What's In Your Trash?

WHAT'S IN YOUR TRASH? THE CLEANING SERVICES industry brings in more than %$450 $50 YEAR, BILLION from commercial janitorial services to residential cleaning agencies, and the industry is projected to continue growing as the baby boomer generation continues to age and older Americans seek help with housework. 30% Percentage of maids and housekeeping cleaners employed in private households $29,510 90th percentile wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners lin 10 Households that hire a residential cleaning service or maid Americans generated MORE THAN 250 TONS of garbage in 2010. MORE THAN A THIRD of that was recycled, but that's still a whole lot of trash filling a whole lot of garbage bins across the country. From half-chewed food to unread newspapers to beer cans, let's take a look at what we throw away. More than 70 million tons OF PAPER IS DISCARDED EVERY YEAR, 28.5% BUT PAPER SEES THE BIGGEST PERCENTAGE OF RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING AT 62.5%. Paper THAT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF more than 66 reams OF REGULAR LETTER-SIZED PAPER. THE AVERAGE PERSON SENT 334 pounds OF PAPER OR PAPERBOARD TO RECYCLING EFFORTS IN 2010. 13.9% Food Scraps About 34 million tons THE AVERAGE FAMILY OF FOUR THROWS OUT 880 pounds OF FOOD WASTE IS THROWN OUT EVERY YEAR, BUT LESS THAN 3 PERCENT IS COMPOSTED OR OF FOOD A YEAR; THAT'S ABOUT RECYCLED. THE WEIGHT OF AN ADULT Cow FOOD WASTE REPRESENTS THE LARGEST CATEGORY OF WASTE THAT MAKES IT WAY TO LANDFILLS. MORE THAN HALF THE 33.4 tons of yard waste 13.4% Yard Trimmings PRODUCED EVERY YEAR IS COMPOSTED OR OTHERWISE RECYCLED: THAT'S THE SECOND-HIGHEST RECOVERY TOTAL AMONG ALL THE CATEGORIES. LESS THAN 8 PERCENT OF THE 31 million tons of plastics 12.4% THROWN OUT WAS RECYCLED IN 2010. Plastics THAT MEANS 28.6 million tons THE LARGEST CATEGORY OF PLASTICS IS COMPOSED OF CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING, BUT THE CATEGORY ALSO INCLUDES APPLIANCES, FURNITURE, DIAPERS, TRASH BAGS AND MEDICAL DEVICES. WITHIN THE CATEGORY, PLASTIC BAGS SAW A BETTER RATE OF RECYCLING AT 12% OF PLASTICS MADE THEIR WAY INTO LANDFILLS OR INCINERATORS. METALS ENJOY THE THIRD HIGHEST RECYCLING RATE AMONG THE OVERALL WASTE CATEGORIES. IN 2010, NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE TOTAL METAL WASTE PRODUCED 1 in 2 -22.4 million ALUMINUM BEER/SODA CANS IS RECYCLED. tons- WAS RECYCLED. NONFERROUS METALS, WHICH INCLUDE LEAD Metals FROM LEAD-ACID BATTERIES, WERE RECYCLED AT A 70 PERCENT RATE. 13 million tons of textiles and 7.7 million tons of rubber or leather WERE THROWN OUT, WITH ABOUT 15 PERCENT OF EACH 8.4% CATEGORY AVOIDING Rubber, Leather & Textiles LANDFILLS. MORE THAN 14 PERCENT OF THE NEARLY 16 million tons of wood THROWN OUT EACH YEAR IS RECYCLED. THAT INCLUDES WASTE FROM FORESTRY OPERATIONS AND SUBURBAN WOOD CLEARING. 6.4% Wood Nearly 12 million tons of glass waste THAT MEANS 3 million tons OF GLASS NEVER SAW A LANDFILL. IS PRODUCED, WITH ABOUT 27 PERCENT STAYING THAT'S A LOT OF CHARDONNAY. OUT OF LANDFILLS. 4.6% 3.4% Glass Other THROUGH RECYCLING AND WASTE INCINERATION, AS MUCH AS 90% of waste can bypass the landfill. SOURCES American Forest and Paper Association U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Environmental Protection Agency http://www.sbdcnet.org/small-business-researchreports/commercial-residential-cleaning-services BOLT INSURANCE AGENCY www.BoltInsurance.com