Tackle Trash

Consumption of resources directly impacts the amount of waste generated. In the United States, we discard about 4.3 pounds of trash per day for every man, woman and child. If you add construction debris and sludge from sewage-treatment plants, the amount increases to 6 pounds of waste per person per day. This amount is over 200 million tons of garbage each year...enough to fill a fleet of garbage trucks encircling the earth six times!

Waste from the various streams is classified as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).

"Away" is Usually a Landfill

While a few cities use incineration to dispose of waste, most of what is thrown away ends up in a landfill. Landfills are expensive to build and operate. Although regulations require strict standards for new landfills to protect groundwater and wildlife, evidence indicates that many landfills are not effective in preventing ground and water contamination.

Landfills have both clay and plastic liners to help prevent groundwater contamination. Rainwater that passes through the layers of dirt and garbage and comes to rest above the clay and plastic liners is funneled into pipes and pumped to the surface. This water is identified as leachate and must be treated and tested before it is released into the environment. If it is not trapped, pumped and collected, it can contaminate groundwater. Another safety feature of a modern landfill is the insertion of pipes that allow the escape of explosive methane gas and carbon dioxide that occurs when organic waste decomposes in the landfill. In some landfills the methane gas is collected and recovered for use.

Each day, as waste is delivered to a landfill, it is spread out and compacted by bulldozers. At the end of the day, the waste is covered with dirt. Covering it with dirt helps keep odors in check and discourages small animals from foraging in the landfill. The resulting layers of dirt and waste may rise above the normal level of the land by 50-100 feet, significantly altering the environment throughout the area.

Individual Decisions are Important Steps in Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling

Personal choices and the decisions that are made by each person can have a significant impact on resource consumption, waste generation, and the environment.
Consumers can:

practice precycling by reducing the amount of waste at the source (This includes buying items that can be reused or have minimal packaging. Almost $1.00 of every $10.00 spent for food and beverages in America pays for packaging. Packaging contributes about 30% of the weight and 50% of the volume of household waste.);

reuse products as much as possible ;

close the recycling loop by buying goods made from or packaged in recycled products; and

help establish and maintain a community recycling program and encourage participation.

Economics Drives Decision-Making

There are important issues to consider in waste management, and economics is one of the most significant. Recycling and composting programs are costly, and sometimes communities spend much more for recovery programs than they would if they sent everything to the local landfill. At present, many municipal recycling and composting programs are so expensive to operate some communities are choosing either to close their existing programs or not to establish new recycling programs.

Locating businesses within a particular region that will accept recyclables can also be challenging. In some cases, items that were designated to be recycled have been placed in landfills because no markets exist for their use. To remedy this problem, consumers should support recycling by buying products made from recycled materials. When the demand grows, the market will expand and businesses will be able to offer their goods at more competitive prices. So, by closing the loop and purchasing new products made from recycled materials, recycling will become more economically advantageous and help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.