Texas flood......where does all the trash go now?

[CathyA]

Can you imagine all the trash that this flood will regenerate? Hopefully, much of the cars can be recycled...if only as metal.
Hopefully, the millions of plastic bottles of water will be recycled. But where does all the other trash go??........machines, wood, carpet, insulation, on and on and on and on...........

[Greg44]

Can you imagine all the trash that this flood will regenerate? Hopefully, much of the cars can be recycled...if only as metal.
Hopefully, the millions of plastic bottles of water will be recycled. But where does all the other trash go??........machines, wood, carpet, insulation, on and on and on and on...........

Funny I thought the same thing! I remember after Katrina - it seemed like acres and acres of refrigerators with rotting food. All the molding household items. :(

[Gardnr]

My friend in Houston has so far spent 2d working in her flooded-now water out, home. This is the list of what is already at the curb and she is not finished.

I have had a massive fling-but not by choice due to Harvey, Curbside- 2 couches, 2 ottomans, 1 desk, file cabinets, over 35 outside trash bags of household item

Holy Toledo! Her home is a modest 1300 feet if I had to guess? And she lives on precious little money each year so tossing all this means it was in super bad condition.

[Chicken lady]

I doubt the water bottles will be recycled.

when people are in crisis, concern for the environment is one of the first things set aside. There is just too much and it is just too overwhelming. Most likely everything will be trucked to landfills somewhere.

[Selah]

I was horrified to watch a news report yesterday in which a reporter with some lab techs in a boat collected several samples of flood water from Houston streets. They came back positively riddled with E. Coli and chemical contaminants---seriously, THOUSANDS of times above the EPA's recommended safe levels.

I wonder if the companies who do the recycling can deal with items that have been soaked in such contaminated water? And what does it mean for the environment if this massive amount of debris enters the landfills all at once? Not to mention the health impact on anyone and everyone who had to wade through that crap even once, not to mention for days on end, in the case of first responders with some form of protection, and just neighbors helping neighbors. Shudder!

[JaneV2.0]

The Houston area is apparently an unregulated (and undisclosed) stew of toxic chemicals, which Harvey further released on the unwitting public. That would be the pollution I'd worry about first.

[SteveinMN]

I wonder if the companies who do the recycling can deal with items that have been soaked in such contaminated water?
A lot of recycling -- metal and plastic for sure -- involves melting the recovered product for use in new products, which would take care of the bacterial issues. I imagine it would be possible to bleach fabric fibers for re-use, which would help clean up upholstered items and some floor coverings. But I have no idea what could happen beyond a landfill for thousands of board feet of wet moldy drywall and laminate flooring and thousands of cubic feet of sewage-damaged toys, mixed-plastic objects, disposables, etc.

And all of that assumes that a market exists at a competitive price for the recycled raw material or no one will go to the trouble of recycling it.

Harvey's effects will ripple through our economy for some time to come, in some surprising places, I think.

[flowerseverywhere]

Anyone see pictures of Fire Ant rafts? The miserable creatures intertwine their legs and make a raft to survive. I would not want to run into one of those. Their bites hurt for days. I really hate them and don't venture off a sidewalk without socks and shoes, never in sandals.

Plus snakes and alligators are swimming around. And who knows what else. All the cars that were swamped I am sure leaked all kinds of fluids. Plus gas stations.

such an awful tragedy.

[SteveinMN]

Anyone see pictures of Fire Ant rafts? The miserable creatures intertwine their legs and make a raft to survive. I would not want to run into one of those. Their bites hurt for days. I really hate them and don't venture off a sidewalk without socks and shoes, never in sandals.

Plus snakes and alligators are swimming around. And who knows what else.
Reasons 67, 68, and 69 why I live by a cliff over the Mississippi River in a land with a frostline six feet deep. :)

[bicyclist]

I hope that the pictures from Houston make people think about the literal mountains of debris that will have to be processed. Everything we consume meets its end. Some of it much sooner than later. Let us try to consume less and be an example of an alternative. Bicyclist

[ToomuchStuff]

I hope that the pictures from Houston make people think about the literal mountains of debris that will have to be processed. Everything we consume meets its end. Some of it much sooner than later. Let us try to consume less and be an example of an alternative. Bicyclist

I wonder how many of them will look at what they are having to replace, and realize the damaged item, hasn't even been paid off yet. (while wondering how to pay and if they really need the next one)

[Gardnr]

My friend has approval AND a crew to clean up and repair her home. She has to be out tonight as the work starts tomorrow.

80 bags of trash at the curb. Drywall has been removed. All lower cabinets, wood floors from the entire home (I estimate her at 1400sf?) She had to sadly part with a box of photos on Saturday-colors running....this is what she is so so sad about! Her daughter just left for college. Today her washer/dryer will go to the curb. "23inches of water in the laundry room means they won't work anymore!".

She lives on little $ and these 80 bags of trash are not a ton of "stuff" but items of everyday life....parts of her home structure.

And the aforementioned 2 sofas, 2 ottomans, 6 occasional tables.....all ruined from floodwater.

[Teacher Terry]

That is so sad.