The people of America throw away more trash than any other society in the world! America consumes 80 percent of our planet's resources, even though we make up only 20 percent of the world's population (Cooper 267). The average person throws away 4.3 pounds of trash each day. That's about 30 pounds per week and 120 pounds per month! (“Reduce and Reuse” 1). Americans throw away too much - that's the bottom line (Cooper 265). There is a garbage crisis in America and “the only part of the anti-waste message that has taken hold to any noticeable degree is the call to recycle” (Cooper 267). Our country's issues on trash and recycling go hand in hand. America produces too much trash, and the environment is suffering. There is some effort being put into countering these issues through recycling and trash management, but is it enough? (Cooper 267).
II. America seems to be experiencing a narrowing of disposal options (Griffin 1). Trash is either dumped into landfills, incinerated or burned, or recycled. Seventy percent of all solid waste ends up in landfills (Griffin 2). Each year, “240 million tires, 1.6 billion pens, 2 billion razors and blades and 16 billion disposable diapers” are dumped (Griffin 2). Five hundred disposable cups and 10,000 sheets of copy paper are used annually by the average office worker (“Waste and Recycling Facts” 1). In addition, 500,000 trees are needed every week to make two thirds of newspapers that are never recycled (Cooper 270). A twelve foot high wall going from Los Angeles to New York City could be built with office and writing paper that Americans use every year. Enough iron and steel is dumped by our country to continuously supply the whole nations auto manufacturers. Approximately 2.5 mi...
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... America, about the economic and environmental costs involved in disposing and recycling, and about some options that have worked, as well as ideas that could work in the future. I hope to see more recycling programs and laws in place and possibly a national law for recycling in the near future. I know our country could benefit if individuals were educated through the news, television programs, or community effort. I personally would like to be educated in how I can recycle more items and types of materials like food, chip bags, canned food cans, styrofoam, and green waste. By learning about the landfill crisis and recycling in the United States, I will definitely recycle more and encourage people to recycle. Hopefully, by teaching others about these issues, people will want to change their ways and take the time to collect, sort, and redeem recyclable materials.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, “The average American trashes 10 times as much food as a consumer in South east Asia” (Hsu). That is about equivalent to eating 10 meals to a consumer in South East Asia’s one meal. We throw away our left over food just because we are done ea... ... middle of paper ... ... ff every month you have to pay interest, which is a waste of money because you paying extra for that money you spent.
The majority of people waste food on a daily basis. In fact, in the U.S. alone there is an estimate that over half of the food produced goes uneaten; meanwhile there are people who are in need of food, and it ultimately goes to waste (Dockterman). For example, in his essay, “On Dumpster Diving,” author Lars Eighner writes about his experiences of dumpster diving with his pet dog, during his years of homelessness. According to Eighner, much of the food and materials he came across in the dumpsters were in usable shape, and many items were new. Clearly there needs to be a change in American food waste, in current and, hopefully not so much in, future generations.
Recycling has been something that has always been in human society. Even before the modern era humans still used and reused natural resources to survive and develop as a society. Here in the US, recycling didn 't really make its impact until the 1940s, during the second world war and has only started to advance even further within the last 15 years as more efforts for environmental preservation are being made. From schools, and major companies down to individual homes, recycling programs can be found in most countries that are developed. As technology continues to grow many advancements have been made in renewable resources like solar or electrical power. Recycling though being around much longer has only recently made strides like collecting
Recycling is the practice of reusing old products to create knew ones in order to essentially “re use” them. In theory, this process is supposed to work perfectly, but because of other factors it doesn’t. The whole idea of recycling is supposed to lead, eventually, to a world where everything will be recycled and used over and over again; thus, no more mining, cutting down tress, and other jobs that require people to do some sort of labor in order to create a certain type of object. The process of recycling would in due time, end these types of labor. Recycling is not entirely a good thing because not everyone does, it requires unnecessary funds, and it takes away many jobs.
For most of America, recycling has become a way of life. For some, it is a valiant effort to take charge of our waste and do what is right for the environment and for future generations. For others, it is a forced mentality by government agencies or private businesses who attempt to prove their value by self-promoting their commitment to environmental responsibility. Recycling, in theory, is a positive effort; however, massive recycling programs are not the answer. Recycling programs in general lack an intelligent way to a means, since the costs and environmental burden may outweigh the desired result. Recyclers should only focus on materials that they can process in a cost effective way, and consumers should focus
Landfills in America have taken many square miles of what used to be fertile land, forests and communities and that trend does not seem to have an end. The waste, we as Americans, dispose of each year is in the tons and that number rises annually. One of the reasons why this occurs is actually quite simple; population. Population in modern day America has soared to well above three hundred million, in 1915 that number was hundred million. Urbanization and industry has given way to deforestation and landfill creation. The need for more landfills has caused many health concerns, issues, and problems to not only those living near and
Most citizens are not aware or educated about the benefits of composting, and they are not mindful of the possibility of reducing the amount of waste each household produces. With an existing population of about 1.3 million, the amount of waste that Hillsborough County produces is staggering. According to the EPA, “In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash and recycled and composted about 87 million tons of this material” (EPA). To put it into perspective, the average American generates is about 4.4 pounds daily which is much less than the global average of around 2.6 pounds. Most
ABC News reported, “This year, the world will generate 2.6 trillion pounds of garbage, the weight of about 7,000 Empire State Buildings.” Yet all of us, even you, are helping to destroy the land this is our home. People may think litter is a victimless crime, but it impacts people's safety, security and well-being, as well as their pocket-book.
Do you hate seeing litter on the streets, or seeing and smelling heaps of garbage sitting, and rotting away? Humans recycling more will help to reduce this. We throw many things that can be recycled. Recycling glass, plastics, paper, and metals will reduce solid waste dumped into the ecosystem daily. “96 percent of U.S. plastic, and 50 percent of its paper, goes into landfills. Mexico, not exactly a bastion of environmental awareness, recycles more glass than the U.S.” (Alice Horrigan 1). That’s 96 percent of the millions of tons of plastic, which will outlive most of us in a landfill that we could recycle and keep it out of our landfill. Paper is made from trees, if we recycle it, we can decrease our rate of ugly deforestation and the destruction of animal habitats. When paper gets to the landfill, it is guaranteed to get wet. The wetness and decomposition of paper atracts mold spores, which produce an odor and are potentially bad for your health. Also k...
It’s just another sunny day in Glendale New Jersey, full of manicured lawns with white picket fences. Mrs. Bethel was out pruning her garden filled with begonias and prize winning tulips, and Mr. Johnson was outside enjoying the view, walking his black and white spotted poodle around the block. This is the norm in the sleepy town of Glendale. A place where everyone knows their neighbors name and the most exciting thing to happen is the annual bake sale at the Old Catholic church every October 15th.
Most importantly, it saves lives. We should all learn the importance of recycling. For example, some sea lions won?t get stuck in plastics if we recycle. We would also breathe better air. We can recycle and aluminum can and put it back on the shelf for something useful. If we just leave it in the landfill, it?ll decompose and it?ll be of no use. It?ll also reduce pollution or else it?ll make a new one.
There are lots of environmental issues going on globally. The earth faces problems such as pollution, global warming, waste disposal, and loss of biodiversity. These are just a small amount of issues out of the so many. These environmental problems pose an abundant amount of risk to the health of humans and animals. There needs to be a solution to all these problems and that is by informing others, so that way everyone can make the environment a better place.
People should know the negative impact throwing away a water bottle or newspaper, purchasing meat from the grocery store or consuming gasoline has on the environment, and many do not. By informing society about how their decisions affect the environment, we can help save our planet and change our attitude toward the land we live on, the water we drink and the air we breathe” and truly show respect for the stuff that we depend on. The United States produces “about 8.25 billion tons of solid waste each year” (Russell 1). People do not realize the impact they have on our planet and the environment. When people throw anything in the trashcan, they are contributing to the destruction of our planet.
Preserving the environment is very important. One way that would be possible is by recycling. Recycling is the recovery and reprocessing of waste materials for use in new products. There are important environmental and economic benefits connected with recycling. Common materials that are recycled consist of aluminum cans, glass, paper, wood, and plastic (“Recycling”). Cleveland, Ohio joined the ranks of requiring recycling and also fines the homeowners for not disposing of waste correctly or leaving cans out too early or too long (McElroy 1). Michele McCay says that recycling is one of the easiest, most tangible ways of taking action for the planet (par. 1). If that is the case, why is it not required in all states? Recycling should be mandatory because it saves natural resources, it conserves energy, and it reduces pollution.
Many people assume that the environment is not in danger. They believe that as technology advances, we do not need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They state that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In reality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment. Our natural resources are slowly disappearing, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.