Experiential Learning Assignment

Author

Institution

Introduction

Recent times have seen or witnessed a dramatic increase in the concerns as to the sustainability of the environment. It goes without saying that human beings have borne the greatest responsibility as far as environmental destruction is concerned. This has been done in various ways including mining, deforestation, excessive use of nonrenewable resources, improper disposal of waste materials, and overuse of unclean energy from fossil fuels among others. In essence, it is imperative that human beings take responsibility for their destructive activities and seek ways of reversing the undesirable trends. In this regard, I sought to participate in enhancing waste management activities, in Massachusetts.

In this endeavor, I dedicated one day to working with Wheelabrator Technologies Inc, a leading waste management company in the United States. It has expertise in safe, as well as environmentally sound conversion of solid waste generated in municipal sectors. This waste is converted into the cleanest form of energy, or disposed off using techniques that are environmentally sustainable. My duty in this case was the collection of waste materials from various collection centers in Saugus City, where the company has concentrated its operations. In addition, I had to separate the various waste materials so as to enhance recycling, as well as proper disposal of the varied materials. Plastics, papers, electronics, glass and other materials had to be separated so as to enhance recycling and the appropriate disposal. On the same note, I took the initiative of educating the community on the importance of eliminating nonbiodegradable products and substituting them with recycled paper products.

As much as the activities assisted the company directly in terms of volunteer services, the main beneficiary was the community at large. It is worth noting that the issue of improper waste management has been controversial in the recent times. Improper waste management techniques affect the environment in varied ways. First, it contributes to increased landfill, which may not only affect the organisms living on land but also aquatic animals (Christensen 2007). This is especially when the waste materials have toxic substances, which seep into the land and underground waterways. In essence, these materials would need to be disposed appropriately to enhance environmental sustainability. Second, most of the waste materials can be reused (Kreith & Tchobanoglous 2002). This mostly applies to plastics and electronics. The making of electronics involves mining, which apart from destroying the environment also leads to depletion of varied resources. Recycling, therefore, allows for the reduction of depletion of these resources and lowers the amount of waste that is placed on the environment (Kreith & Tchobanoglous 2002). On the same note, recycling leads to enormous savings as far as the usage of energy is concerned. Restructuring of these materials for reuse involves the use of relatively low amounts of energy compared to making them from the beginning. Educating the society as to the importance of substituting their nonrecyclable materials with biodegradable ones is bound to complement the efforts of environmental rehabilitation (Hester & Harrison, 2009).

As much as waste collection may not be the best of endeavors, I must admit that carrying it out comes with a feeling of fulfillment and enjoyment. This is especially having in mind that everyone has a role to play in enhancing environmental sustainability. As much as individual effort may have a relatively small impact, educating all individuals in the society and leading by example ultimately has a relatively enormous impact, which may essentially save the environment in the long run (Hester & Harrison, 2009).

References

Christensen, T (2007). Solid Waste Technology and Management. New York: John Wiley & Sons

Hester, RE, & Harrison, RM. (2009). Electronic Waste Management. London: Royal Society of Chemistry

Kreith, F & Tchobanoglous, G. (2002). Handbook of Solid Waste Management. New York: McGraw-Hill