Landfills are one of the largest (stoppable) contributors to greenhouse gases, emissions, water and land contamination (no one will or can argue this point).
Although we might be diligent about separating our recyclables, once the garbage truck comes along, to us, our waste is out of sight and out of mind.
America generates more waste every year, growing from a 247 million tons of non-hazardous waste in 1990, to 409 million tons in 2001... (cleanair.org)
FACT: The U.S. has no effective federal laws or infrastructure in place to maximize recycling, minimize waste, or protect the environment and public health.
Although 32% of municipal waste is reported to be recycled, there are two problems with this picture. One is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that municipal waste was only 2% of all waste generated, and secondly, the total amount of waste generated, recycled, or disposed is not truly known because the EPA has not collected or confirmed that data. Failure to so is in violation of federal requirements.
Every year in the United States we dispose of...
- 1 billion foil-lined fruit juice boxes
- 2 billion used batteries
- 25 billion styrofoam cups
- 700,000 old TVs
- 700,000 junked cars
- 15 million tons of food
- 16 billion disposable diapers
- Americans buy about 29.8 billion plastic water bottles every year. Nearly eight out of every 10 bottles will end up in a landfill.
While E-Waste makes up only 2% of landfills, it equals 70% of toxic landfill waste and is growing at a rate 5 times faster that population...