Waste management in the Midwest United States is a complex set of challenges, influenced by the industrial legacy of the region, its agricultural domination and its vast rural and urban landscapes.
The state of Illinois, as well cities across the Midwest and in other areas of the country, are home to many major universities as well as population centers with a significant number of industries — which means that there are always students looking for ways to get rid of their trash. The Midwest, with a history of landfilling, addresses conditions over landfill capacity, recycling and hazardous waste, as well as problems associated with agricultural waste.
Reliance on Landfills
For decades, the Midwest has relied heavily on landfills for disposing of trash. First, there is a glut of land available; landfilling has been an economically viable option for both municipal solid waste (MSW) and industrial waste for centuries. For example, Illinois is one of the states with the most capacity in landfills and has long resorted to massive landfill sites to deal with its waste problem — just like many other states across the region.
That reliance on landfills is increasingly opposed by environmental risks, particularly methane emissions and groundwater pollution, as well as the permanent space needs. That organic waste becomes landfill, which produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Several Midwestern states have started capturing methane from landfills to produce electricity or heat. Though part of the answer to a broader problem — our need to stop using landfills so much – these methane-capture systems are paramount tools in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Many landfills in the Midwest are also reaching an age limit. The demand for landfill sites increases as the urban area extends and population density grows. With landfill space at a premium and cost prohibitive maintenance, local governments in states like Michigan and Ohio are starting to look at new ways of managing their waste. This financial burden of maintaining and then closing landfills place further strain on finances of local municipalities.
Problems with Recycling and Waste Diversion
Not only do needs in the region differ; recycling infrastructure varies widely by state and can even look very different for an urban area compared to a rural one. Bigger cities like Chicago, Detroit, Omaha and Columbus offer much wider recycling programs than what’s available in many smaller towns and rural areas. Even still, the total recycling rate in the Midwest lags behind other areas of the United States like New York and Oregon.
Contamination is the largest hurdle for Midwest recycling programs. Plastic bags are one example source of contaminates, as today’s most recycling plants are not able to process this kind of materials, reducing the overall efficiency and effect that we gain out if it while creating a cost increase. Throughout the Midwest, recycling facilities report contamination is on the rise, leading to higher costs and in some cases stopping altogether; small communities lose recycling.
Not to mention the global market for recyclable materials pose a huge challenge as well. When China made the dramatic and unilateral choice in 2018 to restrict foreign waste exports with its National Sword policy, Midwestern states were not immune. For towns and cities in the American Midwest that depended on China to take paper, plastics and other recyclables, there remains no clear plan for what comes next. This has caused the shutdown of some recycling initiatives, particularly in less populated areas where recycling earns a negative margin.
The Midwest has also had spotty recycling education and outreach, which has contributed to low recycling rates. Although some cities have been able to implement effective public information campaigns that encourage residents to recycle properly, many rural communities lack the resources or infrastructure necessary to do this. Contamination from improper recycling is likely to continue to burden the region’s collection systems until education addressing contamination is brought out on a larger scale.
Industrial & Hazardous Waste
The industrial Midwest, which encompasses states such as Indiana, Ohio and Michigan is full of manufacturing plants, chemical processing operations and the automotive industry. The process generates a lot of hazardous waste and this must be properly managed to not pose environmental or human health hazards.
When it comes to hazardous waste, it is often stored or treated in facilities that manage these types of materials. But illegal dumping and hazardous waste disposal continue to be a problem. In one example, toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), that were once extensively used in manufacturing are causing long-term environmental damage associated with their improper disposal. The long term effects of this industrial pollution have had regional consequences, as shown in the case of PCB contamination on the Fox River in Wisconsin.
E-waste, or electronic waste shopping an additional quick one on how we manage e-waste in the Midwest. Moreover, with the advancement of tech industries and people buying endless amounts of computer games, televisions and smartphones—they all suddenly becomes outdated—e-waste in India is a growing concern thanks to toxic substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium added during their production.
The reality is that a majority of Midwestern states do not have complete e-waste recycling programs, and the result is that a significant portion of this waste winds up in landfills or sent overseas. To answer some of this issue, the state have implemented e-waste recycling law that hold manufacturers accountable for their products end-of-life disposal – as it is already being placed in practice helpfully by states like Illinois and Michigan.
Agricultural Waste
And while the Midwest enjoys some of the lowest unemployment numbers in the country, agriculture looms large with its presence on economies such as Iowa, Nebraska and Indiana. Yet, agriculture is also a major source of the region’s waste management problems, notably in terms of organic waste and nutrient pollution.
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) — large-scale livestock production facilities that can produce tens of thousands of tons of manure annually — have become a major source of emerging contaminants if not properly managed. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus levels from manure runoff have caused nutrient pollution in Midwestern waterways, particularly in the Mississippi River Basin where it has resulted in algal blooms and hypoxia (dead zones) in the Gulf of Mexico.
So says the resilience to disequilibriation cohort that has to deal with inputs including large quantities of crop residue — corn stalks, soybean pods and husks and leaves — from Midwest agriculture, as well as manure. Most farmers here are practicing no-till farming aimed at dispensing with plowing and thus soil erosion as well, they claim it helps improve their soils. Despite this, controversy rages over the most effective methods for controlling agricultural waste to protect the environment while also satisfying industry needs.
Looking at the future and sustainable operations
While challenges in waste management afflicting the Midwest are abundant, there are also glimmers of advancement. Chicago, for example is investing in waste-to-energy technology that breaks down the trash converting them into heat and electricity therefore obviating the need for dumps. There are developing efforts in Iowa and Minnesota to promote composting organic waste or using anaerobic digestion, — another form of breaking down organic matter — to deal with waste from agriculture and food, which is a big green house gas emitter.
To sum up, Midwest waste management is a complex process that demands a state-local-industry-community system approach. While the area still struggles with significant issues regarding land filling, recycling; hazardous waste and farm run off there is room for innovation and improvement. Investing in recycling infrastructure and sustainable agricultural practices, as well as tackling the environmental consequences of industrial waste will allow the Midwest to edge closer towards a future of more sustainable waste management.