Wasted in America

WASTED IN AMERICA HOW MUCH TRASH WE PRODUCE US RECYCLING RATES AS A NATION IN 2011, AMERICANS GENERATED ABOUT 250 MILLION TONS OF TRASH AND RECYCLED AND COMPOSTED ALMOST 87 MILLION TONS OF THIS MATERIAL, EQUIVALENT TO A 34.7 PERCENT RECYCLING RATE. ON AVERAGE, WE RECYCLED AND COMPOSTED 1.53 POUNDS OUT OF OUR INDIVIDUAL WASTE GENERATION OF 4.40 POUNDS PER PERSON PER DAY MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE (MSW) GENERATION RATES, 1960 TO 2011 300 10 253.7 250.4 243.5 250 217.3 208.3 200 166.3 151.6 150 127.8 121.1 4.74 4.69 4.57 4.52 104.4 100 88.1 3.83 3.66 3.25 3.25 2.96 2.68 50 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2011 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE (MSW) RECYCLING RATES, 1960 TO 2011 90 50% 86.9 79.8 80 69.5 40% 70 34.7% 60 55.8 31.4% 30% 28.5% 25.7% 33.2 20% 30 9.6% 10.1% 16.0% 20 6.4% 6.2% 6.6% 7.3% 10% 16.7 10 14.5 9.3 6.5 8.0 o 5.6 0% 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2011 IMPACT OF RECYCLING IN AMERICA BY RECYCLING, INSTEAD OF LANDFILLING AND SINCE 1990, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MSW COMBUSTION, ABOUT 7.5 MILLION TONS OF GOING TO LANDFILLS DROPPED BY OVER 11 METALS (WHICH INCLUDES ALUMINUM, STEEL, MILLION TONS, FROM 145.3 MILLION TO AND MIXED METALS), WE ELIMINATED 134.2 MILLION TONS IN 2011 GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS TOTALING MORE THAN 20 MILLION METRIC TONS OF THE NET PER CAPITA DISCARD RATE (AFTER CARBON DIOXIDE. THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT RECYCLING, COMPOSTING, AND COMBUSTION TO REMOVING MORE THAN 4 MILLION CARS FOR ENERGY RECOVERY) WAS 2.36 POUNDS FROM THE ROAD FOR ONE YEAR. PER DAY, LOWER THAN 3.19 PER CAPITA RATE IN 1990 NATIONALLY, WE RECYCLED AND COMPOSTED ALMOST 87 MILLION TONS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. THIS PROVIDES AN ANNUAL BENEFIT OF MORE THAN 183 MILLION METRIC TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT EMISSIONS REDUCED, COMPARABLE TO THE ANNUAL GHG EMISSIONS FROM OVER 34 MILLION PASSENGER VEHICLES. TOTAL MSW GENERATION IN 2011 TOTAL MSW RECOVERY IN 2011 WAS WAS 250 MILLION TONS: ALMOST 87 MILLION TONS: 1.6% 3.3% 5.3% 14.5% 28.0% 22.2% 13.5% 52.8% 4.6% 6.4% 2.7% 8.8% 8.2% 3.1% 8.6% 12.7% 3.7% INDIVIDUAL AMERICAN RECYCLING RATES THE AVERAGE AMERICAN PRODUCES ABOUT 4.4 IN 1960, EACH PERSON IN THE US ONLY GENERATED 2.68 POUNDS (2 KG) OF GARBAGE A DAY, OR A TOTAL OF 29 POUNDS (13 KG) PER WEEK POUNDS OF WASTE. IN 1970, AND 1,600 POUNDS THE FIGURE WAS 3.25. HOW- (726 KG) A YEAR. EVER, AMERICANS' RECYCLING HAS IMPROVED SINCE 2000, WHEN THE AVERAGE AMERICAN GENERATED 4.65 LBS OF IN 2008, THE AVERAGE AMOUNT WASTE PER DAY, AND ONLY OF WASTE GENERATED BY EACH 29% WAS RECYCLED. PERSON IN AMERICA PER DAY WAS 4.5 POUNDS. 1.1 POUNDS OF THAT WAS RECYCLED, AND 4 POUNDS, INCLUDING YARD WASTE, WAS SENT TO COMPOSTING. IN TOTAL, 24.3% OF WASTE WAS RECYCLED, 8.9% WAS COMPOSTED, AND 66.8% WAS SENT TO A LANDFILL OR INCINERATED. SOURCES: HTTP://Www.EPA.GOV/OSW/NONHAZ/MUNICIPAL/MSW99.HTM HTTP://Www.WISEGEEK.ORG/HOW-MUCH-GARBAGE-DOES-A-PERSON-CREATE-IN-ONE-YEAR.HTM HTTP://Www.CLEANAIR.ORG/WASTE/WASTEFACTS.HTML PRESENTED BY: FASTHAUL A TOTAL MSW GENERATION (MILLION TONS) A TOTAL MSW GENERATION (MILLION TONS) I PER CAPITA GENERATION (LLBS/PERSON/DAY) I PER CAPITA GENERATION (LLBS/PERSON/DAY)