Waste disposal–expectations and realities

Extract

Garbage is on everyones' minds at the moment and no more so than in the Antarctic. Thirty years ago it was publicly, legally and scientifically acceptable to burn plastics, to leave rubbish to fall through the ice and to dump hazardous waste into the sea outside the Treaty area. This is no longer the case and the recent turn round in policy poses a number of problems, especially for those countries with long-established stations.