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Tending the Garden in Our Own Back Yard
By
Ted A. Thompson A decade ago, “Not in MY backyard!” (commonly referred to as the NIMBY Syndrome) was the usual response to almost any issue related to the management and disposal of solid waste. Few of us wanted to have anything to do with “garbage.” In fact, we comfortably embraced the illusion that once it was hauled away, waste simply disappeared. Gone for good. To where? Who cared, as long as it was “not in my back yard!” Unfortunately, we now have to face an uncomfortable reality (because “an inconvenient truth” is already taken.) We’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, that solid waste does not go away. Not by burning. Not by dumping. Not by covering it up, or looking the other way, or pretending it is someone else’s problem. Like it or not, solid waste – the byproducts of living our lives -- is our responsibility. Here is where it is created. And here, right here in our own back yard, is where responsibility for its proper management begins and ends. But it doesn’t have to be a problem. The Northwest Arkansas Economic Devleopment District sponsors an Environmental Writers Project designed to help us understand how to reduce environmental risk through responsible solid waste management practices, particularly at the household level. Periodic articles will include information about simple ways to cut down the waste stream entering the Nabors Landfill, thus prolonging the life of this essential resource. We’ll learn about Integrated Solid Waste Management and the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. We’ll get a vision of what the goals are, and we’ll begin learning how to achieve them. At the web site of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management District (www.nwaedd.org/waste) you can learn about many aspects of solid waste management, and access the District’s ten-year Solid Waste Management Plan, appropriately titled, “Tending the Garden in Our Own Back Yard.” Please pay a visit to the site, learn what you can, and pass the web address on to your family and friends.
The ideals are still a far reach. But progress is being made, as obstacles are overcome and goals are achieved. Philosophies are being changed, as old habits are abandoned and new traditions are established. And with each step forward, Northwest Arkansas gets closer to providing for the responsible, comprehensive management of our own solid waste – to properly tending the garden in our own back yard.
Submitted by the Environmental Writers Project of the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District. For more information, call 870.741.6536 or email blord@nwaedd.org. |
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