Mar 31 2010
The United States & Recycling
Okay…So our book says that 80-90% of the world’s hazardous wastes is produced by developed nations, with the United States leading the way. However, to me it seems like nations such as China that are in the process of inten industrialization would be producing much more hazardous waste or waste in general than an already “established” nation such as the United States. I guess I can understand why the U.S. produces about 1/3 of the world’s solid waste because we are a nation of excessive consumption, but it seems to me that developing nations should be contributing a little more to the total hazardous waste count?! Also, I’m just curious to know if as a class, y’all leaned more towards “pro” recycling or “con” recycling…And then as a nation, does the U.S. lean towards one direction rather than the other, as well?
well first, i agree and dont see how countries like china and india dont produce more hazardous waste than we do… this data might have somthing to do with the source of this data. the US regulates these materials much more closely than developing nations like china. perhaps those countries ARE producing more haz waste, its just not being documented? maybe b/c of the way they dispose of it? or dont want to have to deal with proper disposal?
another though, idk how many nuclear powerplants china and other developing countries have, or what % of that haz waste is nuclear, but i could see that being an influential variable to this equation.
In regard to the second part of your question, I’d say the country as a whole supports recycling. According to this website
http://www.morethanwaste.com/Site/Default.aspx/C8C8C033E6279797CF8B
more than half of Americans support mandatory recycling programs.
As far as the class goes, we didn’t get to pick sides for the debate, but based on the overwhelming participation of giving Mr.W our recyclable trash after the project, it seems the class leans towards pro recycling.