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This page is dedicated to shedding light on the critical issue of waste management in St. Louis and its profound implications for both the environment and human health.
Environmental Effects
Human Health Effects
The Mississippi River, which runs alongside the city of St. Louis and acts as the border between Missouri and Illinois has become trash-filled and polluted in recent years. An article by the River Front Times explains that in a study done from March 2021 to July 2022, The Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative tracked debris near St. Louis as well as nine other cities along the river. The data was startling, as the volunteers logged a total of 174,868 items on their debris tracker apps. The most common detritus found were over 11,00 cigarette butts, almost 10,000 plastic wrappers, and over 6,700 beverage bottles. The study also found that a total of 75 percent of trash found in and around the river was plastic. Out of the nine cities along the river studied St. Louis accounted for the highest amount of trash of all, totaling 28,537 items.
When there are large amounts of trash with nowhere to dispose of it, the most convenient option is for major companies to burn the waste. When waste is burned, it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the air, which contributes to the issue of global warming.
When trash is left poorly disposed of, it can serve as breeding grounds for disease-carrying animals such as mosquitos and rodents. When these animals are around humans, they can spread many diseases, most commonly malaria, leptospirosis, and dengue fever. Along with the animals spreading diseases from being around humans, they can also contaminate uneaten food when around residential areas, which could lead to some common foodborne illnesses.
When waste companies burn excess waste, it releases harmful pollutants and toxins into the air. Inhalation of these pollutants can cause respiratory problems. It can not only aggravate the symptoms of someone who suffers from asthma but also increase the odds of contracting a lung infection.
When overflowing waste is left unattended, it also can leach harmful chemicals into the ground. That leads to harmful pathogens being released into the soil and groundwater, leading to waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid. When groundwater is contaminated, it can commonly go unnoticed, leading to the contamination rapidly spreading and affecting entire communities that rely on the water supply.
Alternative Solutions
Numerous solutions may be explored when addressing the issue of waste management. The two main ways a city goes about handling its waste are by the use of recycling and landfilling. Although the two tactics have been widely adopted nationwide, the exact processes that a city chooses to use varies greatly. The main two solutions currently being used in St. Louis are Landfilling and recycling.
Recycling
In 2011, the city of St. Louis knew the problem of lack of recycling had to be fixed, which led the local government to add residential recycling collection to the list of services provided by the Refuse Division. Before the Refuse Division added the practice of residential recycling, the city collected trash and yard waste from dumpsters, but recyclable items were not collected separately. Although residents had the option to take their recyclable objects to scattered drop-off sites around the city, it was not very convenient, and therefore people did not use them regularly. When the new residential recycling program was introduced into the city, recycling rates jumped. The plan involved adding blue recycling dumpsters more commonly throughout the city and it led to there being 374 tons recycled in January of 2011, to 1,117 tons being recycled by December of that same year. However, those numbers are still far below average in terms of recycling numbers in cites nationwide.
One thing that separates St. Louis from cities without waste management issues is the lack of innovation when it comes to disposing of waste. For example, In Los Angeles, recycling trucks pick up each household’s recyclable items curbside. Instead of having to drag waste to a local recycling station like the residents of St. Louis have to do, residents of Los Angeles can simply leave their recyclable items in a bin outside of their house where it is collected by the waste management system. Unsurprisingly, that allows for a much more convenient way for residents to recycle and overall leads to a higher percentage of recyclable items being disposed of properly.
Landfilling
Waste that isn’t recyclable ultimately ends up at large landfills which are areas used to dispose of solid waste from all over the city. The most common type of landfill is a sanitary landfill, which is where a majority of regularly used household items go. The sanitary landfill that a majority of waste in St. Louis goes to is the Champ Landfill in Maryland Heights, which is responsible for approximately one-fifth of waste disposed in the state of Missouri. The other major landfill responsible for collecting waste is the West Lake landfill, which is located in Bridgeton. The West Lake Landfill has been under fire for the past couple of centuries because they are burning radioactive waste. The radioactive waste in the West Lake Landfill is more widespread than previously thought. To the displeasure of the residents of St. Louis, there doesn’t seem to be a quick fix to the issue coming any time soon as Chris Jump, the EPA’s remedial project manager for the site stated how the city hopes to have a plan within the next decade on how to fix the issue.
There is a clear divide between the benefits that sanitary landfills such as the Champ Landfill in St. Louis, and open dumpsites, such as the West Lake Landfill provide. Open dumpsites cause pollution through open burning and the spread of toxic chemicals. Sanitary landfills, however, do not burn their waste, making it a much safer option for the residents living near the landfill. Though there is a clear health benefit to choosing sanitary landfills over open dumpsites, the reason why open dumpsites are still in use in some cities around the world is because they use up much less space and money given that they simply burn the waste.
Sources & Links to articles with more information
2018–2023, A. Woytus From. (2023, May 23). By the numbers: The rise of road-side litter and debris in Missouri. St. Louis Magazine. https://www.stlmag.com/news/modot-roadside-litter-trash/
About. Champ Landfill of Maryland Heights MO Serves St Louis County. (n.d.).
https://www.champlandfill.com/about/
Fenske, S. (2023, August 3). St. Louis is among the 10 worst places in the US for air pollution. Riverfront Times. https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/st-louis-is-among-the-10-worst-places-in-the-us-for-air-pollution-39620048
Fenske, S. (2024, February 27). 75 percent of trash in the Mississippi River is plastic, a study finds. Riverfront Times. https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/75-percent-of-trash-in-the-mississippi-river-is-plastic-study-finds-41468432
History. Saint Louis City Recycles. (2023, November 2). https://stlcityrecycles.com/about-saint-louis-city-recycles/history/
Kite, A. (2023, March 29). EPA finds radioactive contamination in more areas of West Lake Landfill • Missouri independent. Missouri Independent. https://missouriindependent.com/2023/03/29/epa-finds-radioactive-contamination-in-more-areas-of-west-lake-landfill/
Operating solid waste landfills. Operating Solid Waste Landfills | Missouri Department of Natural Resources. (n.d.). https://dnr.mo.gov/waste-recycling/sites-regulated-facilities/operating-solid-waste-landfills
Britny Cordera, St. Louis Public Radio. (2023, March 27). Trash is still piling up despite St. Louis hiring bonuses. STLPR. https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2023-03-27/trash-is-still-piling-up-despite-st-louis-hiring-bonuses
Sustainable solid waste systems. (n.d.). https://www.c40.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/C40-Good-Practice-Guides-Sustainable-Solid-Waste-Systems.pdf