Waste Pollution

Waste is a world-wide problem, with food waste being the main contender. In the United

Currently, landfills are responsible for 15 million tonnes of C02 in our atmosphere each year. When garbage decomposes, it creates methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This contributes to greenhouse gasses and damages the ozone layer. Landfills take up space, as well as being dangerous and toxic. Rubbish that ends up in our oceans can cause harm to our marine life and poison our water.

The United States produces roughly 250 million tons of solid waste, or garbage, on an annual basis. This number equates to 4.4 pounds of solid waste created by every American on a daily basis (Miller, Meindl, & Caradine, 2016). The recycling rate in the U.S. is around 35%, meaning over 165 million tons of waste is placed in the nation’s landfills or incinerated each year (Mozo-Reyes, Jambeck, Reeves, & Johnsen, 2015). Landfilling recyclables contributes to a greater strain on global resources because materials that may have been reused must now be replaced (Miller, et.al. 2016). Landfilling waste also contributes to air pollution through the release of methane (Delkash, Zhou, and Singh, 2016) and poses threats to groundwater near landfills (Talalaj & Biedka, 2016). As the population of the nation (and the world) increases, strategies must be found to reuse resources rather than simply disposing of them.

One of the main reasons why littering is a big issue is the effects trash causes to the environment. "The U.S. is the world leader in solid waste, producing 236 million tons of garbage in 2003." (Rea, K. 2005) "As an environmental problem, litter is a substantial

The people of America throw away more trash than any other society in the world! America consumes 80 percent of our planet's resources, even though we make up only 20 percent of the world's population (Cooper 267). The average person throws away 4.3 pounds of trash each day. That's about 30 pounds per week and 120 pounds per month! (“Reduce and Reuse” 1). Americans throw away too much - that's the bottom line (Cooper 265). There is a garbage crisis in America and “the only part of the anti-waste message that has taken hold to any noticeable degree is the call to recycle” (Cooper 267). Our country's issues on trash and recycling go hand in hand. America produces too much trash, and the environment is suffering. There is some effort

Historically, the state of garbage in California has not been that pleasing. Most of the landfills in the State are currently overused as some continues to get worse with time. This probably is the case because by the year 2013, only 36.6% of the entire waste products in United States were actually recycled. Moreover, according to the findings presented from CalRecycle study, the existing organic wastes constitute 32.4% of all the waste product. Sadly, these organic wastes pose a significant threat to the surrounding environment (Donovan). The common practice of burying solid wastes in a landfill is confirm dangerous to the environment because of the chemicals that later build up beneath the earth surface hence producing Leachate, a poisonous

The United States of America has come a long way since its inception. The development of homes, cars, technologies, goods, and services has evolved. Also, the way in which Americans consume has drastically changed. And with all these great things, came solid waste generation, and unfortunately not methods for disposing of it in an environmentally friendly manner. The United States is the top trash-producing country in the world at over 1,600 pounds per person per year. Although the U.S. accounts for 5% of the world’s population, it generates 40% of the world’s waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010 “Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash and recycled and composted over 85 million tons of materials, resulting in 34.1 percent recycling rate. On average, each American generates about 4.43 pounds of waste each day. Only 1.51 pounds of that material were recycled and composed” (EPA, 2010).

In 2010, Americans produced about 250 million tons of garbage and only 34 percent was recycled. Littering may be small, but when it accumulates it can become a serious issue, which nowadays unfortunately already exists. There’s numerous amounts of negative impacts caused by this matter that not everyone is aware of. These ramifications not only impact the people itself, but animals and environments as well. In addition, this incident has enough power to contribute to other pollution types that exist as well. For example: an article by the Chicago Tribune from 2011, called “Chicago River cleanup required”, states that because of all the waste in the waterways, approximately $72 million will be needed to disinfect these waterways. As any bad

The United States has tried to solve the garbage problems for a long time. Ted Steinberg says “at first [the garbage wars] may have seemed like a simple problem, nothing that could not be solved by a fleet of tractor-trailers carrying garbage to open spaces further south and west” when New York City has faced the lack of the room for trash in the 1990s in the chapter 14 of his book Down to Earth (225). Unfortunately, the garbage has kept causing problems since around the 1940s, the postwar period. It is uneasy to solve this serious problem because several factors, such as consumerism and some relationships on the Earth, are related to each other and make the issue complicated.

“Since the beginning of time people have needed to find a way of disposing of their trash.”(Bassis, Luke)Proper garbage disposal is important to ensure everyone's safety from possible health hazards. The improper waste disposal of garbage is a major

Throwing away paper eventually find its way to sitting in a pile of garbage piling up on our Earth. Garbage may be little in your house but everyday, according to The Atlantic, “The typical person in a developed country produces about 2.6 pounds of garbage a day.” We have produced over 2.6 trillion pounds of garbage and it all ends up piling into every spot on the Earth. According to The Atlantic, “59% of garbage goes to a landfill, 33% in dumps,

(Amaral). The lack of proper disposal of trash is contributing to the existing problem of plastic pollution. Without changing our habits, the garbage patch will only continue to grow (Kostigen).

There are some reasons for the problem. The first reason is that the effects of the thrown rubbish are very dangerous and extremely harmful. According to Miller (1987), global industrial organizations produce over 80,000 different chemicals (para. 5). Basically, garbage is old, dirty and wet, so that it is a perfect place for bacteria and other viruses to stay in. Rubbish growth in cities has been a problem all over the world for centuries. Landfills have always been regarded as sources of illnesses and unpleasant smells. The harmful wastes from the garbage spread through the ground from paint, chemicals, petrol, batteries, and other toxic materials that have been thrown away into the garbage. The toxic chemicals get into the water pipes and spread through the people’s drinking water. Another reason of that problem is that people have created all these disasters, which are connected with environmental pollution. The more modern technologies are created, the more unbelievable become wastes and remains of what is produced. From this, man is responsible for what he or she created and for the following consequences. Anxieties about the environment have made people more aware of their environmental footprints or the kind of waste they leave behind during their existence. The difficulty is that an average person leaves an incredible amount of wastes in his or her lifetime. According to Lovejoy (1912), all biodegradable substances, contained in

Another concern is directed toward animal rights. The mishandling of waste can cause animals to get sick and spreading of diseases. Animals do not know wrong from right, so it is up to the humans to handle the waste disposal the right way so we can live in this earth happy and healthy.

American citizens throw away millions of tons of garbage each year, and this trash has to go somewhere. While there are projects underway to clean and reuse this refuse most of it gets dumped into huge landfills. These landfills are disgusting festering blisters on our country's landscape. But people continue to consume and throw away more and more in the name of convenience. As they see it, when things get old, throw it away and get a new one. They blame the government for the trash problem, but the truth blame should be placed on themselves.