Where Does Your Trash Really Go?

On average, Americans produce 4.4 pounds of trash daily and recycle about 1.5 of those pounds.  

Every year, the human population produces over 1.3 billion metric tons of trash globally.  In the United States alone, over 253 million tons of trash are produced yearly.  The OECD countries make up about 44% of all trash produced in the world.  

It is estimated that by 2025, global trash will increase to 2.2 billion metric tons thanks to population growth and the increase in consumption.  According to a study by The World Bank, high-income countries create 46% of all trash.

With so much trash being produced it is natural to think about what we are throwing away.  Over 46% of all trash comes from organic material.  That includes the food we eat, the food we feed our animals, and the waste from horticulture.

Over 17% of all waste in the U.S in 2012 came from paper and 10% of all waste came from plastic.

Another shocking fact is that over 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950's and only 9% of that plastic has been recycled.  That means that 91% of all plastic isn't recycled.

In both developed and developing nations most trash ends up in landfills.  72% of all trash in developed nations either ends in landfills or dumps