Waste management

In the entire state of Florida, over 8.6 billion tones of solid waste were recycled, constituting 37 % of the wastes in that state, according to studies conducted by the Florida Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste. This data is for the last decade. The report is an indication that Florida’s solid waste management capacity falls below the state’s 50 percent target. This is because there are only 285 curbside recycling programs, serving over 3 million residents of that state (Biocycle, 1997).

All the counties making up the entire state of Florida have inadequate curbside recycling programs to manage newspapers, plastic bottles, steel and aluminum cans, as well as glass wastes. Panic has gripped the state of Florida over where to dump the ever-increasing garbage. This is bearing in mind that 35 percent of 8.6 million tones of solid wastes generated daily are from single households. As if that is not enough, the industrial sector generates over 55% of the average solid wastes collected daily (Biocycle, 1997).

In the wake of this future shortcoming, all is not lost. The Florida Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste is working to increase the number of curbing recycling programs so as to cater for the increasing quantity of waste products. Besides managing the solid wastes, the program will have employed tens of thousands of men and women charged with the responsibility of recycling the wastes. At the moment, over 20000 people are employed as a result of the expansion policies (Biocycle, 1997).

As an answer to the aforementioned setbacks, the Division of Solid Waste Management has embarked on a program geared towards increasing the rate of recycling these wastes. This has been particularly increased by over 1000% (Biocycle, 1997). In addition, the recent undertaking to increase the curbside recycling programs is welcomed.

References

Anonymous. (1997). States report statistics on solid waste management. Biocycle, 38 (10), 1-6.      Retrieved October 16, 2012, from http://             search.proquest.com/docview/236931673?accountid=45049