Source: Wikipedia ; CC license
This question “why we don’t launch our rubbish into space?” has been asked countless times over the past few years because of two reasons. First, the advance of technology and travel into space has become a realistic possibility and transporting trash into space has become a popular idea. This leads to the second reason, which is the ever growing problem with rubbish and how to deal with it.
At first, launching rubbish into space seems like a cool idea. But when you start thinking about it in more details, it turns out unrealistic. Just consider the following reasons:
Excessive Energy Consumption
You will need vast amounts of energy in the form of fuel in order to lift the trash out of the gravitational field of the Earth. This on its own, requires a lot more energy than you will need to both produce the same amount of rubbish or recycle, reuse or even incinerate it. This will be mentioned a few times, but if we ever develop a cheaper and more economic way of traveling to space, we will most definitely find a way to deal with trash on Earth.
The Sun is Harder to Reach Than You Thought
Source: Wikipedia ; Public Domain License
Let’s say we pass the launching phase. Where will all that space debris go? We probably will throw out industrial amounts into space, where do we point it to? The most popular answer is – the sun. Again, at first it looks like a good idea, the sun will take care of anything and everything we throw at it by burning it. However, in order to reach the sun and leave the gravitational pull of the Earth, the shuttle that transports all the rubbish will need even more fuel. And by more I mean a lot more. Imagine how much money, human resources and resources will be needed to transport a bus-sized rubbish can towards the sun.
Sidenote: Even Elon Musk (founder of SpaceX), who seems to be the person who will open the road towards space travel, does not plan to transport rubbish in space. He’d probably focus on transporting high-tech equipment and materials, don’t you think?
Interstellar Road Bumps
Let’s say we’ve found a way to launch vast amounts of rubbish into space, and even if most of it manages to reach the Sun and burns, there will be some that travels into open space. What happens when we decide to travel to other planets or even systems? The junk scattered into space will be like leaving garbage cans all over our highways, doesn’t seem like the best idea yet again.
Throwing Out The Planet Itself
Let’s forget about the issue of dealing with interstellar rubbish and think of another problem that space junk has. It takes precious materials and molecules that we can’t create out of thin air. Think about it, no matter what type of waste there is, there is or will be a way to use it or deal with it efficiently in the future. What if we find a great way to use nuclear waste as fuel? Would we rather ‘store’ it into space where we can’t get it back, or will we wait for the advance of technology and use it as energy source? On the other hand, what will happen if a space rocket malfunctions a minute after launch and all that nuclear or other toxic and hazardous waste gets spilled over a vast area of land? Leave this possible scenario to your imagination.
What About the Economy?
If you still don’t see why launching rubbish into space is a bad idea, think of how that will impact economies and societies around the world. All the jobs created by recycling companies, the building of recycling and reusing factories, the transportation and separation process, all of this opens jobs and food on the table for countless families.
Now, if you are daydreaming of transforming all the rubbish out there into pure, green energy, then you might be onto something and 247 Waste Removal will undoubtedly help you with that.
