10 Shocking Facts About Your Garbage

Via Mercola Natural Health Articles by communities@mercola.com (Dr. Joseph Mercola)

By Dr. Mercola

It's easy not to think about garbage. You throw away your empty cartons, bags, and cups, and once a
week the trash collector comes and takes it all away. Out of sight, out of mind… except that it's not really
gone.

Most US garbage is simply relocated from your garbage can to a landfill or incinerator, both of which are
fraught with problems:

Incinerators: Emit toxic dioxins, mercury, cadmium, and other particulate matter into the air, and
convert waste into toxic ash (which is sometimes used to cover landfills).
Landfills: There are more than 3,000 active landfills, and 10,000-old landfills, in the US. 1 While
the number of landfills in the US has been decreasing in recent decades, they have, individually,
been increasing in size.

Along with being a major source of methane emissions, landfills produce "leachate," a toxic fluid
composed of pollutants like benzene, pesticides, heavy metals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and
more, which come from the compressed trash.

Although landfills are technically supposed to keep garbage dry and are lined to prevent leachate from
contaminating nearby soil and groundwater, the landfill liners are virtually guaranteed to degrade, tear, or
crack eventually, allowing the toxins to escape directly into the environment.

10 Shocking Facts About Your Garbage

MSN compiled 10 facts about garbage that are likely to surprise you. 2 You may never look at your trash
the same way again…

1. More Than 100 Tons of Waste for Every American : The average American throws away more
than 7 pounds of garbage a day. That's 102 tons in a lifetime, more than any other populations on
Earth.
2. Bottled Water Is the "Grandfather of Wasteful Industries ." Edward Humes, author of the book
"Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash ," counts bottled water among the most wasteful of
industries. In the US, Americans toss 60 million water bottles daily, which is nearly 700 each
minute.
3. Food Waste Is a Problem Too : Americans throw away 28 billion pounds of food a year, which is
about 25 percent of the US food supply.
4. Disposables Are a Drain : Ten percent of the world's oil supply is used to make and ship
disposable plastics – items like plastic utensils, plates, and cups that are used just one time and
thrown away.
5. Trash Is Expensive: Most communities spend more to deal with trash than they spend for
schoolbooks, fire protection, libraries, and parks.
6. Carpet Waste Alone Is Astounding: Americans throw away 5.7 million tons of carpet every year.
7. Paper Waste Is a Shame : Americans waste 4.5 million tons of office paper a year. Ask yourself…
do I really need to print that?
8. Opting Out of Junk Mail Makes a Difference : According to Humes, the energy used to create
and distribute junk mail in the US for one day could heat 250,000 homes. You can opt-out of junk
mail by going to CatalogChoice.org.
 9. Too Many Toys: Only 4 percent of the world's children live in the US, but Americans buy (and
throw away) 40 percent of the world's toys. Buy less toys, opt for second-hand versions, and pass
down the toys you do purchase to others.
10. Plastic Bags: On average, Americans use 500 plastic bags per capita each year. Such bags
make up the second most common type of garbage found on beaches. Stash reusable shopping
bags in your purse or car so you're not tempted by plastic or paper.

Bottled Water: One of the Worst Offenders

US landfills contain about 2 million tons of discarded water bottles, each of which will take more than
1,000 years to biodegrade. Recycling is only possible for a small number of these bottles, because only
PET bottles are recyclable. In all, only one out of five plastic bottles ever make it to a recycling bin. 3

You might think re-using the bottle is an option, but commercial water bottles tend to wear down from
repeated use, which can lead to bacterial growth in surface cracks inside the bottle. This risk is
compounded if you fail to adequately wash the bottle between each use, using mild soap and warm
water.

But even with washing, these microscopic hiding places may still allow pathogenic bacteria to linger.
Perhaps more importantly, the plastic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates lurk in plastic water
bottles and can pose serious health hazards, especially to pregnant women and children.

Fortunately, the use of bottled water is one of the easiest habits to change. Simply put a filter on your tap
and use a reusable glass water bottle to carry with you.

Why You Should Consider Ditching Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are so wasteful and polluting to the environment that many US cities have already banned
them outright. For a succinct and entertaining introduction to the waste that is the plastic bag, I highly
recommend the film "Bag It."4

It is a truly eye-opening look to the vastness of the problem, and the immense waste that could be spared
if more Americans toted a reusable bag with them to the grocery store. As their website reported:5

"In the United States alone, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is used annually to make
the plastic bags that Americans consume. The United States International Trade
Commission reported that 102 billion plastic bags were used in the US in 2009.

These bags, even when properly disposed of, are easily windblown and often wind up in
waterways or on the landscape, becoming eyesores and degrading soil and water quality
as they break down into toxic bits."

On a worldwide scale, each year about 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide. At over 1
million bags per minute, that's a lot of plastic bags, of which billions end up as litter each year,
contaminating oceans and other waterways.

Food Waste Is a Serious Issue

You might not think throwing a banana peel or apple core in your trash is a big deal, but organic waste is
actually the second highest component of landfills in the US. Organic landfill waste has increased by 50
percent per capita since 1974, as illustrated in this infographic.6
 One solution to this problem is to cut down on the amount of food you waste by planning your meals
carefully (and shopping according), vacuum packing produce to help it last longer, eating leftovers and
knowing when food is still safe to eat (versus when it’s actually spoiled).

Composting Can Help Reduce Organic Waste in Landfills

Another solution lies in creating a backyard compost pile. Composting food scraps recycles their nutrients
and can reduce their ecological impact. It benefits soil, plants, and the greater environment, and it's not
as difficult as you might think. Compost can be created with yard trimmings and vegetable food waste,
manure from grazing animals, egg shells, brown paper bags, and more.

This can be done on an individual or community-wide level. For instance, in California, The Sonoma
County Waste Management Agency operates a regional compost program in which they accept yard
trimmings and vegetative food discards that are placed in curbside containers by local residents.

The organic material is then converted into premium quality organic compost and mulches, along with
recycled lumber, firewood, and biofuel used to generate electricity. Since 1993, 1.6 million tons of yard
and wood debris have been converted into these beneficial products.

Sonoma Compost, which operates the Organic Recycling Program on behalf of the Sonoma County
Waste Management Agency, estimates that nearly 1.5 million tons of yard and wood trimmings have
been diverted from landfills since 1993 as a result of the program.7

The Consequences of Living in a 'Throwaway' Society

Your parents and grandparents likely used products in reusable, recyclable, or degradable containers
made from glass, metals, and paper. But today, discarded plastics and other waste are circling the globe
at a significant human and environmental cost. It's a problem of convenience – choosing a plastic
disposable water bottle instead of using a reusable glass container, for instance – as well as one of
overconsumption.

Even durable items like electronics, toys, and clothes are often regarded as "throwaway" products that
we use for a short period and quickly replace – often without recycling, donating, or re-using them for
another purpose.

Of course, you are living in a society that makes you feel behind if you do not buy the latest model of this
or that, or update your wardrobe with the latest fashions. We're also increasingly living on the go, where
food in throwaway packages is by far the rule rather than the exception.

Contrast that to a couple of generations ago when frugality and resourcefulness were highly valued, and
food came fresh from the farm, butcher shop, or baker, and you begin to see where the real problems
 with excess waste are springing from. The sheer amount of waste that is generated needlessly on any
given day is quite mind-boggling. For instance, according to the Clean Air Council:8

The average American office worker uses about 500 disposable cups every year.
Every year, Americans throw away enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons to circle the
equator 300 times.
The estimated 2.6 billion holiday cards sold each year in the US could fill a football field 10 stories
high.
Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, an extra million tons of waste is generated each
week.
38,000 miles of ribbon are thrown away each year, enough to tie a bow around the Earth.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!

You've probably heard of The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Committing this into practice in
your home can significantly reduce the amount of waste your family generates while also saving you
money. You can do your part by taking the following action steps that reduce your plastic consumption
and generation of waste, which will benefit your health as well as the environment.

Choose reusable
Recycle/Repurpose what you
Reduce your plastic use: If at all possible over single-use:
can: Take care to recycle and
seek to purchase products that are not made This includes non-
repurpose products whenever
from or packaged in plastic. Here are a few disposable razors,
possible, especially ones that are
ideas... Use reusable shopping bags for washable feminine
not available in anything other
groceries. Bring your own mug for coffee and hygiene products for
than plastic. This includes giving
bring drinking water from home in glass water women, cloth
your clothes or gently used
bottles instead of buying bottled water. Store diapers, glass bottles
household items to charities and
foods in the freezer in glass mason jars as for your milk, cloth
frequenting second-hand stores
opposed to plastic bags. Take your own grocery bags,
instead of buying new. Make use
leftovers container to restaurants. Request no handkerchiefs
of online sites like Freecycle.org
plastic wrap on your newspaper and dry instead of paper
that allow you to give products
cleaning. Avoid disposable utensils and buy tissues, an old t-shirt
you no longer need away to
foods in bulk when you can. These are just a or rags in lieu of
others instead of throwing them
few ideas — I'm sure you can think of more. paper towels, and so
away.
on.
Be innovative: If
you have a great
idea, share it! Your
Support legislation: Support capacity to come up
Compost your food scraps and yard waste :
legislative efforts to manage with smarter designs
A simple bin in your backyard can greatly cut
waste in your community; take a and creative ideas is
down on your landfill contributions while
leadership role with your limitless and many
rewarding you with a natural fertilizer for your
company, school, and heads are better
soil.
neighborhood. than one.
Innovations move us
toward a more
sustainable world.
Assist recovery: Return deposits on bottles
and other plastic products, and participate in
"plastic drives" for local schools, where cash is
paid by the pound.
Sources:
MSN April 22, 2015

Related Articles:

Unwasted: The Future of Business on Earth

Documentary: Trashed

Bottled Water Poisons Your Body One Swallow at a Time

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