The first identifiable landfill was first used about 5,000 years ago on
the island of Crete. I guess it was pretty much a run-of-the-mill landfill,
except that probably no one knew exactly what to call it.
There weren’t any
bulldozers back then to cover up the mess, so I wonder if anyone had the
courage to object to hauling trash and garbage to that particular spot and just
dumping it there in a pile.
We still haven’t figured out a good solution for taking care of our
trash, really, and in some parts of the world, like Japan and Europe,
acceptable landfill sites are becoming filled to capacity. Guess what happens
next—less acceptable landfill sites are going to be used, and then unacceptable
landfill sites are going to be used.
The Atlantic magazine recently reported that about three-quarters of
the stuff in the trash stream in America could be composted or recycled, but it
isn’t. Most of it is being buried or burned.
The average American produces about 130 pounds of trash each month.
Those Cretans who started piling up their trash 5,000 years ago got us
started on the wrong track.
We’re trashing the planet, and I think the trash thing is going to bite
us soon, in a lot less than 5,000 years.
Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2015 All rights reserved.
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