How Your Trash Can Hurt the Environment

All of us have a responsibility to take care of our planet for the sake of ourselves, our families, our community, and the generations to come. The choices we make each day with our waste disposal can impact our health and the health of our environment. Whether illegally dumping trash or burning it, there are many people who are knowingly or unknowingly contaminating our world. Regardless of the reason, there are better alternatives for trash disposal. At ADM Rolloff’s Transfer Station, you can drop off your trash and feel confident that it will be disposed of in the most environmentally friendly way possible. If you are unsure about the detrimental effects of trash dumping or burning, we would love to provide clarity for you.

The Harmful Effects on The Environment

·       Contaminating Soil and Water—When trash is dumped illegally and left to decompose, the contaminants can permeate the soil and water around it. This trash heap could travel into water sources and eventually into your drinking water.

·       Endangering Wildlife–We can only imagine the possible dangers for the animal and plant life around one of these dump sites. Animals could become sick and plant life could be tainted by chemicals. We need to share our planet kindly with the wildlife and not contaminate their home, food, and water sources.

·       Encouraging Forest Fires—If the contamination bit was not enough, we also can endanger wildlife and plant life through leaving trash to risk a spontaneous fire. Garbage can be flammable and a risk for combustion. Trash burning has also led to many unchecked forest fires as well. Forest fires can be very challenging to put out and cause irreversible damage to trees, animal life, and nearby structures.

·       Releasing Harmful Chemicals—Backyard burning can release toxic compounds including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, and particle pollution. There are links between these contaminants and many environmental concerns, such as acid rain, global warming, smog, and ozone depletion. Your weekend burning is directly contributing to these environmental problems which affect more than just you.

The Harmful Effects on Health

·       Increasing the Potential Risk for Diseases—Trash piles encourage the presence of many disease carrying creatures, such as mosquitos, flies, rats, skunks, and opossums. These animals could be carrying Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Encephalitis, or Malaria. Dispose of your trash responsibly to decrease your chances of exposure to these life threatening diseases. Burning trash can have tremendous health complications as well, especially for people with sensitive respiratory systems, children, or elderly. The smoke released while burning could put your family at greater risk of heart disease, nausea, rashes, and headaches. Also, the dioxin released from burning can be traced to reproductive, immunological, and developmental issues in humans and animals. Just one barrel of trash burned in your backyard releases just as much or more dioxin than a full-scale city waste combustor burning more than 200 tons of trash. Burn barrels are responsible for releasing the most dioxin in our country.

·       Diminishing Your Community–Beyond diseases, a community with trash heaps left all over the place will appear dirty and classless. Your home values could be impacted because people will not feel encouraged to move into your community. Who wants to live in a city that looks like a landfill! Also, there is an impact on mental health when you live in a community that feels unclean, embarrassing, and unsafe.

Disposing of your trash responsibly can be so simple when you choose our Transfer Station. Other than liquids or hazardous materials, we can accept any trash or junk you want to dump. For a minimum of $30, or $60/ton, you can feel confident that your trash is disposed of in the most environmentally and health conscious manner possible. Whether you need to dump off a mattress, old appliance, or a pile of trash, ADM Rolloff is ready to help. Don’t burn or dump your trash–bring it to our Transfer Station and we’ll handle the rest!