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Death, Garbage and Taxes

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America said, “The only things certain in life are death and taxes”. But there is a third certainty in life too and that is garbage (or “solid waste”, if we want to get technical). The smelly stuff we chose to keep out of sight, and hence out of mind, is a reality that needs urgent attention with each passing day.

The issues of dumping grounds close to their filling capacity and protests over the use of incineration technologies for garbage are not unique to India. Neither are the recent revelations of overcharging for transportation to dumping grounds and massive tipping fees. (All waste treatment facilities and dumping grounds need money to function. This generally comes from garbage haulers, who pay a per ton or per load tipping fee or gate fee upon arriving at the facility.)

About 5,000 years ago, the world’s first recorded landfill was built in Knossos, Greece. Huge quantities of waste were buried in large pits, with soil layered throughout. Clearly, landfills have remained a popular idea, not because of their usefulness but because of the dearth of options—what exactly can one do with garbage?

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Comment by Dr Debbie Bartlett CMLI FIEEM on July 18, 2013 at 4:35pm: Reduce at source .... here in the UK most outlets have introduced a charge for plastic bags so people are encouraged to take their own basket or long lasting cloth bag - good for the handicraft and textile industries too!