How ‘Trashy’ is the United States

June 22, 2010 Trash Stats Comments Off

According to the EPA, the US has around 3,091 active landfills and over 10,000 old municipal landfills. What’s worse, 82 of surveyed landfill cells had leaks and 41 had a leak area of more than 1 square foot. The reality is that Americans generate a LOT of trash and this trash is capable generating a LOT of problems. Here are some stats to give you an idea of where we stand today:

  • The average person creates 4.39 lbs of trash per day and up to 56 tons of trash per year.
  • Only about one-tenth of all solid garbage in the US gets recycled Read the rest…