Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The garbage grinder was developed to link the disposal of solid waste (that can
be ground up) with the disposal of wastewater and thus to realize the ancient dream
of networking garbage collection and waste transport. It is an electric device cus-
tomized for a kitchen sink that allows for the drainage of shredded refuse to the
sewers. It was the subject of many experiments in Great Britain and the United
States but, in the end, experienced only limited development. The technique was
comparatively inconvenient, concerned only one part of refuse (kitchen waste),
required an increase in the capacity of wastewater treatment plants (where these
existed) and resulted in increased water consumption (round 7 l inhab
−
1
day
−
1
).
61
New York is an example of a city that since 1872 practiced drainage direct to sea:
barges were used to carry refuse 25 miles from shore (prior to this, a part of the refuse
was discharged into the East River) up to 1934.
62
The process was defended for
many years. Not only would it allow for the development of marine plankton, it
appeared to be the solution to the new problem of bulky waste. Indeed, consumption
of new objects resulted in the production of new waste, including electrical appli-
ances and end-of-life motor vehicles. The sudden emergence of these monstrous
objects appeared not to have been anticipated by policies which promoted their
manufacture and sale to consumers. This problem, already recognized in the 1930s,
became very worrisome after the Second World War.
Sanitary land
lling originates, like incineration, from England where it emerged
in 1912 (the terms is used from the 1930s onwards). This method consisted of
placing successive layers of waste, 1.5
2.0 m thick, separated by inert matter.
Another layer was added only when the temperature of the previous one had sta-
bilized (fermentation produces heat). The process was advantageous because of its
low cost and its only constraint was its need for large spaces located close enough to
towns to avoid excessive transportation costs. This explains why land
-
lls are more
frequent in vast countries like North America than in Europe where space is limited.
Nevertheless, the number of land
lls multiplied as never before during the inter-war
period and they were gradually considered the best solution for garbage storage
(60 % of English garbage was placed in land
lls in 1950
63
). This was the case even
in France where land
lls were at
rst considered to be insalubrious and wasteful.
Moreover, proponents of land
lls argued that garbage dumping contributed to the
urban development of waste grounds and uncultivated land. However, most of the
time, a land
ll was considered a no man
'
s land. The Entressen site (South of France),
used as a land
ll up to 2010 for garbage from Marseilles, is the best example of this
since it resulted from the discontinuation of the Plaine de Crau recovery project. It
was at the beginning of the 21st century the largest land
ll in Europe.
Thus there was a general trend towards an overproduction of waste (Table
7.2
)
and a devaluing of these materials. This trend was all the more remarkable because
61
Summer (
1968
).
62
But New York City continued to dump sewage sludge at sea. Melosi (
2005
), op. cit,
pp. 181
182.
63
Organisation europ
é
enne de coop
é
ration
é
conomique, op. cit., p. 144.
-
