Meet McMurdo: Extreme Recycling [Waste Management Center]
Meet McMurdo: Extreme Recycling
At home in Memphis, I have two bins for my waste – one for trash and one for recycling.
Every Tuesday, our trash gets picked up, and to be honest, after that, I don’t give it a second thought. Here in McMurdo, it’s a completely different story! There are as many as 12 recycling bins!
Twelve bins! That is some extreme recycling!
Look at all the bins! We recycle almost everything down here!
The life of our trash
While it wasn’t always this way, since the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959, each nation that conducts science research here takes serious measures to keep the environment clean and reduce our footprint here.
In fact, we humans can’t leave anything behind in Antarctica! So, if there are no landfills or trash dumps, where does all this garbage go? Let’s take a trip to the Waste Management Center to find out.
Waste Management Center also called the ‘Waste Barn’ this is where all the trash ends up. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
The process
The recycling process starts with these 12 bins. Well actually, it starts with each of us. Every person living in McMurdo is expected to sort their trash appropriately. It’s so important; we even get training on it during our orientation! It’s because of these bins and our sorting that the Waste Management Center can recycle about 65-68% of all waste in Antarctica! And they are always looking for ways to get those numbers even higher!
Once the bins are full, they go into large dumpsters. As you might expect, each bin goes into a separate dumpster. When the dumpsters are full, the Waste Management Center workers pick them up using forklifts and carry them to the Waste Management Center (or the ‘Waste Barn,’ as it’s generally called). I really wanted to have a go at driving the forklift, but it’s for professional use only!
Waste bin row - all waste goes into these larger bins. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
Forklift picking up a dumpster bins. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
Getting sorted
Apparently, even with the 12 bins and very specific instructions, we McMurdo residents don’t always get it right! So, the ‘wasties’ (waste management workers) have to sort the trash a second time. Wow!
I’m definitely going to be more careful sorting my trash from now on, because this is a big job! The ‘wasties’ dump all of the trash out onto the floor and carefully sort each piece of trash into different categories.
Trash being dumped and ready to sort. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
Once everything is sorted, it gets put into its own box. These boxes are huge! The ‘wasties’ ship these boxes back to the U.S. to be recycled or put into landfills there. As I said before, nothing gets left behind!
Packing the container boxes to be shipped back to U.S. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
Mash it up!
A lot of the waste gets mashed up! I bet you can guess why – so that it takes up less space and is easier to ship. There are two balers for all of the plastic. Some plastics get recycled; some go into landfills. If you look on the bottom of a plastic container, you will notice a number on it. Numbers 1 and 2 plastics get recycled. Numbers 3 through 7 plastics will get thrown away or sometimes sold.
Plastics ready for recycling. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
All of the cardboard goes into a large baler, which they call the ‘Green Elephant.’ This machine compacts the cardboard and ties it into large bales. The Green Elephant is a hard worker – it’s been compacting cardboard for over 22 years!
Oscar keeping at eye on the Green Elephant. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
After the Green Elephant does its job. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
Aluminum cans get fed into a big machine. And, of course, it has a name as well – it’s the ‘Alumasaurus!’ All of the cans get sorted, and then they are placed onto a large conveyer belt that feeds them into the Alumasaurus, where they get mashed into big squares. Sorting the cans seems to be the ‘wasties’ least favorite job. There is always a little bit of liquid left in the cans, and it gets all over the ‘wasties!’ I always thought I was drinking every drop of my pop, but apparently not!
Alumasaurus is preparing to smash these cans. Photo credit: Julie Katch.
Shipping garbage home
It’s bon voyage to the boxes! All of them get shipped out of Antarctica and back to the U.S. Once a year, a large ship comes to McMurdo, bringing all of the food and supplies needed to keep the base running. It drops off the supplies and picks up the waste boxes. The journey back to the U.S. takes about three weeks; from there it will be properly recycled or put into landfills.
Shipping garbage home
But wait! Not everything in those 12 bins is shipped back to the U.S.
Did you notice in the picture of the bins that one was labeled ‘Skua?’ Skuas are birds that live here in Antarctica. They are scavengers, eating all sorts of things that other animals, including humans, leave behind. Before we leave McMurdo, any leftover shampoo, candy bars that didn’t get eaten, socks that are too heavy for life in the States, or anything that won’t fit in our bags get recycled into the Skua bin. This stuff gets taken to the Skua Central, where we can go if we need something or run out of something. There isn’t a Walgreen’s in McMurdo, and that’s OK, because the Skua Central is much cheaper! It’s all free! This is another way that we reduce the amount of stuff that would normally go to waste.
Grad students having fun with our Skua store find… Bop it! Photo credit: Alex Eilers.
Fun in the Waste Barn!
Hanging out with the ‘wasties’ is so much fun! Not only do they give everything a funny name, but they also put on shows during the holidays, like Halloween and Christmas. These guys make some pretty crazy costumes out of this ‘trash.’ Check out Oscar the Grouch! The ‘wasties’ consider Oscar their mascot. He was made completely from stuff sent to the waste management center!
Oscar stand watch over the Waste Barn. Photo credit: Alex Eilers.
I couldn’t believe what a big job it is to sort waste and recycling! It definitely made me think twice about how much I use on a day-to-day basis and how much stuff I absentmindedly throw away. What are some ways that you can reduce your waste at home? Tell me in the comments.
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