Essay Example on Efficient Solid Waste Management: Public Works in Chesapeake

Civilization involves production, and this leads to the development of a lot of trash. This leads to the development of solid waste management and trash collection. The Public Works Department has a Waste Management Division that ensures that about 65,000 have their trash collected every week (City of Chesapeake, n.d.). Annually about 116,000 tons of waste are collected. This waste collected is then transferred to the Southeastern Public Service Authority that has facilities located in different areas that are easily accessible using the collection vehicles of the city. The city has developed contracts with various authorities to ensure that their trash is collected regularly (City of Chesapeake, n.d.).

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The management of waste involves different approaches that require much more than piling refuses in landfills, and it includes several methods that allow the control of waste. A proper strategy for the management of garbage would consist of the development of provisions for the prevention of pollution, minimization and reduction of waste, recycling, reuse, initiatives for managing waste, recycling green waste and the use of landfills as a last resort (City of Chesapeake, n.d.).

The department of the environment at Maryland has the responsibility to ensure proper handling of the non-hazardous waste from industries, commercial and domestic waste. Poor handling of these wastes can lead to direct threats to natural resources and public health, including the pollution of water resources (MDE, n.d.). Maryland has developed laws that have been instituted since 1914 to guide the handling of trash and waste material to provide that its effects on the environment and the public health are minimal (MDE, n.d.). Several problems arise from the pollution of groundwater, most of which people in Maryland rely on for drinking water. Further, it can lead to the pollution of surface water, which in turn, affects drinking water supplies in municipalities of Maryland, such as Chesapeake. It is a health nuisance and allows the reproduction of pests such as mosquitoes, flies rats, and odor (MDE, n.d.).

Proper disposal of trash is ensured by the SWA facilities, which protects the states environment and people's health by safeguarding water on the ground and on the surface. For the extension of the SWA facilities, there is a need to obtain a Refuse Disposal Permit for such an installation (MDE, n.d.). This permit ensures the regulation of the operation, construction, and design of the facilities, and it allows proper monitoring of these facilities to ensure that the impact on the environment and public health is minimized. Industrial, municipal, and rubble waste landfills are required to set up liners and collection systems for leachate to ensure that there is no movement of pollutants from the landfills to surface water, groundwater, and the adjacent subsoil (He et al., 2019). Additionally, the processing and the transfer of waste are required to be conducted in an enclosed building to ensure the control of noise, dust, and odor.

Chesapeake also has a natural wood waste recycling facility that accepts wood waste such as natural vegetative matter, wood material, grass clippings, leaves, logs, root mats blush and limbs and different other general materials that are typically generated when land is cleared for developments (MDE, n.d.). These facilities produce various products such as firewood, compost, mulch, and wood chips that may be sold to consumers. These are essential facilities since they prevent wastage of natural wood and they and they use waste to make useful products. Recycling of wood matter saves a lot of landfill space, and this extends the life of landfills.

Composting facilities are also crucial in the management of waste (MDE, n.d.). Organic materials are composed to ensure that they do not end up in landfills. Large-scale cooperative, governmental, and commercial composting activities often have negative impacts on the environment, such as the development of nuisances due to the production odor; there is also a risk of fire and a risk of water pollution. Organic waste also attracts vectors of diseases such as flies and rates (Ludwig, Hellweg, & Stucki, 2012).

Open burning of solid waste is also used in the management. Still, permits are often issued by local health officers to ensure that they address air pollution, nuisance, and public safety concerns where regulations laws and applicable laws are followed (MDE, n.d.). The administrators of materials and land, control the use of open burning in conjunction with the administrators responsible for radiation and air.

The collection of trash is related to waste management critical services. Management of waste is essential for nature people around the environment. Waste is collected to ensure that the environment is protected and to protect the people living in the environment (Singh, Singh, & Rawal, 2018). Rubbish and accumulated often cause water and air pollution. Decomposing matter produces a stinking smell that is often a nuisance for people that leave around decomposing material. Through the inspection of vegetation that is around a landfill, the impact of the landfill on vegetation can be determined (Singh, Singh, & Rawal, 2018). Garbage left untreated in the open often has many problems. For this problem to be addressed, modern waste management involved the use of holes lined with different materials, and the bacterial organism is also used to ensure that there is decomposition period is reduced. Garbage and waste in the decomposition process often produce foul-smelling odor, and this can often cause nausea to people that come across the smells.

Additionally, accumulating garbage harbors different diseases and pests and leads to the development of waterborne diseases such as discomfort, abdominal conditions, and cholera (Sasikumar, & Krishna, 2009). Water sources need to be adequately protected from the harm caused by waste disposal. Landfill sites should be secured to ensure that the waste collected and the garbage from commercial areas and homes do not affect the body of waters around the landfills.

Companies that collect waste put the garbage into columns that can be recycled. This is because the recycling of products is a necessary process (Sasikumar & Krishna, 2009). Recycling of material ensures that natural resources are protected, and it also leads to the reduction of costs used in the manufacture of new materials. Materials such as paper, plastic, and glass can all be recycled to reduce the pressure on natural resources used in their manufacture.

Lastly, the management of waste and recycling ensures that the natural beauty of the planet is maintained. This is often flawed by senseless littering, fly-tipping, improper disposal of waste. Littering of often ruins the site of landscapes, and they often destroy tourist attraction areas (Sasikumar, & Krishna, 2009). It is also a menace for the people that live in areas that do not have proper waste management systems, and recycling is not managed responsibly and effectively. The beauty of nature is a legacy that the current generation should strive to leave for future generations through proper conservation and protection of natural resources.

Multiple challenges arise in the management of waste. However, there are continual developments that allow the development of the industry to a proper one that ensures that there is an ecologically sound, sustainable, and effective waste management and recycling processes (Pichtel, 2005).

Currently, the management of waste in Chesapeake is zoned and conditional. All the locations of waste management sites have been developed from the initial planning process of the city. It was also developed through public participation and consensus. The city code illustrates the need to cite these facilities and the setbacks that result from adjoining properties. There is a need for discretion in the reduction of these setbacks. Similarly, careful consideration in the locating of specific waste management facilities in streams, rivers, preservation areas in the Chesapeake Bay area, flood plains, in and around wetlands should be avoided. Reliable waste collection centers close to residential areas often have concerns with the smell, dust, and noise, and this has to be dealt with (Pichtel, 2005). Further, locating the facilities near areas that are environmentally sensitive usually has the potential to destroy natural habitats and to cause the pollution of water sources. This means that there are no substantial waste management areas in the Northwest River Watershed Protection District, except those that operate solely for sorting, storing, transporting of organic and inert waste.

The city has developed education and recycling programs that ensure that citizens can minimize and reduce their dependence on landfills, reduce the needs of raw material and help in the preservation of natural resources (O'Neil et al., 2020). Chesapeake has developed recycling and drop off services at the curbside. These are available for all residential customers, and it ensures the utilization of the waste collection system of the city. The city also provided the development of a 96-gallon big bin-recycling program (O'Neil et al., 2020). The program ensures that every citizen has a rolling bin that is similar to the current waste container. The big bins ensure that more recyclables are collected. With larger bins, chipboards, mixed paper, magazines, corrugated iron, and cardboards can be recycled, and this is in addition to the products that are recycled suing the smaller bins, which are aluminum, plastic, glass, and newspapers. Larger bins provide an opportunity to bring down the costs of disposal and protect natural resources.

The City of Chesapeake also participates in the sponsorship of HRCLEAN an educational program that aids to prevent littering and to promote proper waste management (O'Neil et al., 2020). This is a coalition between education coordinators that education on the beautification of the community, recycling, and the prevention of litter through educational projects that are designed to reach every sector of the society. The city further aims to distribute materials through established city sources to provide ample notification of public meetings. The city is also developing methods to solve issues of solid waste disposal. The primary goal of the management of waste is to ensure that there is minimal risk to the environment and human health. It does this through the disposal of hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste in a cost-effective manner, it also ensures that there is a reduction in the amounts of raw materials consumed and to reduce the quantity of waste (Pires, Martinho, Rodrigues, & Gomes, 2019).

Waste is an input of different economic activities, and this is done through the recovery of energy and materials. There are several financial implications in the management of waste. This is from the environment, expenditure, and productivity. The firm decides on how it manages wastes and impacts on their profitability (Pires, Martinho, Rodrigues, & Gomes, 2019).

Conclusion

Waste management is a social factor. It is often the habit of humans to generate waste, and they are also involved in the implementation and support of the safe and correct waste systems. Any waste management system that does not have a social aspect is aimed at failure. In this case, the process of making decisions focuses on legal compliance, economic elements, and technical characteristics (Pires, Martinho, Rodrigues, & Gomes, 2019). However, the involvement of the public ad community in every stage of waste management from the informal stage to...