The Problem With Today's Rubbish

Reducing the hazardous waste in the Worlds landfills starts at home. Millions of households are producing billions of pounds of solid waste. Products used every day in our homes leach hazardous chemicals after entering landfills. There are a number of simple steps that average consumer can take to limit the damage that many of these toxic materials are doing to the environment.

Political Issue

The rubbish situation has become a big concern in cities all around the country and not only is this a political issue, but it is also a problem that has caught the attention of the general population. We all realise there is a growing problem but nobody likes to admit that their rubbish is contributing to the problem.

Mountains

Many councils have already started a recycling program to deal with the growing mountains of paper, plastic, glass, etc. Although it takes a bit of effort on the part of the public to sort and separate their rubbish, people are now beginning to realise that the future of our environment is at stake.

Batteries Are A Problem

One household product that is causing a problem these days is throwaway batteries. Each year in the UK we throw away 10.000 tons of alkaline batteries. These AA, C and D cells that power electronic toys and games, portable audio equipment and a wide range of other gadgets comprise 20% of the household hazardous materials present around the country in our landfill sites.

When a battery in one of the products we use fails, we simply run out and buy a replacement. The dead battery ends up in the rubbish and no one thinks about where it goes and what happens to it after the rubbish is picked up.

Sealed inside these alkaline cells are harmful materials which are not encountered by consumers during normal use. However, when the batteries enter a landfill, the casings can be crushed, or can easily degrade, which causes mercury and other toxins to leach into the environment.

The problem of batteries in landfills is one of the easiest to solve. Using rechargeable power can significantly reduce the number of batteries which end up in landfills. Rechargeable batteries can be used again and again, up to 1,000 times. One rechargeable cell can replace up to 300 throwaway batteries, keeping the landfill free not only from the batteries themselves, but also from the paper and plastic materials that are used to package them.

There are a number of manufacturers in the country today who deal in rechargeable products and some of them have a number of programs already in place to ensure that rechargeable batteries never enter a landfill at all. For example, one of the largest manufacturers of rechargeable products is now offering a lifetime replacement guarantee on all round cells. If the product ever fails to accept or hold a charge, the company will promptly replace it and recycle the used cell.

Environmental agency

If you have an environmental agency in your area, you might like to work on this issue with them, or perhaps they already have a program set up to dispose of used batteries. As a concerned citizen, your suggestions and input will be invaluable to them as they attempt to come up with some solutions.

For your convenience, we have prepared  a list of search terms used in order of popularity, to find more pages on this subject:

Searches completed in December 2004 
Count Search Term 
2793 rubbish 
1552 rubbish removal 
543 rubbish dump 
446 dumps rubbish 
320 rubbish and garbage removal 
238 rubbish chute 
204 rubbish bin 
148 rubbish container 
93 pure rubbish 
92 gi rubbish 
90 collection rubbish 
88 compactor rubbish 
70 bag rubbish 
70 rubbish handling equipment 
69 disposal rubbish 
53 household rubbish removal bridgend 
42 picture rubbish 
41 nj removal rubbish 
33 life modern rubbish 
33 rubbish truck 
31 dump meridell rubbish 
30 street rubbish 
29 clearance collection hire rubbish skip 
29 rubbish removal new york 
28 g i rubbish 
27 compactor history rubbish 
25 angeles los rubbish 
25 birmingham disposal in rubbish 
25 new removal rubbish services york

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