Sustainability in a society is important for its survival, and ability to thrive.  There are many factors that come into play when trying to keep a society at a sustainable level.  Everything from the transportation system to the waste disposal procedures can affect the sustainability.  If there is no trash collected, the area becomes uninhabitable.  This is why there are landfills placed nearby to collect the trash, and keep it from piling up in people’s homes.

Landfills are an important part of the trash control within a society.  Even though they are important, there are issues that come with having them.  There are numerous landfills across the country.  Without the proper upkeep and maintenance the issues can get out of hand, and endanger the area around it.  The placement of these landfills can help keep the dangers away from people.  With the right improvements the issues could be prevented all together.

One of these landfills is the SPSA Regional Landfill located in Suffolk, Virginia.  The issue that has come up is the release of methane gas from one of the cells.  A cell is a section of a landfill that is designated to take a certain amount of trash that is brought in.  Scott Harper describes a couple of the issues in an article, “In one part of the landfill, known as Cell 5, unusually hot temperatures as high as 190 degrees are flaring underground”.  He further explains that if the heat holds or get higher, it could melt the protective liner and the pollutants will get into the environment.

The second issue is as described, “In another section, known as Cell 6, potentially explosive methane gas is seeping from the ground at levels in excess of safety regulations, and officials are not sure why.”  It is further explained that this issue is being investigated by consulting engineers without any luck on eliminated the issues for good.  The methane is being farmed as a renewable gas source produced by the trash that is degrading. 

With the escaping methane there are concerns about health issues, and the danger of explosions or fire.  These issues keep occurring with this particular landfill.  This can cause people to move away and lower the status of society within that area.  Residents have gotten sick from the pollutants.  The leaks were fixed, but the landfill is researching these issues to prevent them from becoming a bigger problem.

A second landfill within Virginia that also has issues is, Atlantic Waste Disposal located in Waverly, VA.  An article by Michael Campbell talks about contaminated water, “That leachate, or landfill-waste-contaminated water, was seen flowing beyond the limits of the landfill’s lined disposal area about 500 to 600 feet into nearby forested wetlands, impacting approximately 3.4 acres.”  This was brought on by an excessive heat similar to the issue with the SPSA Regional Landfill.

The leaking from this has caused harm to the environment and could contaminate the local water sources as well.  People will end up sick from the pollutants, and the area will be without a good water supply.  A second issue is the odors being released.  These air pollutants make it unsafe to breathe.  The effects are reported as well, “The odor described by Virginia DEQ in their order has been a serious issue for residents of Sussex and neighboring Prince George County, where some residents say it forces them to stay indoors with the windows and doors closed and, for some, even that does not provide relief from the overpowering smell.”

These issues are being addressed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  They have issued an emergency order against the landfill with demands that actions get taken immediately.  Waste intake is being reduced to eliminate the amount that is being processed.  The leachate has to be removed from the site, and transported to where it can be disposed of safely.  Some of the problems have been fixed, but it is a work in progress.

Plastic bags have become an important part to the daily functions of our society.  People use them to carry groceries, wrap items up, carry things to other places and even use them as lunch bags.  Even though they create a convenience for society, they are a danger for the environment.  Some people do not dispose of plastic bags the way they should.  These bags end up in the trees, down streams and even in the ocean.

The environmental dangers are numerous.  An article by John Roach with National Geographic tells about these dangers, “The success of the plastic bag has meant a dramatic increase in the amount of sacks found floating in the oceans where they choke, strangle, and starve wildlife and raft alien species around the world”.  There have been cases where fish and other aquatic animals have gotten tangled in them.  This cause them to each choke, or suffocate from being stuck in them.  Fish have even died from eating them.

The chemicals from the degrading plastic have been found to be contaminating the environment that they are in.  Land animals have faced these same problems.  A bag degrading in the water contaminates that water source.  Without knowing any better, the animals drink it and get sick or die.  The article discusses a consideration to possibly help eliminate this from continuing to be an issue.  Losing the environment would degrade the sustainability of a society.  There would be fewer plants to help keep the air clean.

A second concern with plastic bags is public health.  This is a concern due to what it takes to manufacture them.  The chemicals used sometimes transfer with the product contaminating the things it comes in contact with.  Known health effects have been recorded in an article by the ecology center in California.  These effects include direct toxicity similar to the cases of lead, cadmium and mercury.  Carcinogens as in the case of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), and finally endocrine disruption, which can lead to cancers, birth defects, immune system suppression and developmental problems in children.

These health effects are just some of the recorded issues with the chemicals used to make the plastic.  It is a major issue that is not thought about on a daily basis.  Society has become so dependent on plastic bags, that the effects are not considered.  These negative impacts should keep people from wanting to continue using the products, but they have become so accustomed to them.  It would be hard to ease these concerns.

Technology has also become an important part of society and its development.  One of the commonly used electronics is the computer.  A majority of people today use computers at some point in their life.  When someone no longer has a need for their computer, it can be given to someone that needs it, as long as it fulfills that person’s needs.  The components that go bad can be rebuilt and either placed back into the one that it was taken from, or installed in another one.  The items that make up a computer can be converted and used for other things as well.

Simply donating the ones that are not being used anymore would prevent them from ending up as e-waste.  Another device is the cell phone.  When someone breaks their phone, they usually buy a new one, and throw the old one away.  Some phone companies will take the old one back and rebuild it to sell it to someone else.  This keeps it from becoming e-waste and giving someone a phone they could use.

Just like the other two electronic devices mentioned the television is another highly used item.  When it stops working, it can be rebuilt and either donated or sold to someone to wants it.  Some televisions can even be used as computer monitors.  Some electronics can be used to run the other or even share information between them.  These items are all easily reusable or recyclable and should only become e-waste when they can no longer be fixed or rebuilt.