We are a wasteful lot on planet Earth. We do not mean to be, but this is an inherent and unavoidable feature of human society. The processes of living, eating, working, playing, and dying all utilize consumer products whose production and use generate wastes. Every candy bar has a wrapper; every apple has a core. It is almost impossible to think of a process that does not create some waste. There is sawdust from cutting lumber, metal shavings from drilling and soldering circuit boards, sludges from chemical processes, leftover food from restaurants, waste paper by the ton from environmental hearings and other legal proceedings, dirty diapers, and other household garbage. Societal wastes range from the refuse produced by every family to highly toxic industrial wastes from the production of specialized goods such as electronics, computers, cars, petrochemicals, and plastics. Virtually every aspect of our daily lives generates waste. Waste cannot be avoided. But what happens to all this waste? Some of it is recycled. During the past ten years there has been a growing realization that our globe is finite in its resources, and that the environment is under considerable stress and is being quietly but relentlessly despoiled. In response, streetside “blue box” and other recycling programs have sprouted. Approximately 20% of municipal waste in North America is currently being recycled: metal cans are going back to smelters, paper back to pulp mills, and glass and plastic to factories to be turned into new products. Recycling programs are still expanding, and it is anticipated that in the future as much as 50%, and perhaps even more, of all household and commercial waste will be recycled. Some of the waste is incinerated. When this is accompanied by generation of electricity or useful steam or heat, it can be viewed as a form of recycling—the conversion of waste to energy, a very useful product. It also helps preserve precious nonrenewable resources such as gas, oil, and coal. Many people, however, are concerned about the emissions that are released into the air and the ash that is produced. About 18% of municipal solid waste in the United States is currently being incinerated, with about 75% of the incinerators generating energy (EPA, 1994).
Hepatotoxicity Comparison of Crude and Licorice-Processed Euodiae Fructus in Rats With Stomach Excess-Cold Syndrome