Trash Trivia
Landfill Trivia
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In 1979 there were an estimated 18,500 landfills in the nation. In 1990
there were only about 6,300, and by 1995 it was estimated that only about
3,000 would still be open. In just 16 years the number of landfills dropped
by 84%. During that same time there was an 80% increase in the amount of
trash generated.
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U.S. landfills are closing at the rate of 1 per day.
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The supply of new landfills is expected to be very low. Tough new federal
regulations don't encourage the opening of many new landfills. It can take
many years and cost between $250,000 and $1 million an acre to open a new
landfill that complies with landfill requirements.
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According to a study distributed by the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management at the end of 1994, there were 47 landfills left in the State
of Indiana. Seventeen of these had less than five years expected life.
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The Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island NY, the world's largest landfill,
already has had more than 50,000 trees and shrubs planted on it.
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The cost of landfilling is projected to increase by 2.3% by 2002, recycling
by 2.7%, composting by 4.4%, and incineration by 2.5%.
Trash Facts
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The average American throws away 4.5 pounds of trash a day.
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To give you an idea of how much trash we generate here in the United States,
imagine a hole the size of a football field, including the end zones. If
we bury all of the trash we produce in just one year, that hole would be
100 miles deep!
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Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would stretch
from the earth, halfway to the moon.
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Each day the United States throws away enough trash to fill 63,000 garbage
trucks.
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Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in America is packaging.
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In 1986, the United States generated almost 160 million tons of paper,
glass, metals, plastics, rubber, food and yard waste. This was an increase
of 80% over the figures in 1960.
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In 1996 13.3 million tons of waste were generated in Indiana including
1.9 tons from out of state.
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In 1995 27% of the United States' food supply spoiled or went unusd (48,000,000
tons).
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Man-made rubbish in orbit includes 8,500 objects and 100,000 pieces of
space litter.
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74,200 fans at Super Bowl XXX generated 75 tons of trash in Sun Devil Stadium
in Phoenix, while 72,000 fans at Super Bowl XXXI generated 68 tons at the
Superdome in New Orleans. At Super Bowl XXXII in Qualcomm Stadium in San
Diego, 70 tons of trash was generated by 68,000 fans.
Shopping Habits
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Americans buy 2,300.000 pairs of shoes a day - enough to cover the bottom
of a 17-acre closet with shoe boxes.
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Every year Americans buy more than a billion incandescent light bulbs.
That is three acres of light bulbs a day. A 60-watt incandescent light
bulb will last about 750 hours, compared to 7,500 to 10,000 hours that
a compact fluorescent bulb that generates the same light.
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An average child will use between 8 -10,000 disposable diapers ($2,000
worth) before being potty trained. Each year parents and babysitters dispose
of about 18 billion of these items. In the United States alone these single-use
items consume nearly 100,000 tons of plastic and 800,000 tons of tree pulp.
We will pay an average of $350 million annually to deal with their disposal
and, to top it off, these diapers will still be in the landfill 300 years
from now.
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Americans throw away 570 diapers per second. That's 49 million diapers
per day.
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Seventy-six percent of Americans consider themselves environmentalists.
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If more people became environmental shoppers, the amount of trash could
be reduced by as much as 45 percent.
Plastic, glass, aluminum, paper, and steel
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We throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.
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Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the state of Texas.
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We throw away enough glass bottles to fill the 1350 foot World Trade Towers
every two weeks.
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Switerland leads the world in the percentage of glass recycled with 89%.
The U.S. is 5th at 32%.
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In America, 1,500 aluminum cans are recycled every second.
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Recycling an aluminum soda can saves 96% of the energy used to make a can
from ore, and produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution.
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It takes the energy equivalent to half a soda can of gasoline to produce
one soda can from bauxite ore.
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We throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet
every three months, and enough iron and steel to supply all our nation's
auto makers every day.
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Throwing away one aluminum can wastes as much energy as if that can were
1/2 full of gasoline.
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In 1986 48.7% of all aluminum cans were being recycled. In 1990 that percentage
increased to 63.6% and, in 1996, 63.5% were being recycled.
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If you stacked all the refrigerators Americans buy in a single week, you'd
have a tower more than 80 miles high.
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In 1992 55% of all U.S. appliances were being recycled. In 1994 that increased
to 70.2%, and in 1996 76.4% were being recycled.
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In 1996 steel cans, including food, paint and aerosol cans, were recycled
at a rate of 58.2% and automobiles were recycled at a rate of 97.9%. The
overall steel recycling rate was about 65%. For more information on steel
recycling call 1-800-876-7274 or visit the Web site at http://www.recycle-steel.org.
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Paper takes up 40% of our landfills.
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The amount of paper recycled annually by the average American in 1995 was
301.8 lbs., increasing in 1996 to 329 lbs.
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In the United States an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated
during the holidays. 4 million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping
bags.
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Americans receive almost 4 millon tons of junk mail every year. Most of
it winds up in landfills.
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Recycling one ton of cardboard saves over 9 cubic yards of landfill space.
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The average American uses 650 pounds of paper a year.
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Each year we trash enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall from Los
Angeles to New York City.
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One ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill
space, 7000 gallons of water, 4200 kilowatt hours (enough to heat your
home for half year), 390 gallons of oil, and prevents 60 pounds of air
pollutants.
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Producing recycled white paper creates 74% less air pollutants, 35% less
water pollutants, and 75% less process energy than producing paper from
virgin fibers.
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Every ton of newspaper recycled saves 4100 kilowatt hours or enough energy
to power a TV for 31 hours.
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Bell Atlantic sent more than 96 million recycled envelopes to New York
customers in 1996. Half were made from old telephone books.
Office\Business Trivia
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Americans toss out enough paper & plastic cups, forks and spoons every
year to circle the equator 300 times.
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The average American office worker goes through around 500 disposable cups
every year.
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Nearly 44 million American workers purchase or eat lunch out every weekday.
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Americans make nearly 400 billion photocopies a year - about 750,000 copies
every minute of every day.
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U.S. fax machines sent 30 billion faxes in 1990.
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U.S. businesses now use about 21 million tons of paper every year. That’s
about 175 pounds of paper for each American.
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It takes the energy equivalent to about 75,000 tons of coal a year just
to power our nations fax machines.
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American businesses throw out 15 million toner cartridges every year; enough
to stretch from New York to Zurich.
Oil
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One quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of water.
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Approximately 60% of Americans change their own oil. Due to the lack of
convenient collection facilities, these do-it-yourselfers simply dump the
used motor oil into the environment. Over 200 million gallons of oil. Or
the equivalent of 5 oil tankers the size of the Exxon Valdez spilling their
entire load, is tossed in the garbage or poured down the sewer every year.
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One gallon of reprocessed oil can generate enough energy to meet the electricity
needs of your home for half a day.
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Just one properly drained oil filter holds about 1/2 cup of motor oil.
This is enough oil to pollute 31,250 gallons of water.
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Over 500 million oil filters have to be disposed of each year.
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The plastic used in one toner cartridge contains about a half quart of
oil.
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The world's largest waste oil processing plant is located in East Chicago
IN. The facility is to recycle 75 million gallons per year of crankcase
and industrial oil and 20 million gallons per year of oily wastewater.
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Out of a barrel of crude oil you can get 2.5 quarts of virgin motor oil,
while it takes only a gallon of used motor oil to get the same amount of
high quality motor oil.
Tires
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There are approximately 11 million waste tires stockpiled statewide in
Indiana.
Styrofoam
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That styrofoam cup that you drank your coffee out of this morning will
still be in the landfill 500 years from now.
Yard Waste
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Annually, Indiana residents generate 1 million tons of yard waste. Each
household typically produces 300 pounds of green trimmings and brush, 200
pounds of leaves, and 1,000 pounds of grass clippings.
Household Hazardous Waste
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Every day American families produce an estimated 4 millon pounds of household
hazardous waste (nail polish, paint thinner, batteries, etc.).
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Enough hazardous waste is generated in one year to fill the New Orleans
Superdome 1500 times over.
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Sixty percent of the world's lead supply comes from recycled batteries.
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