Waste Management

1) Research the different ways that your country disposes of waste. Do they use landfills? Incinerators? Something different? 

Hawaii has several types of ways in which they dispose of waste. Most waste goes to landfills, just like it would on the mainland. However, Hawaii has a strong recycling program for "opala" (the Hawaiian word for garbage). To reduce the need for landfill, there is also a program called H power that converts garbage into electrical power. The picture shown below is of a factory where waste is broken down to make electrical energy for locals uses. By disposing waste like this, there is no harm done to our environment.

  

2) What are some of the challenges that your country faces in terms of waste disposal? 

Hawaii faces some challenges in terms of waste disposal. The capital city of Honolulu, has over 1.6 million tonnes of garbage annually. This has been a huge problem because there is not enough land for all this garbage. Due to size constraints, the garbage keeps piling up resulting in Hawaii to face this enormous problem. Hawaii is a growing state which attracts new people each year. It is also a popular hot spot for vacations. The population is always growing because of the beautiful beaches, unique culture,good weather, the history, the people or the exotic foods. It's a breathtaking  place to live in or visit but because of the increase in population it makes it a challenge for the state to dispose of all the incoming and higher amounts of waste. 

 

3)Describe some ways that you think your country could improve their waste management strategies. If you think they are perfect (hint: no one is) then explain why you think this. This section will require you to think on your own and create your own argument

No state is perfect and so it is possible for Hawaii to improve it's waste management strategies. They can do this by creating more programs like H power which converts waste to electrical power (this is beneficial as this can help the locals). If stores sold more eco-friendly items such as reusable plates rather than paper plates, this will cause the amount of waste which builds up in landfills to be reduced. By creating more recycling programs in schools and public places and by encouraging recycling by the placement of more recycling bins, this will improve their waste management strategies. Many tourists come to visit year long so it would be good to have recycling bins and environmental posters around and about in public places. Children in elementary schools, should be taught at a young age what recycling is and what the benefits of it are. By being proactive and showing initiative in the community like picking up some garbage like a plastic water bottle from the ground and recycling it, is an enormous but very important step of prevention.  People living in Hawaii could use their green or yard waste as compost. A very important waste management strategy is by using the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Hawaii can efficiently and effectively manage its waste by reducing (or minimizing) the amount of waste we accumulate, by reusing most of the things one throws away and by using the environmentally friendly option of recycling.