According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces about 4.4 pounds (2 kg) of trash per day, or a total of 29 pounds (13 kg) per week and 1,600 pounds (726 kg) per year. This only takes into account the average family member and does not count industrial waste or commercial waste. If this sounds like a staggering number, you would be surprised to know that Americans are not the number one producers of trash in the world. In Mexico, the average family produces 30% more trash than in America.
Although the numbers may be difficult to comprehend, consider this: with the trash produced just in America, you could form a line of garbage trucks full and reach the moon. Or cover the state of Texas two and a half times. Or bury over 990,000 soccer fields under piles of waste 1.8 meters high. According to WM Recycle America, LLC, Americans alone throw away enough aluminum to duplicate the entire commercial airline fleet of the United States.
So how is so much trash produced? Most of the stuff that fills landfills is packaging, especially in the form of fast food containers, but office paper, disposable diapers, styrofoam inserts, and plastic bags also contribute a significant percentage to the country’s total waste production. In fact, paper waste accounts for about 35 percent of the total material that fills landfills. Considering that most of this paper could be recycled, much of the waste problem is easily avoidable.
Recycling is an important part of the solution to the waste problem. Newspapers, aluminum containers, and some plastics can be recycled to be reused in a different form, thus saving space in landfills. Another way to solve the waste problem is to reduce the amount of waste produced. This can be done by buying less, buying things in smaller packages, and simply reusing what you have. You can also buy used, which means you do not produce additional waste because you do not have to discard more packaging. Donating things you no longer want also helps. Rather than going to landfill, second-hand clothes, electronic equipment, and even furniture can be passed on to others to extend their useful life.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
