6.+Research


 * =What is a LANDFILL?=

A landfill, also known as a dump or rubbish dump (and historically as a midden), is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment. Historically, landfills have been the most common methods of organized waste disposal and remain so in many places around the world. Landfills may include internal waste disposal sites (where a producer of waste carries out their own waste disposal at the place of production) as well as sites used by many producers. Many landfills are also used for other waste management purposes, such as the temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or processing of waste material (sorting, treatment, or recycling). A landfill also may refer to ground that has been filled in with soil and rocks instead of waste materials, so that it can be used for a specific purpose, such as for building houses. Unless they are stabilized, these areas may experience severe shaking or liquefaction of the ground in a large earthquake.

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 * =Pollution in the ocean=



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Pollution in the ocean is a major problem that is affecting the ocean and the rest of the Earth, too. Pollution in the ocean directly affects ocean organisms and indirectly affects human health and resources. Oil spills, toxic wastes, and dumping of other harmful materials are all major sources of pollution in the ocean. People should learn more about these because if people know more about pollution in the ocean, then they will know more about how to stop pollution.======

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Oil pollution is very bad for the ocean and environment. Thirty seven million gallons of oil are accidentally spilled into the ocean every year by tankers. Even more oil gets into the ocean from non-accidental sources. Sixty million gallons of oil end up in the ocean every year. That’s a lot of oil! The oil “glues” birds’ feathers together, clogs fishes gills, and blocks out sunlight (making it harder for plants underwater to go through photosynthesis). Oil pollution also slows down coral reefs growing and their reproduction. Coral reefs are also very sensitive to oil, especially crude oil.======


 * =Plastic bags=

Because they are a waste problem that harms the environment:

 * Every year 4 million New Zealanders use 1 billion plastic shopping bags and 20 million Australians use approximately 5.6 billion.
 * A person's use of a plastic check-out bag can be counted in minutes - however long it takes to get from the shops to their homes. Plastic bags however, can take between 15 and 1000 years to break down in the environment.
 * In the marine environment plastic bag litter is lethal, killing at least 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles every year. After an animal is killed by plastic bags its body decomposes and the plastic is released back into the environment where it can kill again.
 * A Bryde's whale died on a Cairns beach after ingesting 6 square metres of plastic - including plastic bags. Such obstructions in animals can cause severe pain, distress and death.
 * On land, plastic bag litter can block drains and trap birds. They also kill livestock. One farmer near Mudgee NSW, carried out an autopsy on a dead calf and found 8 plastic bags in its stomach. The loss of this calf cost the farmer around $500.
 * Plastic bags are not free to consumers - they are actually adding an estimated NZ$25 million and A$173 million a year to New Zealand and Australia's grocery bills.
 * The amount of petroleum used to make one plastic bag would drive a car about 115 metres. The 6.9 billion plastic check-out bags we use every year is enough to drive a car 800 million kilometres or nearly 20,000 times around the world.
 * At least 16 million plastic bags end up as litter on our beaches, streets and parks. New Zealand local and State Governments spend $$ millions a year picking up litter.
 * Not all litter is deliberate. 47% of wind borne litter escaping from landfills is plastic - much of this is plastic bags.
 * Over 40,000 plastic check-out bags are dumped in landfills every hour in New Zealand and 200,000 are being dumped in Australia
 * Only 5% of Australia's plastic bags are currently being recycled, despite recycling facilities being available at major supermarkets.
 * In many council areas, plastic bags are the single main contaminant of kerbside recycling.
 * Plastic bags are a by-product of the oil industry. 5 billion HDPE plastic bags are __ imported __ into New Zealand and Australia every year.
 * Since March 2002, Ireland has reduced its plastic check-out bag usage by 90% and in April 2003 Coles Bay in Tasmania successfully banned plastic check-out bags in all their retail stores. In the first twelve months, Coles Bay stopped the use of 350,000 plastic check-out bags.
 * In Australia, over 10 million reusable bags have now been sold by Coles, Woolworths and Safeway stores. At only $1 each, they're a cheap way to save Australia's wildlife!

SOME LINKS:

__@http://www.reusablebags.com/news.php?action=details&id=193__

__@http://www.litter.vic.gov.au/www/html/323-why-plastic-bags-are-a-problem.asp__

__@http://fallscreek.com.au/environment/plasticbags.asp__

[|http://plasticshoppingbagfree.org.nz/]

__@http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/news/mr171003.htm__