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Just the Facts

1. In 2012, Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash and recycled and composted almost 87 million tons.

2. On average, we recycled and composted 1.51 pounds of our individual waste generation of 4.38 pounds per person per day.

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Food waste: 14.5%

Yard Trimmings: 13.5%

Wood: 6.3%

Rubber, Leather, textiles: 8.7%

Plastics: 12.7%

Metals: 8.9%

Glass: 4.6%

Paper/Paperboard: 27.4%

Other: 3.4%

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Landfills

Modern landfills are well-engineered facilities that are monitored to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Solid waste landfills must be designed to protect the environment from contaminants.

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2. Some materials may be banned from disposal in municipal solid waste landfills including common household items such as paints, cleaners/chemicals, motor oil, batteries, and pesticides. These products, if mishandled, can be dangerous to your health and the environment. Many municipal landfills have a household hazardous waste drop-off station for these materials.

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Combustion

1. In 2012, over 29 million tons of materials, or 11.7 percent, were burned for energy recovery (to create electricity).

2. Combustion for energy recovery has decreased from about 34 million tons in 2000 to 29 million tons in 2012 because new plants are not being built.

3. Why not burn our solid waste? It doesn’t solve the problem – the ashes still go to the landfill.

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Composting

Compost is organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. Food scraps and yard waste currently make up 20 to 30 percent of what we throw away, and should be composted instead. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

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2. All composting requires three basic ingredients:

Browns - This includes materials such as dead leaves, branches, and twigs.

Greens - This includes materials such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds.

Water - Having the right amount of water, greens, and browns is important for compost development.

3. A compost pile should have an equal amount of browns to greens.

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4. Benefits of Composting

a. Enriches soil, helping retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.

b. Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.

c. Encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material.

d. Reduces methane

emissions from landfills

and lowers your carbon

footprint.

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Reduce…

1. The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place. Making a new product requires a lot of materials and energy: raw materials must be extracted from the earth, and the product must be fabricated and then transported to wherever it will be sold. As a result, reduction and reuse are the most effective ways you can save natural resources, protect the environment, and save money.

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Reuse…

a. Ideas on How to Reuse

Buy used.
Look for products that use less packaging. Buying in bulk, for example, can reduce packaging and save money.
Buy reusable over disposable items.
Maintain and repair products, like clothing, tires, and appliances, so that they won't have to be thrown out and replaced as frequently.
Borrow, rent, or share items that are used infrequently, like party decorations, tools, or furniture.

b. Donation

One person's trash is another person's treasure. Instead of discarding unwanted appliances, tools, or clothes, try selling or donating them. Not only will you be reducing waste, you'll be helping others. Local churches, community centers, thrift stores, schools, and nonprofit organizations may accept a variety of donated items, including used books, working electronics, and unneeded furniture.

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Recycle!

1. Why recycle?

Prevents pollution caused by reducing the need to harvest new raw materials;
Saves energy;
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change;
Helps sustain the environment for future generations;
Saves money;
Reduces the amount of waste that will need to be recycled or sent to landfills and incinerators;
Allows products to be used to their fullest extent.
recycling 1 plastic bottle saves enough energy to run a 60 watt light bulb for 6 hours

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Recycling

1. Since 1990, the total amount of MSW going to landfills dropped by over 11 million tons, from 145.3 million to 135.0 million tons in 2012.

2. Recycling and composting prevented 86.6 million tons of material away from being disposed in 2012, up from 15 million tons in 1980. This prevented the release of approximately 168 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the air in 2012—equivalent to taking over 33 million cars off the road for a year.

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There were more than 1.2 billion cars on the road in 2012.

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Electronics

1. Electronic products are made from valuable resources and materials, including metals, plastics, and glass, all of which require energy to mine and manufacture. Donating or recycling consumer electronics conserves our natural resources and avoids air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by manufacturing with new materials.

2. For example, for every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.

The Secret life of

a Smart Phone

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Why don’t we recycle more stuff?

1. Plastic bags have virtually taken over the grocery market since they were first put at check-out stands in 1977. Ninety percent of all grocery bags are now plastic – that is as many as one trillion plastic bags.

2. Every year, Americans use approximately more than a billion plastic bags, creating tons of landfill waste. It can take 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose.

3. Less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled each year. Recycling one ton of plastic bags costs $4,000. But the recycled product can only be sold for $32.

^{4. It’s all about supply and demand. If more people want products made from recycled materials, recycling will become more profitable.}

How Much Plastic Actually Gets Recycled???

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Energy From Waste

Energy recovery from waste is the conversion of non-recyclable waste materials into useable heat, electricity, or fuel through a variety of processes, including combustion, gasification, pyrolization, anaerobic digestion, and landfill gas (LFG) recovery. This process is often called waste-to-energy (WTE).
Energy recovery from waste is part of the non-hazardous waste management hierarchy. Converting non-recyclable waste materials into electricity and heat generates a renewable¹ energy source and reduces carbon emissions by offsetting the need for energy from fossil sources and reduces methane generation from landfills.
¹ Defined as separated yard waste or food waste, including recycled cooking and trap grease, and materials described in §80.1426(f)(5)(i). Final regulations allow separated municipal solid waste (after all recyclable materials have been removed) to qualify as "separated yard or food waste. Currently there are 86 facilities in the United States for combustion of municipal solid waste (MSW), with energy recovery. These facilities are located in 25 states, mainly in the Northeast. No new plants have been built in the US since 1995, but some plants have expanded to handle additional waste and create more energy. The 86 facilities have the capacity to produce 2,720 megawatts of power per year by processing more than 28 million tons of waste per year. According to Municipal Solid Waste in the US: Facts and Figures, in 2011 we combusted about 29 million tons of MSW (about 12 percent) for energy recovery. After energy is recovered, approximately ten percent of the volume remains as ash. This ash is generally sent to a landfill. Please visit EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program for additional information on how energy is recovered from landfills.