SOLID RESIDUES: ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Today's society has had to face one of the biggest environmental problems that have been
presented in recent decades. This problem is the management of solid waste. Solid waste is
defined as everything that has been classified as waste and has been discarded throughout
the useful life and generally has no economic value. Solid waste involves the waste
generated by people in their homes, jobs, residential, commercial or institutional spaces.
That is to say, waste of these characteristics is those that become the daily activity of
families, in the ordinary tasks of commercial establishments and companies.

Currently this problem is leaving devastating consequences such as: the contamination of
water by garbage that is thrown into rivers and pipes, the contamination of the soil by the
presence of polluting residues that alter the properties of soil fertility, air pollution by waste
abandoned solids in improvised garbage dumps in corners, streets or vacant lots that
deteriorate the quality of the air we breathe and One of the irremediable effects in which we
have contributed is the weakening of the ozone layer, which protects living beings from the
ultraviolet radiation of the sun's rays. In addition to the contamination of water, soil and air;
poor waste management has detrimental effects on public health, because infectious
diseases, respiratory diseases, and the proliferation of plagues that may transmit various
types of dengue or other diseases may be generated. Taking into account the
aforementioned, we ask ourselves: what possible solutions exist to counteract the problem
of solid waste?

First of all, people need to include containers in their homes and workplaces to classify the
waste according to whether they are organic and inorganic, which has positive advantages
such as increasing the useful life of landfills and it is scientifically proven that You can
improve the environmental quality.

Next, people must not throw the garbage in improvised garbage dumps, because if it is not
done, there is a possibility that they will acquire a respiratory disease. Neither must they
throw solid elements into rivers or pipes, instead, people must throw the garbage in special
garbage bags and then take them to the place where the garbage collector car passes.

Previously people could burn garbage in their homes, but it was concluded that this activity
was harmful to the environment and people. Therefore, nowadays you are abble to recycle
and reuse elements, avoiding contamination.

Finally some councils that are recommended for the care and preservation of the
environment is that people should buy biodegradable items, they should use returnable
containers, they should decrease the consumption of disposable products and should give
the maximum utility to things without the need to destroy them.
In conclusion, knowing the various consequences of bad management of solid waste, leads
us to think that it is an obligation of man to comply with the mechanisms and strategies to
reduce pollution so that all people can live comfortably and enjoy the planet land.