria currently recycles more than 60% of the total waste they produce. As well as this, more large corporations are turning ‘green’ and putting steps in place to dramatically reduce the waste they produce.
While the impacts of poor rubbish removal on the environment can be quite catastrophic. It is promising to see governments as well as multi-national corporations put in the commitment to limit the amount of rubbish that is improperly disposed of. As well as this, many small businesses and individuals are enlisting the assistance of a rubbish removal company that specialise in the proper disposal of waste if they don’t have the necessary skills and resources to do it themselves.
