For
that we can turn to the results of
a long-term study called the Garbage
Project.
Starting in 1987, researchers
at the University of Arizona
have excavated, hand-sorted, and
measured contents of 15 landfills
across the country. One of their
goals has been to analyze what we
really throw away and how wastereduction
strategies affect our
habits.
Among their most interesting
findings was that three items notorious
for filling up landfills —
fast-food packaging, disposable
diapers, and plastic grocery bags
— really accounted for an almost
negligible amount of dump space.
In fact, researchers figured that
landfill managers wouldn’t notice
any difference if these items
were completely out of the waste
stream.
They also found that we pitch
out less product packaging today
than in decades past, but not because
of recycling programs. In
the early 1950s, packaging made
up more than half of all landfill
waste by volume. Today it accounts
for less than a third, despite
the fact that four-fifths of
the estimated 2.7 million tons of
plastic PET bottles made annually
wind up in landfills.
Packaging discarded per-person
has actually dropped in the
last 20 years. The trend, say garbologists,
arises from innovations
by manufacturers. They’ve figured
out ways to both make packages
lighter and more crushable, and
to market products in the form of
concentrates or refillables.
If you really want to have a positive
impact on landfills, forget
about remodeling your kitchen.
It turns out one of the biggest culprits
for taking
up landfill space is
construction
and demolition
debris. It
occupies 20%
or more of
the volume.
But even worse is ordinary paper.
Nearly half the refuse researchers
excavated was newspapers, magazines,
packaging paper, computer
printouts, and phone books.
Paper is bad news for landfills
partly because it biodegrades quite
slowly. That’s why researchers
could read papers deposited some
40 years prior. Also problematic
is that ink on old newspapers has
been the main contributor of lead,
a worse source even than discarded
batteries, light bulbs, and
lead-solder-seamed cans. The issue
isn’t as urgent today, though,
because newsprint ink made after
the mid-1980s contains much less
of the heavy metal.
Another trend worth noting
during these days of spiraling agricultural
prices is how people waste
food. Households overall throw
away more than you’d guess. About
15% of perishable goods go in the
garbage. That’s true even during
times when food is expensive.
What s eems to happen as
prices rise, say researchers, is that
people start buying cheaper food
in larger quantities. They tend
not to store the extra stuff properly
or they don’t know how to
prepare it. So there are a few more
dinner disasters that even the dog
won’t eat. And, later on, more decomposing
organic matter that
produces landfill methane.
Here’s a final tip from the Garbage
Project: You’ll waste less
food if you stick to a steady diet of
the same basic ingredients. And
you can tell your kids they’ll be
responsible for less methane if they
finish their vegetables.
— Leland Teschler, Editor