Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 11/28/2011 - 14:17
Forums
Human Impacts in Antarctica 2011

Dear Michelle,

I have been reading your journals and had a question about garbage. How does the McMurdo Station and other outposts in Antartica deal with the issue of trash? For example, do you eat on "real" plates? Is the silverware actually metal and reusable? How is the station recycling? What happens to waste there?

Thanks!

Sharon

Tue, 11/29/2011 - 01:15

Michelle Brown

Dear Sharon,Thank you for your question! McMurdo station is especially skilled in
managing trash. There is a complicated system of recycling here where
all items are separated and then reused or recycled if possible. Those
items that cannot be recycled are shipped back to the U.S. to be dumped
somewhere. Since all trash has to be shipped off the continent, we work
hard at McMurdo to conserve and recycle whenever possible.
We also have a water treatment center here. I'm hoping to visit it and
post more about this process on my journal. In the past, sewage and
grey water was poured into the sea, but now it is cleaned and reused at
McMurdo. Other stations, like the South Pole, do not have such
facilities yet.
Great question!
Sincerely,
Michelle