*** New Orleans: The Trash Monster

The NYTimes has a great article about just how bad the "debris" situation in New Orleans has become. Did you know:

• There is a total of around 22 million tons of waste, according to state officials.
• The trash has rotted in the heat since the hurricane. The smell is awful.
• In all, there is more trash than any American city produces in a year.
• It will take over 3 million truck trips to haul it all away.

And, as the Times points out,

This is not even counting the cars that have been abandoned on sidewalks, or the boats stranded on the streets. It is not counting the more than 1 million refrigerators, stoves and washing machines on curbs all over the area. This is not counting any of the hundreds of homes that will inevitably be demolished.

The real problem may be that they cannot decide on how to deal with the trade off of doing it quickly versus doing it well and safely. This may well create an environmental catastrophe.
- posted by David @ 7:18 PM