animation by Kaltrina Berisha

Good question: Why don't we eliminate waste by throwing it into the volcanoes?

#hahaha, our experts thought too, but it didn't work!!!

Why?

1. First, to do that ⬆️ we need to find an active Volcano. Around the world, there are about 1,500 active Volcanoes, however, transporting waste to these places is not feasible either economically or environmentally. It’s expensive & polluting ... it's just not worth it!

Hmm, someone might insist on trying again. Let's assume that Point no.1 is not valid.

• Then, to discard waste into a Volcano we’d need to find the so-called Hawaiian Volcano - the quiet type. These beasts are characterized by slow burning and low-speed lava.

However, in nature, we usually encounter Vesuvius-type volcanoes; aggressive - exploding vigorously and releasing lava at high speed. #Pompei

#Oh someone might still insist on continuing .. Ok!

• Let’s assume a scenario in which the costs of transporting waste are feasible and that we have quiet type Volcanoes everywhere around the world.

We climb the trash on top of the Volcano and we are ready to throw it! #cough #cough #cough

Not at all a pleasant environment to be near the crater: poisonous gases, small explosions and a spray of lava are being released. If this had been possible, anyone who had to do the job of dumping garbage into the Volcano: would have HATED it and they would have been constantly in life danger!!! #alarm

Yes, but since we have already come to this point, let's try to throw the trash anyway! #KABOOM

#Consequences:

1) Since the temperature of the waste in normal conditions is thousands of times lower than that of the lava, the first contact between these two extremes would create great turmoil and bursts of strong volcanic eruptions.

2) As Newton put it, "everything transforms, nothing is lost." - therefore most of the waste would be transformed into poisonous gasses causing massive air pollution.

3) Not all the materials we classify as waste can be melted from the high temperatures of the lava. #imagine

Therefore, the remaining waste could still be transported by the lava and pollute the surrounding areas. #pollutionanyways

4) Volcanoes cannot destroy nuclear and medical waste. The high temperatures of lava are still not enough to sterilise medical waste, so if we dump them, we would face constant pollution and contamination with various diseases !!!

Not a good idea, all convinced! So what should we do now?!?

© dyvolab