How much does garbage cost?Too many natural resources
Every day we toss away millions of euros, tons of petroleum, hundreds of trees and valuable natural resources. Kathimerini’s supplement K looked into the actual cost to us all of the contents of the average garbage bin. One aluminium can = 0.1 liters of fuel It takes 60 grams of bauxite to make just one 15-gram aluminium can. Bauxite deposits are not infinite and many of them are in tropical rainforests. Extracting the ore means reducing down the Earth’s supply of oxygen or digging up its mountains. In order to make that one can, enough energy is consumed to operate a television set for three hours. All these valuable natural resources are wasted if the can ends up in the garbage, where it will stay for many many years. Recycling that can brings about several benefits. Making a new can from recycled aluminium takes just 5 percent of the energy needed to make one from scratch and a saving of carbon dioxide emissions almost equal to its weight. For every ton of aluminium that is recycled, about 4 tons of bauxite are saved, as well as 37 barrels of petroleum, 500 kilos of soda and 100 kilos of limestone; meanwhile, a recycled can takes just 90 days to get back on the supermarket shelves. One glass = light for 8 hours Glass bottles are made of sand (that contains sodium), sodium carbonate and limestone combined at high temperatures – therefore using a lot of energy. To make one bottle, enough energy is consumed to light a 100W globe for eight hours. Recycling a single glass bottle takes half the energy required to make a new one, also avoiding carbon dioxide emissions equal to a third of the bottle’s weight. One battery pollutes 400 cubic meters of water Every year 100 million household batteries are sold in Greece, up to 20 percent of which contain mercury, a substance that can cause neurological disturbances, blindness or even death. Although tiny, these batteries can be very destructive if disposed of carelessly as they contain cadmium (a very hazardous substance that has been linked to cancer, pulmonary disease, kidney disease and others) as well as a number of other toxic substances. One battery can pollute a cubic meter of soil and 400 cubic meters of water. Although recycling batteries does not bring about immediate savings, it protects us from such hazards. Five plastic bottles = one anorak Apart from the fact that they greatly increase the volume of garbage if not squashed flat (their volume is estimated to take up 2.4 times more space than their weight) they also take 400-500 years to biodegrade. Recycling half a kilo of PET (the most commonly used plastic for bottles) represents a saving of 12,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units, the measurement of heat created by burning any material). Plastic is recycled in the following way. Different kinds of plastic (PET, PVC, PP) are separated, washed and broken up into flakes to produce fabrics, pillow fillings and anoraks. It has been estimated that five plastic bottles are enough to line an anorak, 25 to make a fleece jacket and 26 to make a polyester suit. Diapers = 15 trees per child They might be practical but come at a high price, not only because of their own cost, which could be more than 2,000 euros per child, but the cost to the environment. Each child needs an estimated 5,000 disposable diapers, at a sacrifice of 15 trees. One million trees are cut down every year around the world just to supply disposable diapers, which then create garbage of 1 ton per child (until it is potty-trained). 7.7 kilos of Tetrapak per house per year Every year, each household consumes about 300 liters of milk, resulting in 7.7 kilos of Tetrapak containers being thrown out with their garbage. Although light, the material is a recycling nightmare. Made up of 77 percent paper, 18 percent plastic and 5 percent aluminium, these three materials need to be separated, making the recycling process very expensive. In some cases the same firms that produce them undertake to recycle them themselves, making new packaging from them. Plastic bags: 300 million euros a year A petroleum byproduct and symbol of the throwaway society, plastic bags have taken over our daily lives. Over 60,000 tons of disposable plastic are produced in Greece every year, at a cost of about -300 million – about -5 a kilo. Throwing them away raises their price even more; they increase the volume of garbage and they are difficult to manage. One plastic bag will take 100-400 years to decompose, once it is buried. It also makes difficult the decomposition of whatever organic garbage it contains. They are particularly hazardous when they fall into the sea, not only because of the pollution they cause but because of the hazards to marine life. They are not free – according to a survey by the supermarket association, they cost customers 0.3 percent of their shopping bill. The solution is to use fewer of them, to reuse those we do use and to separate them from other rubbish. Recycling them is not cheap but it is better than throwing them on the garbage heap. Ton of paper – 32,000 liters of water Most people’s homes are full of all kinds of paper, many of them in the form of advertising leaflets distributed free. However, every ton of paper recycled means a saving of 17 trees, 32,000 liters of water, two barrels of petroleum and 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to meet the needs of a home for five months. It also means more than a 74 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a large reduction in the volume of garbage. A ton of high-quality recycled paper can replace 3 tons of timber used for paper. Unfortunately, most magazines in circulation in Greece today do not use recycled paper. Illustrated publications coat the paper with kaolin, which contains clay, a substance that makes recycling difficult as it causes lumps to form and spoils the quality of the finished product. Plastic food container They are only used for a couple of minutes but take 200 years to decompose. But as more and more people are eating takeaway food, the number of plastic plates, cups, cutlery and food containers comprise a large percentage of waste. Usually made of polystyrene, they do not decompose easily. Leftover food – one third could be composted Fruit and vegetable peels and other food scraps comprise 35-50 percent of our garage. Organic garbage forms a large percentage of the waste sent to landfills, but are mixed with other waste and make recycling difficult. If they were disposed of in a separate dumpster or even better, collected in compost bins in every home, they would be good for the soil.
