Garbage Removal Companies and the Covid-19 Pandemic
June 23, 2020
Junk Haulers for Selective Demolition and Strip Out, York PA
July 3, 2020
Waste Little Green Junk, York PA
The proliferation of waste globally presents huge problems to governments because it is causing untold environmental damage. This has required governments to find ways to implement waste reduction plans and reappraise laws relating to waste management and implement programs for waste minimization. The 3R’S (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) program that has been implemented in many countries is an attempt to prevent and minimize waste. The end goal is zero waste and asks of citizens to adopt this strategy by being more aware about waste.
Recycle to Conserve
There is more to recycling than finding an alternative to dumping waste in landfills. Recently, the move has been to find commercial uses for recycled materials. Materials recycling facilities (MRF’s) have been set up to accept waste materials for recycling, process them, and then sell to manufacturers who use recycled materials to manufacture products. In this way, they are making a huge contribution to the reduction of traditional raw materials, like wood (taking pressure off chopping down trees) and the likes of plastic and glass. So, the recycling of these products ensures that the manufacture of new products does not require original raw materials.
The process of recycling junk consumes less energy and other scarce natural resources than the manufacture of the original product would normally use.
Recycle to Save Energy
- Recycle one aluminum can, can save the amount of energy to run a TV for 3 hours. Recycle 100 cans and save enough energy to light your room for 2 weeks. (Source: Go Ever Green)
- Recycle 1 glass bottle and the power saved will keep a 100-watt lightbulb on for 4 hours. Glass can take up to 4,000 years to break down in a landfill, but the good news is that most bottles and jars are already manufactured using at least 25% recycled glass. (Source: Conserve Energy Future)
- The measurement of paper and wood discarded in the US each year is enough to heat 50 000 homes for roughly 20 years. Americans use 7 trees per year per person in paper, wood and other products made from trees. This amounts to about 2 billion trees per year. (source: https://www.sccmo.org/)
- Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour and most of these are not recycled. It takes about 500 years for a water bottle to decompose and 1,000 years for disposable plastic grocery bags to degrade. (source: https://www.sccmo.org/) Recycling one ton of plastic waste saves about 2,000 pounds of oil, the amount of water that one person uses in two months as well as the amount of energy consumed by 2 people in one year. (Source: thebalancesmb.com)
- Plastic bags in our oceans are the second most common kind of waste item found in coastal cleanups (the most common are cigarette butts). By 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (Source: thebalancesmb.com)
The compliance with reducing, recycling, and reusing was gaining traction worldwide. In the US, the waste disposal to landfills decreased from approximately 94% of the amount generated in 1960 when records began, to about 52% of the amount generated in 2017. Over this time, rates of recycling increased from a little over 6% municipal waste generated in 1960 to over 35% in 2017. (Source: https://www.epa.gov/)
These were the statistics prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. The virus has been shown to spread rapidly through communities mainly from person to person in close contact with each other, which has resulted in substantial changes in lifestyles.
The consequences of the rampant virus have been to take drastic action with the closing national borders, the curtailment of local travel and tourism, and the grounding of airlines, in efforts to limit its spread. Environmentalists have celebrated this brief respite in carbon emissions, factories on shutdown, and subsequent air quality improvements. Our environment has had a chance to breathe again. As focus is on the virus, little has been written on the benefit to the environment.
Social habits have changed completely, with society going into its shell, and consumer behavior changing in the “new normal”. The way we go shopping, being able to relax in bars and restaurants, and attend large gatherings of people, have all been curtailed. Sports has been suspended and social get-togethers restricted.
More Disposable Items means More Waste
Scientific studies of the behavior of this new Coronavirus are not yet conclusive resulting in much conflicting information and advice. The fact that is agreed on is that the virus spreads easily and fast between humans and can lead to serious illness.
- Evidence suggests that the virus can live on surfaces anywhere from 24 hours to 5 days, even on plastic surfaces. This has resulted in grocery stores and chains discouraging or even banning reusable bags in favor of single use plastic bags. The danger of passing the virus on from infected reusable bags being stored in the cart, moving along the grocery conveyor belt, and being handled by the packer are too great a risk to take. Although this ban may be temporary, it still means that billions of single use plastic bags will once more be disposed of adding to the amount of trash removal needed.
- Disposable coffee cups are once again in use at hot drink outlets with reusable containers prohibited for fear of spreading the virus. This will lead to the discarding of billions of these annually with the resultant junk cleanup needed, for as long as the ban is in place.
- With the closure of the option of dining in at restaurants, the choice has been on takeaway food which is sold in disposable containers. Reusable containers are being discouraged or banned in case the virus is spread to the restaurant staff and then to the public. These millions of disposable containers will add to the amount of waste pickup needed.
- Volumes of domestic waste have increased by up to 50% per household with much of this increase the result of using more disposables in the home, including disposable masks, and this extra trash generated means extra work for the local government waste collection department.
This extra junk removal can be carried out by our waste pickup company, The Little Green Junk Company, if you feel you are being overwhelmed by household waste. We operate in the York PA and Harrisburg area and we are here to assist your household to dispose of your unwanted junk. We are available to do your trash hauling at a time suitable to you, even if this means after hours or over the weekend. We are efficient and professional and have the necessary licenses to dispose of your trash responsibly. We are as committed to a clean environment as you are.
Please call us today at 717-467-0070 to arrange a free, no obligation quote. We look forward to hearing from you.
Email us at inquiries@littlegreenjunk.com
