Re: [CH] Recycle & Reuse

Paul Karpowicz (hondamedic@mediaone.net)
Fri, 3 Aug 2001 22:09:35 -0400 

From: "T. Matthew Evans" <matt.evans@ce.gatech.edu>
Sent: Friday, 03 August, 2001 9:41 AM
Subject: RE: [CH] Recycle & Reuse


All educated list members, help me out here. Saw lot's of French from the
Canuck's  awhile ago but I think this guy is speakin' American? Can't be
English 'cause we don't have a queen. Quoting "T. Matthew Evans" (whats the
matter/dont like Theadore as your first name/my uncle across the street has
that name & I call him "Uncle Ted"):

>I would like to state, however, that new landfills are orders of magnitude
> cleaner than older ones, which were simply depressions filled with trash.
> New landfills have 80-mil welded high density polyethylene liners
underlain
> by one to two feet of compacted clay.  Over the next few hundred years we
> should see very little, if any, contaminant migration from a modern,
> properly designed, properly constructed landfill.  Twenty years ago, no
one
> cared where their trash went as long as someone picked it up from their
> house.  Now, no one wants the trash to go into a landfill because of
> environmental concerns, but they still want someone to come pick their
trash
> up every week.

  And DDT will be the greatest boon to crop production since internal
combustion engines in tractors!!! Matt, how old are you??? The older you
get/the more disbeliveng you become. When you stand the test of TIME I'll
listen & believe that :

>Over the next few hundred years we
> should see very little, if any, contaminant migration from a modern,
> properly designed, properly constructed landfill.

I'm only 50 years old so over the next few hundred years I can only hope my
great-great grandchildren will find your optimism over "little, if any,
contaminant migration from a modern, properly designed, properly constructed
landfill" was an accurate prediction. Far be it for me to shoot all kinds of
holes in your optimism but don't municipaties subcontract this kind of
construction to lowest bid contractors??? Lowest bid/Cheepest construction
material???   Cheepest material will last "next few hundred years???  What
will happen' then???? MASSIVE LEAKS???   Do you have any hundred year
reports on your desk to validate your claim  that todays "80-mil welded high
density polyethylene liners" will last "Over the next few hundred years"??
'Couse not 'cause the company that produces it only told you it would & they
subsadize your paycheck
   Told 'Ya I was a pessimist!!!!
   Now that I've stirred up that hornet's nest'
    Paul (The NorthEast ChileMan)
PS I never asked anyone to haul away my trash & I hauled my own & my
companys recycleables to recycle center in Nashua, NH starting in 1984 or
1985 (Damn that alchahol). How old were you in 1984 T. Matthew Evans???

> Sorry for the OT rant, but landfills put a roof over my head for many
years
> and I hate them always getting a bad rap.

 Thats cause my in-laws throw everything out for curbside pickup and you get
paid to to design a way to tell me it's OK. It's not!   OK!OK!OK No more
rants and raves on this issue  PROMISE!!!!!

> VOC's are volatile organic compounds -- trichloroethene,
tetrachloroethene,
> chlorobenzene, etc.  EPA Method 8015 is used to test for a few hundred of
> these puppies in one fell swoop (gas chromatography, I believe).  These
are
> often the primary chemicals that migrate to groundwater from landfills
> because they are highly mobile in soil gas (volatile, remember).  Also,
very
> prominent in new carpet, by the way.
>
> I would like to state, however, that new landfills are orders of magnitude
> cleaner than older ones, which were simply depressions filled with trash.
> New landfills have 80-mil welded high density polyethylene liners
underlain
> by one to two feet of compacted clay.  Over the next few hundred years we
> should see very little, if any, contaminant migration from a modern,
> properly designed, properly constructed landfill.  Twenty years ago, no
one
> cared where their trash went as long as someone picked it up from their
> house.  Now, no one wants the trash to go into a landfill because of
> environmental concerns, but they still want someone to come pick their
trash
> up every week.
>
> Often, these are people that still throw used chemical containers and dead
> batteries in with their household waste.  These are generally the only
> "toxic" chemicals that make it into modern municipal solid waste
landfills.
> The evil Corporate America is no longer allowed to dispose of their waste
in
> this manner, but millions of private residences illegally send thousands
of
> tons of toxic chemicals to landfills every year.
>
> Sorry for the OT rant, but landfills put a roof over my head for many
years
> and I hate them always getting a bad rap.
>
> Matt
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> T. Matthew Evans
> Geosystems Group, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
> Georgia Institute of Technology
> URL:  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte964w
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>