CEE 470

GROUP DISCUSSION

The Cost of The Toss

Adapted from Recycling Study Guide
by Hallowell et al., Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

PROCEDURE:

1. Imagine yourself as an environmental engineering who is also the mayor of Imaginary

Town. Yours is a pleasant city of 25,000 people. Unfortunately, Imagine Town is in the
centre of a crisis: your landfill must be closed as it doesn't comply with present
standards for protecting the environment. What is Imaginary Town going to do with all
its garbage?

As mayor, you are responsible for investigating new options for managing Imaginary
Town’s solid waste. You begin by forming a solid waste committee to study the options.
Who do you think should sit on this committee (town treasurer, public works director,
citizen representative, landfill developer, etc.)? Assign fellow classmates to play these
roles and decide on a name for your committee.

2. Next, call a meeting of the committee. Prepare a chart to help members see some
options and the impacts of managing garbage from Imaginary Town's homes and
businesses. Include for each disposal alternative factors such as the number of
employees needed, the landfill needs per year, the net cost per year, the amount of
energy used and/or produced, environmental concerns and the type of citizen
participation required. Study your chart and, as a group, consider the following
questions:

- At first glance, which waste disposal option seems best? Why? Do you all agree? Is
there one best option? (Reduce, recycle, compost, incinerate, or landfill?)

- What criteria and values are you using to judge options? Are you pro-business, pro-
taxpayer, pro-environment, and pro-convenience? Discuss how your personal point of
view might influence how you judge the importance of each potential impact.

- Would you feel differently if a facility were located near your home?

- How do the options relate to local laws and regulations?

- For how many years into the future are you planning? (Plan for a 10-year term, at
least). Why is this an important consideration (population growth, long-term economic
and environmental impacts, etc.)?

- How would transportation requirements affect your choices?

- Compare the pros and cons of citizen convenience and environmental impacts for each
option. Do you consider citizen convenience more important then environmental

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GROUP DISCUSSION

impacts or vice versa? Why? How does your view affect which option you think is
better?

- What is the relationship between net cost and citizen convenience? Is what's
convenient the least/most expensive? Should saving money be a major concern?

- Does your chart calculate in the "costs" of each option's long-term environmental
impacts or use of natural resources? What might these "costs" be? How much should the
committee be concerned about these "costs" in making a decision?

- If creating jobs is high on your list of priorities, which option would you choose?

-You have read somewhere about composting municipal solid waste. Where can you
find out more about composting? Why might your community consider composting as a
valid option for managing part of the waste stream? Which wastes could be composted?
About how much of the waste stream could be composted? What will you do with the
compost?

- What are the pros and cons of incineration? Do you think the benefits (landfill space
saved, energy produced, and convenience) outweigh the costs? How much ash will be
produced, and where will it go? How much energy will be generated? What are the
experiences of other communities that already have installed incinerators?

- What are the pros and cons of recycling? What wastes could be recycled? What
percentage of the waste stream could be recycled? What will happen to the rest? Where
will the recyclables go?

3. Do you feel you have enough information to make a wise decision for your town? If
not, where can you find this information?

4. List suggestions for what you can do to ensure the success of Imaginary Town’s new
waste management plan (e.g., community education, providing containers for
recycling).

CEE 470_Group Discussion_SEQ_Fall 2018