One more Reason to Recycle/ Landfills

Does your garbage go to a landfill? What breaks down and what does not......
 The EPA says that it is likely that our glass and Styrofoam materials will not possibly break down at all into their smallest possible elements (decompose) even we buried them in the soil of our yards. These materials are listed under the category of " unknown ". Some rates are known. A tin for instance can take up to 80-100 years to break down, an Aluminum can 200-500 years. Plastic depends on it's chemical composition as to rate of break-down but a typical plastic jug may take a up to a million years. The thinner the plastic, it may break down sooner. A thin plastic six pack ring would take approximately 450 years.  If we bury a banana skin (organic) probably three to four weeks. They caution that these estimates are  based on scientific speculation of the chemical components. We simply haven't had a lot of time to bury these things and make observations on how long it actually would take.

Most of our garbage in the US, currently goes into landfills. We put our garbage into plastic bags which are compacted and covered with dirt. There is no sun, wind or rain or an abundance of living organisms which live in the soil to help break down even many of the organic materials we throw away. In the 1970's the Tucson Garbage Project, headed by William Rathje, actually used an archaeology experiment set up to see what things broke down in an older landfill and what didn't. They were surprised to find the landfill they studied did not even help break up much of the organic matter down into simpler materials simply because we pack our garbage in plastic bags and throw dirt over everything. This creates a closed system.


The EPA recommends that we try and reduce the amount of trash that we discard. They estimate that the bulk of municipal solid waste (65%) is from residences and schools, hospitals and businesses. Containers or other packaging can usually be recycled. Glass, aluminum, steel, paper, cardboard, and certain plastics can be recycled. Some Styrofoam can be recycled. In my area they will give you money at the dump for your metals if you have it weighed.  One person can do a lot to help the environment simply by taking the time to sort and recycle as much of their garbage as they can.


References used: Environmental Protection Agency in general has a lot of great ideas on seasonal and home owner tips. It also lists what is likely to be found in our garbage and how much as a nation we are recycling. It is updated every two years with statistics. There is also a wealth of educational materials for  parents or people who teach in schools on ways to teach kids about garbage and the benefits of recycling using simple experiments and research questions. Well worth a peek at the EPA website for most any age concerned. Updates may be available now. I also looked at the William Rathje study done here in USA.