Contents Contents Chapter 1 HOUSEHOLD WASTE page 4 Chapter 2 PAPER PLASTIC METAL AND GLASS page 8 Chapter 3 FOOD WASTE AND YARD WASTE page 17 Chapter 4 CLEANING PRODUCTS page 24 Chapter 5 E-WASTE page 29 Chapter 6 REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE page 34 Learn More about Household Waste 39 Glossary 38 Index 40
Chapter 1 HOUSEHOLD WASTE Household waste includes all the trash created by the all the trash created by the things we throw away And we things we throw away And we throw away many things In the throw away many things In the United States the average person United States the average person throws away about 4 5 pounds throws away about 4 5 pounds 2 kilograms of stuff every day 2 kilograms of stuff every day Only 1 5 pounds 0 7 kg of that Only 1 5 pounds 0 7 kg of that gets recycled or composted The remaining 3 pounds 1 4 kg The remaining 3 pounds 1 4 kg is household waste An average American throws away more than 1,000 pounds 450 kg of household waste each year How much household waste does the entire country create 4 44
What happens when you add up all the household waste Americans create It comes out to about 164 million tons 149 metric tons each year But this is only an estimate from the US government No one knows the exact amount of household waste Americans create In fact some experts believe it might be up to seven times that amount In any case a huge number of unwanted items end up in the garbage And all of this garbage has serious effects on our environment AMERICAN WASTE INCLUDING RECYCLABLES yard waste 13 5 food waste 14 5 other 3 4 wood 6 3 rubber leather and fabrics 8 7 plastics 12 7 metals 8 9 4 6 glass paper products 27 4 5
