A Look At The Waste And Garbage Industry Of The United States – And How Recycling Is Making A Big Change

From yard waste to residential waste, there is no shortage of waste products all throughout the country of the United States. Every person living here contributes significantly to the growing problem of waste and what to do with it, with the average adult in the United States individually contributing as much as six hundred times the amount of their weight over the entire course of their lives, men and women alike. In just one day, an average person living in the United States will create as much as four pounds of trash before the day comes to a close. There are many ways in which we all contribute to this waste, from our yard waste to other waste that we generate, such as the waste that is made when buildings are constructed and even food waste.

Waste management is key to managing yard waste as well as other types of waste, and the waste management world is a more expansive one than many people realize. In fact, the industry of waste management actually encompasses as many as twenty different industries, from that of trash removal services to yard waste removal services. Part of waste management involves dealing with the growing push towards recycling, reducing the amount of waste that is simply discarded. Recycling has the potential to have a hugely positive effect not only on an individual and small scale level, but for the world as a whole as well. For one, recycling over throwing something away is actually incredibly cost effective. Saving money through recycling is easy to see when you look at the cost of recycling versus simply throwing something away. While it will take around fifty dollars to simply throw away a ton of trash, it costs only around thirty dollars in total to recycle that same amount. As more than eleven billion dollars are spent every single year all throughout the United States in order to clean up litter, this is a huge cost saving initiative – and one that will hopefully bring more environmental awareness and reduce the amount that behaviors such as littering are seen as well.

And from yard waste to food waste, recycling is becoming easier to access for the average family living in the United States than ever before in history. In fact, the typical garbage service will actually accept specially designated recycling as well, and more than eighty five percent – nearly all – of people living in the United States have easy access to such services where they live. And for those living in apartments or rented housing, recycling is still often possible with communal recycling bins for the apartment building or complex. Even just the average everyday person contributing to recycling versus simply throwing something away can have a huge impact, as recycling a mere one ton of cardboard products will save as much as nine cubic yards of space in your nearest landfill.

And when it comes down to it, more people would recycle if they simply knew how to do it: what to recycle and where. This is seen by the fact that much of landfill space is taken up by organic materials. In fact, yard waste as well as food products make up nearly thirty percent of all landfill space currently in use, and paper and cardboard products make up nearly the same amount. And many people are simply unaware of what the commonly known slogan of recycling all throughout the United States – reduce, reuse, recycle – really means. If you’re interested (as we all should be), this slogan represents the hierarchy of how to recycle, so to speak. Reduce your consumption first, reuse what is left over, and, finally, recycle what you have no use for.

Recycling and waste management, from yard waste to cardboard waste, are both hugely important components of the American waste management system, and in fact go hand in hand. Reducing, reusing, and recycling are all key to proper waste management all throughout the country, and should be done as frequently as is possible by even the typical American family.