Landfills are filling up. It’s no secret. As it turns out though, there’s a lot more to what’s happening with our landfills than just running out of space. Landfills reach capacity every day somewhere in the world, resulting in towns, cities, and countries having to create new places to put their waste. For better or for worse, here are some landfill facts that are tough to forget.

1. 100.2 billion plastic bags every year

In the US, more than 100 billion plastic bags are used a year. These are largely unrecyclable as there’s not really a market for this type of plastic. Also, as they’re tossed into recycling, they oftentimes become tangled in the machines. Therefore, all this plastic has to go to the landfill.

2. The United States is the most wasteful country

Sadly, it’s true. Though the country may appear to be cleaner and less wasteful than other nations, the United States actually produces the most waste per person of any country in the world. The average person produces 4.6 pounds of waste per day in the United States.

3. 400 million tons of garbage every year

In the United States alone, the population generates up to 400 million tons of garbage per year which needs to be put into landfill space. As this number has not gone down and is unlikely to go down any time soon, this means the country will either have to build more dumps or implement new waste management techniques to control increasing waste production.

4. 36 percent of landfill waste is paper or cardboard

Every year, 36 percent of what is put into our landfills is either paper or cardboard. For the most part, these are recyclable items however as they’re not entered into the recycling stream, it’s anopportunity lost.

5. Waste production in North America has tripled since 1960

As a population, we are generating more waste than ever including having tripled the number since 1960. Although this is mainly attributed to the increase in population, this shows the consequences that come with a country still with a strong annual growth rate.

6. Every ton of paper

Every ton of paper we recycle, this saves 3 cubic yards of landfill space. These sort of savings are not uncommon to other waste products, such as aluminum cans which unfortunately are recycled at a lower percentage than what anyone could hope.

7. More than 3,000 active landfills

In the United States alone, there are over 3,000 active landfills operating currently. What’s worrisome is there are an additional 10,000 older landfills which all are creating hazardous gases and which present a danger to groundwater if there happens to be a leak of any kind.

8. Landfill diversion is on an upswing

As a major positive, in the past decade, landfill diversion rates in the United States have grown by 100% and continues to swing upwards. Although only ten percent of solid garbage in the United States is recycled, in North America, the investments still continue to be made in the right places serving to support more landfill diversion.

9. 1,200 pounds of compostables

Every year, the average American throws out roughly 1,200 pounds of compostable waste, resulting in all this heading into our landfills. It doesn’t need to be there and it would save a tremendous amount of space if it wasn’t.

10. The most wasteful time of year

Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, on top of the average waste production, an additional million tons of waste is generated every week. It is by far the most wasteful time of year in North America.

11. Consumption is increasing

Although recycling rates are improving, at an almost identical rate, consumption is going up. Unfortunately, reducing consumption is not a current focus of the North American waste management and recycling industries despite it being unquestionably a key to reducing landfill usage.

12. 63,000 garbage trucks a day

Enough garbage is thrown out every day in the United States to fill 63,000 garbage trucks. Needless to say, unless this waste production is addressed, it’s only going to grow as the population increases and it will continue to be a dominating problem.

13. Plastic bottles

Although they are recyclable, plastic bottles still end up tossed into our landfills every day. Complicating matters further, plastic bottles put into landfills take thousands of years to decompose as they are shielded from the sun which would normally help to break them down in a far shorter period of time.

14. Landfills are a threat

Landfills serve a purpose. There’s no question about it. There are risks involved however. Landfills produce highly toxic gases and should one ever leak, it could be a very unpleasant and scary situation for any community in close proximity.

15. So much ribbon!

38 million miles of ribbon get thrown into American landfills every year which is enough ribbon to be able to tie a bow around the entire Earth.