Are plastic bags an issue?

A couple of months ago, I heard in the news that the city of San Francisco banned the traditional plastic grocery bags. This petroleum made non-recyclable and non-biodegradable plastic bags, can escape the waste stream, creating litter and endangering wildlife. Following this decision, small northeastern Manitoba town, Leaf Rapids, bans plastic bags.
Also, don't forget that as I mentioned before, San Francisco is the "Zero Waste role model" for GVRD. It makes me wonder if for GVRD banning plastic bags would be in the list of things t0 do.
It also makes me wonder how it would turn out, if GVRD or one of the municipalities propose such idea? I am curious to know if all municipalities would even consider this plan, since some of them don't even have a recycling program?!
Would banning plastic bags increase and improve sustainability in our city? Is it possible to have urbanization and sustainability happening at the same time? Is it possible to be the "the best city to live in", and have no waste management problems? Is it possible to be a growing city and have no worries about the waste? Is it possible to be hosting the Olympics but have no concerns about where the construction and solid waste is gonna go?
By the way, Where IS the waste going?

Looking at other places...

Globalization has different effects on various countries. These effects are treated differently, based on factors such as countries' resources and culture.
In rapidly growing cities, due to increase in population and consumption because of income level, there is larger amount of waste to be dealt with. This can actually become a problem in low income countries where most of budget goes to pick-up and transfer of waste, and does not leave much for discard. I want to briefly discuss research done on two other places in the world that are having difficulty with the waste management.

Globalization has been identified as playing a negative role in solid waste management in African cities (Achankeng 2003). Studies have shown that increase in waste generation based on quantity and variety has been one of many outcomes of globalization in cities of developing world including Africa. Achankeng finds that there is a positive correlation between city population and the scale of waste management problems. He also notes that there are a few formal systems of material recovery in Africa. However, there is a wide reuse of plastics, and bottles, paper, cardboard, cans for domestic purposes, highly common among the poor in the city. Many authors have identified the high volume of organic content of solid waste in African cities, suggesting to have a bigger investment on composting.

India has also been struggling with municipal waste management and scientist have been studying different approaches to overcome difficulties. Rathi (2005) studies two different approaches to municipal solid waste management; community participation and private sector participation. She concludes that there is a substantial reduction in the cost of waste management with community participation due to separation of waste at source, which in turn leads to a reduction in the requirement for community bins and transportation of waste.

Waste management issues created by urbanization have been studied by researchers in many countries in the past few decades. These problems are necessarily getting worse or better, but governments and people are at least more aware of sustainability issues and the outcomes.

References
Achankeng, Eric. 2003. Globalization, Urbanization and Municipal Solid Waste Management in Africa. African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific 2003 Conference Proceedings. African on a Global Stage.
Rathi, Sarika. 2006. Alternative approaches for better municipal solid waste management in Mumbai, India. Waste Management 26, 1192-1200

Is everyone aware?

When discussing problems at a large scale, sometimes we may forget the influence of people. I remember an Ecology prof. once said that the most important thing that could be cone to solve population problems is to be less homocentric and become more ecocentric. In another words we should stop thinking that the environment belongs to us, but we are all part of a community. Finally, most importantly we have to believe and show in our actions that this planet is not just for our generation but for all future generations.
All these sort of things are usually easier said that done. I have to admit that, myself, can not stop driving from one place to another, because access to transit where i live is very low, and my legs are just not strong enough to bike up hills. It is very sad that I know I add to air pollution, so I try to carpool more often. So, the question is whether people are aware of how harmful their actions can be to our urban environment?



One definitely smart and environmentally friendly action is to use compost instead of garburator. Ground up food can clog pipes and add more load to the waste water treatment plants. Composting lowers greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of trips trucks must make to the landfill, also the amount of methane released by the landfills. According to the GVRD website, Lower Mainland residents have purchased more than 120,000 compost bins from their municipalities in the last 10 years.
For those of you who don't know, in addition to Backyard composting, there is Worm composting. Worm composting is a way for apartment-dwellers and office workers to recycle kitchen scraps into a rich soil conditioner. Worm composting can be done year round, inside or out. So, if you have a balcony in your apartment, or even if you don't, I have heard that the worms DO NOT GET OUT!
If you find this interesting, or you are very inspired by Worm composting you can check out GVRD website for more information....

And more information...

• What is Waste?*

Waste can be defined as substances or materials for which the owner or generator has no further use, and are discarded.

• What is Solid Waste?

Solid waste is what we generally call garbage. It includes waste from home, offices, businesses, institutions, and industries, with the exception of specific wastes that are designated as hazardous.

• How is waste disposal damaging to the environment?

Leachate** from unsound land disposal sites can contaminate groundwater and soils if it is not carefully controlled, and landfill gases can contribute to global warming. Incineration of wastes creates a new set of environmental challenges, in the form of air emissions that must be strictly controlled, and ashes that require careful disposal. Although modern techniques can greatly reduce the risk on environmental damage, no method of waste disposal is entirely harmless to the environment.

• What is a solid waste Incinerator?

A solid waste incinerator is a facility where solid waste is burned under controlled conditions.
Through a very complicated system, incinerators recover energy from the incineration of waste. This is known as resource recovery. The energy recovered can be used to make steam for heating, electrical generation, or industrial processes.

• Why is solid waste Incinerator controversial?

One area of concern is air emissions. Without proper controls, incinerators can release harmful emissions into the atmosphere. These can include heavy metals such as lead, and mercury; dioxins, furans, and other harmful organic chemicals; and gases that contribute to acid rain.
Another concern, two types of ash that are generated. Bottom ash consists of unburned or partially burned material, that can be disposed in sanitary landfill sites. Also, fly ash, light particles that rise off the burning waste and are trapped by air pollution systems. Fly ash is considered a hazardous waste requiring special treatment and disposal.
Finally, some people are concerned that incinerators may discourage some waste reduction and recycling efforts, since recyclable materials like plastics and paper have high energy contents and can be valuable fuels for incinerators.

Notes
* A Primer on Waste Management-The Environmental Citizenship Series, Environment Canada, 1996
** Leachate: Liquid that has peroclated through solid material and removed soluble components. In land disposal sites, leachate is formed when moisture peroclates through layers of waste, dissolving and carrying along various chemicals.