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The Disposal of Trash - Running Out of Landfill Space |
The Problem: The disposal of trash costs for Americans, for example, is more than $28 billion each year. More importantly, they are rapidly running out of landfill space. Around two-thirds of municipal solid waste is deposited in landfills. Within four years, one-third of their nation's landfills will be full.
The Cause: Over 30% of the volume of municipal solid waste is the packaging and containers from products we buy -- boxes, bags, plastic and glass. Paper and cardboard account for about 40% of all municipal solid waste by weight. Yard waste -- leaves and grass clippings -- is the next largest category, comprising roughly 15% of our discards. The average American produces over three-quarters of a ton of waste each year. Every minute, Americans use 1,736 plastic bottles; every day we throw out 49 million disposable diapers; and every year we discard enough office and writing paper to build a wall 12 feet high, stretching from New York to Los Angeles.
You Can Help: Reduce the number of products you buy, use recycled products or products that do not yield as much waste when they are discarded, reuse materials as many times as possible before throwing them away, and recycle or compost materials rather than sending them to landfills.
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