LibGuides: Environmental Sustainability: Getting Started

Getting Started

Not sure what to write about? Begin by trying these websites on waste and recycling in NY.

New York City Dept of Sanitation: Bureau of Waste Pervention, Reuse & Recycling
Current information on the City's laws for residents, businesses and beyond
New York Times: NY State Cracks Down on eWaste
June 2010 NY Times article compares the NY State Law to the one passed in 2008 by New York City
New York State E-waste Recycling Information
Courtesy of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, this site describes eWaste as "electronic waste, such as computers, computer peripherals, televisions, small scale servers, and small electronic equipment, etc., in an environmentally responsible manner."

Recycling: Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products. Recycling can benefit your community, the economy, and the environment. Products should only be recycled if they cannot be reduced or reused. (Courtesy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Get the defintion here.)

eWaste: E-waste - also known as Electronic Waste - broadly covers waste from all electronic and electrical appliances and is comprised of items such as computers, mobile phones, digital music recorders/players, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions (TVs) and many other household consumer items. (excerpt of an article from the National Institute of Health; get the full article).

Sustainability: A concept that is used to describe community and economic development in terms of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. (A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford Reference Online).

Corporate Social Responsibility: Referred to in business as CSR, it is an attitude adopted by companies intending to ensure a positive social, environmental, and economic impact on the communities within which they operate (The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather guide, CREDO Reference).

Landfill: A system of trash and garbage disposal in which the waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low-lying land —called also sanitary landfill (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

Composting: a biological process in which the organic portion of refuse is allowed to decompose under carefully controlled conditions. Microbes metabolize the organic waste material and reduce its volume by as much as 50 percent. The stabilized product is called compost or humus. It resembles potting soil in texture and odour and may be used as a soil conditioner or mulch. Composting offers a method of processing and recycling both garbage and sewage sludge in one operation. As more stringent environmental rules and siting constraints limit the use of solid-waste incineration and landfill options, the application of composting is likely to increase. The steps involved in the process include sorting and separating, size reduction, and digestion of the refuse. (Encyclopedia Britannica Academic Edition)