Trash - A Growing Problem

Over the decades, the waste industry has been quietly growing. In 2012, the world generated 1.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste per year. As per EPA, the amount of “municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018 was 292.4 million tons or 4.9 pounds per person per day.” According to a 2018 World Bank report, trash generation hits 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. If significant actions are not taken, trash will be one of the biggest hurdles to handle, causing pollution and debris in oceans, rivers damaging aquatic life. Singapore is a leader when it comes to managing trash effectively.

We can consider it as a - no trash country. Their trash management techniques involve burning the trash and filtering the smoke. First, all of the trash is accumulated from all garbage cans and trash bags and taken to incineration. This fire is over 1,000 degrees Celsius, almost all of the trash is burned. The ash is dumped into the water of a man-made island, which does not touch/ mix with ocean waters, therefore making no harmful impact. This has created a “trash island” from repeating deposits of ash.

Surprisingly, the island is very pleasant and clean. It can even sustain trees and other plants. Singapore has also come up with a solution to filter out the gases that are emitted from burning, including using the heat from the burned trash which is then harnessed to power thousands of homes with electricity. Singapore’s method of trash disposal lays down a path that we could one day follow. The amount of trash is growing exponentially, inventing reliable techniques to get rid of the trash is the need of the hour.

We at Enposs support all the innovative ideas that are sustainable and pave the way to a better future.