Waste is a fact of life, one that is unavoidable if organisms are to live. By viewing the city as a living organism, one can observe that the removal of such waste is as big of a problem as producing it. With population rising at a geometrical rate, effective garbage disposal practices are increasingly becoming desirable (Pellow). One of the key predictors of the future is the past; a look into Chicago’s history with garbage reveals more than one thinks. After the 1830s, Chicago became a “boomtown” that thrived with industrialization. This increased level of economic growth led Chicago’s population to rise as well. With an increased level of people, consumption rose along with resource depletion. Currently, Chicago has more landfills than any other city in the United States (Pellow). Landfills can create substantial health risks for they pollute the air. Furthermore, chromium pollution can result from the landfill contamination in lakes as well. What is the result of such growth? The answer is the decrease of our environmental living standards. If cities can redirect the gains from economic growth into research and development programs for garbage removal, more effective ways of achieving sustainability may be realized. It is only through sustainable development that future generations can meet their needs as well as we can today (Global Environmental History).
The following photo is the consumption process of the product that was held underneath the wrapper.
A wrap in a wrap
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