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On this snowing Saturday, we all went to the Andover waste transfer station near Proctor Academy, holding all our trash bags to find out where and how our waste gets disposed of. At the transfer station, Alan and Sarah walked us through all the spots where each category of waste belongs and instructed us to dispose of our trash in those bins accordingly.
The first building we see as soon as we walk in is this brown building. This is where people dispose of their trash, and trash only. This is what it looks like close-up. You can see plastic bins, trash bags, and other different things.
Sometimes, the trash disposal machine will push and compact all trash into these iron box things.
This is where we dispose of any glass material. There is plenty of glass bottles in the truck.
This is where we dispose of all processed wood furniture with pain and other things that need to be treated differently than just burning it because there can be chemical on the wood that is toxic when burned.
This pile of wood is just pure wood that does not have anything on it, so that this pile can be burned down.
This is where we put our recyclable aluminum can or rapper. (Credit to Winifred Walker)
This is where we throw our paper.
There are many more different trucks or bins to throw different trash into. When the bin is full, the station usually sells it to a company or pays a company to get rid of it. Like the can, they can collect it and then sell it. They also run an exchange shop occasionally so that people can get things free from the shop.
Other wastes like E-waste and garden waste are charged in order to trash it. Here is the menu. Enjoy.
One thing that I realized is that they don't separate plastic bottles out and recycle them. They belong to the trash and will just be thrown away. One of the staff members, Jeff, explained to us " Plastic is the one thing that we do not recycle here because of hygiene issues. In order to recycle the plastic, you must compact it first, but sometimes it will explode, and the liquid inside the bottle will splash everywhere, which is very gross. Also, there ain't a plastic market, so it is not worth it, money wise and hygiene wise, to recycle it."
Disadvantages of Andover Transfer Station:
Disadvantages of Andover Transfer Station:
Social: Not in my backyard. Most people would not want this service near their homes because of the odor, noise, and potential health problems.
Economical - The amount of money spent and earned from the transfer station does not equal out, so the cost to hire people and a company to take away trash could be a potential problem.
Environmental - If not closely mounted, people can put some processed wood/ furniture into the burning pile, causing some toxic, harmful products to be released into the air when not supposed to
Advantages of Andover Transfer Station:
Advantages of Andover Transfer Station:
Social: It can save the community money on waste management services, which are very convenient for people. Instead of worrying about dealing with the trash alone, they can dump all kinds of waste in one place. Which also helps to manage different waste such as E-wast and recycled products.
Economical: Saves money for people. And can make some money out of the trash the people throw away.
Environmental: It can lower the possible chances of more contamination in ecosystems.
Difference Between ATS and Procter:
Difference Between ATS and Procter:
One main difference between the Andover transfer station and Proctor is that at Proctor, we have the money and people to recycle plastic. So that is one significant difference between us and the town. Another is that Proctor pays a different company to take care of our trash. We don't have a trash compactor at Proctor. Another company will take care of it. Lastly, Andover Transfer Station service the whole town, and Proctor is mainly just for the school.
(All photo created by Zack Cong unless otherwise stated)
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