Garbage!
Imagine
the garbage that moves out from your neighborhood, your city. Try to
estimate the amount of waste from your country and the world. This is a
lot of garbage and it's piling up! Thank our consumer society for the
gross expansion in waste.
Each year, Americans
generate millions of tons of trash in the form of wrappings, bottles,
boxes, cans, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, phone books, and
much, much, more. Durable goods (tires, appliances, furniture) and
nondurable goods (paper, certain disposable products, clothing) account
for several million tons of the solid waste stream. Container and
packaging waste is a significant component of the nation’s waste stream
as well. This material includes glass, aluminum, plastics, steel and
other metals, and paper and paperboard. Yard trimmings such as grass
clippings and tree limbs are also a substantial part of what we throw
away. In addition, many relatively small components of the national
solid waste stream add up to millions of tons. For example, one percent
of the nation’s waste stream can amount to about two million tons of
trash each year.
Reusing products is just
one way to cut down on what we throw away.
Learn why trash has
become a major problem today.
Source reduction is waste
prevention: less waste means less of a waste problem.
Learn what we can do to
prevent solid waste build-up, and read about a few success stories.
Find out what it means to
reduce, reuse, recycle and respond.
You can start reducing
waste right now.
Twelve easy-to-follow
tips for waste prevention.
Details
from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s The
Consumer's Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste. This web site
outlines many practical steps to reduce the amount and toxicity of
garbage. These aren't the only steps that can be taken to reduce waste,
but they're a good start.
It describes how people
can help solve a growing problem...garbage! Individual consumers can
help alleviate America's
mounting trash problem by making environmentally aware decisions about
everyday things like shopping and caring for the lawn. Like the story
that says that cats have nine lives, so do many of the items we use
every day.
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return Greed
Profit Consumerism
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