Download New York Waste Management - The New School Portfolio

What is it?
• A general definition of waste management is:
the collection, transportation and disposal of
garbage, sewage, and other waste products.
Waste management encompasses all
processes and resources for proper handling
of waste materials, encompassing
maintenance of the waste transport trucks to
the dumbing facilities and compliance with
health codes/regulations. Specifically I will be
discussing the issue of consumer waste that
is left on the streets of New York.
*Landfill in New York
Alternatives
A common proposal for an alternative for waste management is that
there are communal recycling spots however it will take a lot more of a
push due to most individuals having deeply rooted ways i.e. laziness. A
good place to start would be to increase the number of public recycling
bins but also for every building and restaurant to have a mandatory
compost to start to create a sense of communal sustainability when it
comes to waste disposal. Another alternative would be to take after
nations such as Japan who burn about 70 per cent of their waste and use
that as energy. Along with this there should be an overall increase in the
number of waste management plants so that the burden of the waste is
not restricted to one large area which is used upon before another is
chosen e.g. the landfill site at Staten Island which is now at capacity. By
increasing the number of plants while decreasing the overall size of them
the workload is spread more evenly and subsequently will help the issue
of environmental racism where often areas with majority colored
population or lower net income are forced to cope with most of the
immediate issues that waste management in NYC produces. Increased
targeted advertising campaigns about the issue would also do well to
educate younger and older audiences
Rapid Prototype
• Essentially the design is more of a legislative piece that works
to improve the efficiency of waste management in New York.
For every bin out on the corner of the streets in New York the
government can organize recycling and portable compost bins
that will sit beside. The mentality of people just adding to what
is already there needs to be transformed into adding to a
sustainable future in regards to waste management.
Composts to be provided by buildings both residential and
commercial as well as integrating them into schools to
promote sustainability early on. Areas will also not be worn
out by giant waste management plants but rather have more
dispersed throughout the state at a much smaller size and
minimizing the negative impacts that are pushed onto different
social demographics and nature. Government stimulus
packages will be given to help subsidize the set up costs as
the long term benefit will outweigh any short term hassle.
Resources
•
•
•
•
•
‘Compost Benefits and Uses’, WhatCom.
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/fundamentals/benefits_benefits.htm
‘Hazardous Waste Management’, New York State Department Of Environmental
Services. http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8486.html
‘Municipal Waste Combustion Facilities’, New York State Department Of
Environmental Services. http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/23683.html
‘NYC implements comprehensive programs to reduce solid waste’, National
Geographic. http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/23/nyc-implementscomprehensive-programs-to-reduce-solid-waste/
Walshe, Sadhbh. ‘New York’s waste management plans don’t address throwaway
culture’, The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/newyork-waste-management-plans-conflict