Wall of Trash

            Junk is pouring into our landfills at a frighteningly quick pace. Land developers, waste managers, and government officials are left to look for alternate ways to dispose of refuse. However, one option to reuse the garbage is being used with success in Guatemala. According to the article “New Life For Old Garbage” in the November 2012 issue of Utne, one town that lacks organized waste removal is using plastic bottles filled with non-recyclable waste to serve as a structure for walls. The bottles are decompressed and stuffed into chicken wire frames to serve as the skeleton for village walls. The walls are then filled out with adobe and painted for a surprisingly sturdy structure. The refuse walls created a clean village.

            I feel the refuse walls should serve as an example of not only something we could be doing in America as an alternate way to dispose of waste, but also as creative motivation to come up with our own ideas on how to deal with waste management. As time goes on we will need to utilize more thoughtful ways to dispose of non-recyclable products, and we need to look to options used in other locations to get ideas on how to better handle the trash situation here.