8 Interesting Waste Facts and Garbage Statistics
When it comes to taking out the garbage, you may not find this very exciting. However, there are many interesting topics on this very subject. It can be fun to learn new things, and you could be surprised by certain interesting waste facts that you didn’t know about garbage.
Here are the eight most interesting waste facts:
1. The amount of waste add up to 1.5 tons.
It’s not a secret; there’s a lot of waste that must be disposed of in a day. Studies show that one single individual typically generates at least four pounds of waste daily.
Now, that’s a lot of garbage but keep in mind this is just an average amount. Additionally, this amount will add up to around 1.5 tons of waste on an annual basis per person.
2. 1 million plastic bottles are purchased annually.
Did you know that in Canada there are approximately 1 million plastic bottles that are purchased annually? This means all of these will need to be appropriately disposed of at some point.
Imagine the number of landfills that take on this number of plastic bottles yearly. There must be a large bin at all the various locations to contain these bottles alone.
3. 3 million plastic bags are used annually.
Going shopping is a necessity to get the things you need to live each day. Most stores offer plastic bags for you to place your goods into and this can help you get these home.
It’s estimated that around 3 billion bags are used annually in Canada. These will have to be recycled or disposed of properly, and this can add up to a great deal of waste management work.
4. $31 billion of food is wasted annually.
Unfortunately, there’s a great deal of food waste in Canada. It’s estimated that $31 billion of food is wasted on an annual basis.
This is a lot of food and why there is so much waste is uncertain. When you think of this amount annually, it’s even harder to imagine. This adds up to around 40% of the food annually in Canada.
Studies show when this number is broken down, this is around $28 worth of food waste per week for each household in Canada.
5. Only 30% of waste is actually recycled.
If you live in this area, you may be interested to learn the amount of waste that’s recycled. It’s estimated that at least 75% of the waste could be recycled, but only 30% is.
This could be due to several factors that may include the average individual not taking time to get involved in this process. Whatever the reason maybe it’s a fact the trash compaction and recycling efforts could be drastically improved.
6. It costs $65-$75 to incinerate waste.
Being an average individual, you may not put much thought into what it costs when it comes to the waste in your area. It’s possible you may not even pay for garbage pickup but take it to the landfill yourself.
However, if you want to know some fun facts about the waste, it could be interesting to learn about the various expenses associated with these costs. Based on a per ton amount, this process costs $30 for the recycling of trash, $50 for it to go to the actual landfill and between $65-$75 to have it incinerated.
7. 88% of Canadian households have access to recycling venues.
You may be wondering how many households in Canada do have practical access to a nearby recycling program. Since much more could be done in the recycling area, this is a question that’s commonly considered.
It’s estimated that 88% of Canadian households have easy access to recycling avenues. This is a large number, so hopefully, there’ll be more recycling soon.
8. 700 grocery bags can be made from a 15-year-old tree.
When it comes to thinking of waste facts, you may begin to wonder just how many trees it takes to produce bags. Only 700 grocery bags can be made from a 15-year-old tree. Despite if you think this number should be more significant, it merely isn’t. This goes to show just how challenging it can be to make bags and the amount of time it takes for a tree to grow.
Working to ensure you do all you can to help get your waste recycled is a great idea. Doing this can allow you to do more for the environment. This will take a bit more effort and organization on your behalf to do, but in time it will get much easier for you. Learning these fun and accurate waste facts may have your interest peaked just a bit about garbage. The more you know about this area, the more you may want to learn. Taking time to dispose of your trash correctly is something you’ll want to do daily. This will take time and finding the right landfill in your area. Do your part to help make your community a great place to call home.