![]() When Fairfax County processes the sewage flushed downstream from the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University (at the Cole Wastewater Treatment Plant in Lorton), most "poop" is decomposed by bacteria and the nitrogen in the water is released as N 2 molecules into the atmosphere.and then exhaust the carbon dioxide and other combustion remnants into the atmosphere. Methane in landfill gas is so common, both Fairfax and Prince William burn it to generate a small amount of electricity. When Manassas sends its solid waste to a modern sanitary landfill, some gases and liquids escape the "cell" and must be processed.When Arlington County/Alexandria burns their solid waste in an incinerator, it minimizes water and ground pollution.but some percentage of gases escape the filters on the smokestacks and pollute the air.All waste ends up being re-used, or ends up as pollution in the air, ground, or water. Waste produced by Virginians may go out of sight and out of mind, but waste does not go away. That's not an option we use now, not even for highly-radioactive nuclear wastes. The only other choice: blast waste into space. Where do Virginians send the stuff they don't want? We recycle some of it, but we put the rest into the air, ground, or water. Political pressure to address global warming concerns is likely to classify CO 2 as a regulated pollutant in the future - and that may trigger new ways to use the carbon dioxide to create a product that has value, rather than a cost for disposal as waste. Today, it is released into the atmosphere from industrial operations and power plants burning fossil fuels, such as coal. The next "opportunity" to convert a waste product into something with value: carbon dioxide. Larger pieces of wood waste is now glued into sheets of "oriented strand board" (OSB) that competes with plywood. Many kitchen counters today consist of a thin layer of Formica, on top of sawdust which has been pressed and glued into a layer of wood that is strong enough to support all the things we put on top of kitchen counters. When air quality controls forced the sawmill operators to find an alternative disposal technique, a market developed for pressed wood. Sawmills across Virginia used to burn sawdust as a waste product, creating towers of smoke from wigwam-shaped burners. Customers using public restrooms, such as sports stadiums, can't make a choice of toilet paper and may notice the different "feel" of the recycled fibers in the toilet tissue. The short fibers in recycled paper produce a rough texture, so trees are pulped and processed directly into the soft, plush rolls purchased for most American homes. Recycled paper ends up as cereal boxes, newspapers, even toilet paper. Litter on the James River, just below the Reusens hydropower facility near Lynchburg Recycled plastics are turned into park benches. Waste, by definition, is stuff that is not wanted. ![]() Source: Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Cary Street, Richmond, Va (1911) and Broad Street looking East from 6th Street, Richmond, Va. Horse manure was ubiquitous on Richmond's cobblestone streets as electricity distribution lines were being constructed in 1911, but cars created the waste by 1927 Waste Management in Virginia Waste Management in Virginia
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