User:Ahandley/sandbox

Article Evaluation
Evaluating Content: The entire article is very relevant to the topic of green waste. Nothing in the article is distracting the reader from this topic, because there is hardly any information presented by the page at all. There could be more information added concerning the collection of green waste and production of biofuel from the decomposition of green waste in light of modern-day technologies. It might also be helpful to include information about how "green waste" differs from brown waste and the unique impacts that its dumping and decomposition have on the environment. The article presents hardly any scientific information (it really just gives definitions for what green waste is and briefly discusses what can be done with green waste after it is collected), though it does not include any jargon. The article includes links to related topics, such as biomass and biofuels, and provides links with definitions throughout its length.

Evaluating Tone: The article is very brief but it seems a bit confusing when it states that green waste is "supposed to be biodegradable," causing the reader to question whether or not it actually is biodegradable or not. The article also presents a very biased view regarding greenhouse gases produced by the combustion of carbon substances, referring to them as "harmful gases." It fails to mention that not all greenhouse gases are bad, and that the decomposition of green waste itself will produce greenhouse gases naturally. The article is very brief though, and does not provide a biased opinion of green waste itself, or any perspective on its environmental impacts whatsoever.

Evaluating Sources: This article does not provide any references or citations for the information presented in the article. The definitions presented within the article are, therefore, unsupported by any references, which makes the information in the article and its credibility questionable to the reader.

Evaluating Talk Page: There are no ongoing conversations on the article's talk page. One person has edited this page to remove the mention of Japanese knotweed for being too specific, but otherwise nothing is happening behind the scenes of this article. This article is rated as stub-class, meaning that it provides a very basic explanation of the topic, but overall is of very poor quality and does not provide convincing references or information. It has been included in the WikiProject Environment, which is an effort to increase Wikipedia's basin of information about the environment, relevant issues, and ongoing developments.

Article Draft
Introductory Sentence: Green waste, also known as "biological waste," is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not include things such dried leaves, pine straw, or hay. Such materials are rich in carbon and considered "brown wastes," while green wastes contain high in concentrations of nitrogen. Green waste can be used to increase the efficiency of many composting operations and can be added to soil to sustain local nutrient cycling.

Uses
Green waste can be used to improve the quality and sustainability of industrially manufactured topsoils and the sanitariness and efficiency of sewage disposal.

Manufactured Topsoils
Green waste is an integral part of many manufactured topsoils, as it provides both nutrients for growing plants and increases the volume of manufactured topsoils. Its woody components do not decompose quickly, so they provide the bulk that is necessary for supplementary topsoils. Mixing industrial wastes such as fly ash or coal dust with green waste to create artificial topsoil not only facilitates the repurposing of industrial debris and keeps it out of landfills, but it also allows the nutrients in green waste materials to be cycled back into the environment. By utilizing fly ash in conjunction with green waste, manufactured soils are able to increase their water holding capacity while simultaneously recycling refuse materials that might otherwise take up space in a landfill. This allows fly ash and green waste to increase local soil nutrient levels and promotes natural nutrient cycling processes.

Sewage Disposal
Green waste can also be mixed with sewage wastes and composted, providing a safe, environmentally sustainable option for sewage disposal. Co-composting green and sewage wastes eliminates the risk that pathogens and pollutants contained in sewage wastes might pose to the environment. Utilization of green waste to dispose of sewage wastes not only decreases the amount of sewage incinerated and dumped each year, it also facilitates the cycling of organic wastes back into the environment. The co-composted remains of these organic wastes can be safely employed for use in agriculture. This process decreases the amount of trash being dumped into landfills and other trash repositories and allows for the complete cycling of organic nutrients through the environment.