Garbage is material that is perceived to have no value, which is why it is thrown away in the first place. In Niagara County, and throughout much of the nation, we are set up as a throw-away society that is more inclined to throw stuff out without thinking much about it. The purposes of the “Rethink Your Waste” website is to try and reverse that mindset and begin to throw away less by reducing and recycling more.
Do you ever take the time to sort through your garbage to actually see what you might be throwing away? If you do, you may find a lot of stuff that isn’t garbage and instead stuff that can have a much longer and useful life if it were reused, recycled or composted. Understanding exactly what is in our waste is a really important step in determining how we can Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost.
What is in my garbage?
The waste that we all generate at work and at home consists of a broad range of materials; just look around your house, office or school. Eventually everything will need to be disposed, but some items like paper and beverage containers are only used once before being discarded; whereas other items like furniture, appliances and carpet will be used for many years. Garbage is broken down into four major categories that help us best understand how we can change a few of our habits to throw away less.
- 16% of garbage are Durable Goods such as furniture, computers, tires and carpet,
- 26% are Non-durable goods such as books, newspaper, clothing and diapers,
- 32% are Containers and Packaging like beverage containers, glass, cardboard, and milk cartons,
- 25% of MSW is Organic waste or things like food scraps and yard waste, and
- 1% is Other Waste that does not fit into any of the categories.
Durable goods are just that, durable, so they are not thrown away as often. Many readily available recycling programs exist for durable items such as appliances, tires and electronics. Non-durable goods are items that typically don’t have a long useful life, like telephone books, take-out containers, and paper plates. Limiting non-durable waste generation is done by changing some wasteful habits. An example would be using washable plates instead of paper plates or reading the newspaper online. It is important that whatever change you make, fits your lifestyle! If you read that newspaper, that is okay, but make an effort to recycle it instead of throwing it away!
Containers and Packaging represent the LARGEST component of waste that we all generate. At approximately 32% by weight and as much as 40% of the volume that is put to the curb, it is an obvious target for source reduction and recycling efforts. Everything we buy comes in a package! Most packaging is recyclable and can be placed into your recycle bin. To reduce the disposal of containers and packaging try purchasing items with packaging materials that are recyclable, non toxic, low volume, and minimize the purchase of items that are excessively packaged.
The last major solid waste category is Organic wastes, which primarily consists of food scraps and yard waste that are best suited for composting. Scientifically, organic wastes are those that contain the element carbon, but the easiest way to remember them is to think of anything that rot’s or decays. If you have the room for an outdoor compost pile or a composter in your garage, you can very easily compost. Click here for some instructions about composting.
Click here to view a file containing the detailed breakdown of MSW in the United States.
The Ugly Truth
On average, each of us in Niagara County generates about 5.77 pounds of waste per day, which is far greater than the national average of 4.5 pounds per day. That is over 2 tons per household per year! In addition to that, the average recycling rate is only 0.57 pounds per day or less than 10% of our waste, when the rest of the nation is recycling 1.5 pounds per person per day or 33%. The facts don’t lie, we can do a lot better in Niagara County.
Reducing waste disposal is vital for many reasons. Perhaps the most vital is the fact that all the waste we generate is disposed of right here in Niagara County! Reducing and recycling waste can make a big impact in our community by supporting the local recycling infrastructure. For every job created on the disposal end, nearly 10 are created through recycling. Also, most of us have our garbage and recycling fees paid for though our taxes. When less waste is landfilled, costs are saved on tipping fees; this is called a diversion savings. Most of us have our garbage and recycling fees paid for by our taxes. When we throw away less by reducing and recycling more waste, we don’t have to pay tipping fees. This is called a diversion savings.
Waste at work and school:
Wastes from these sources is called Commercial, Industrial and Institutional (CII) waste, which is trash talk for municipal solid waste that we generate outside our homes. We can generate these types of wastes at the mall or at a restaurant, concert or park. Essentially, CII wastes are the same as what we generate at home, with the exception that they tend to be all one type or homogenous. For example, wastes from a restaurant will mostly consist of food scraps, a retail store’s waste may consist mainly of cardboard boxes and packaging materials and a school or office will typically have a lot of paper related waste.
We can reduce, reuse and recycle CII waste the same way we do at home. A lot of schools, business offices and stores actively practice waste reduction and recycling because they are often responsible for paying for waste disposal.When less material is placed in a dumpster, costs are lower because of less volume and less frequent collection.
If you would like to reduce waste and start a recycling program at your businesses or school, e-mail recycling@niagaracounty.com and together we can work toward creating a recycling program.
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