As I was walking home from dinner the other night I noticed trash strewn carelessly on the sidewalk, and I had an epiphany.
Why is it that so many of us are uncomfortable about the thought of littering but are perfectly fine with sending our garbage to a landfill, which does exactly the same thing?
Is it because when it’s in a landfill, we don’t have to look at it?
Well, just because it’s out of sight does not mean it should be out of mind.
According to National Geographic, “Americans generated 251 million tons of trash in 2006, the most recent year for which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has data.”
That averages out to 4.6 pounds of trash per person, per day.
What are people throwing away daily that weighs almost five pounds? A full grown Chihuahua?
Not to mention because this data is from 2006, the numbers are likely significantly higher in 2015.
But where are all these Chihuahuas going once they’re disposed?
Fifty-five percent of garbage goes to the landfill.
Not only do landfills contaminate ground water and aquifers, but these garbage dumps also produce methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times as powerful as carbon dioxide.
While I understand it is illogical to think we could completely do away with landfills, there is a lot we could be doing to limit the amount of trash being sent to the dump.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “reduce, reuse and recycle.”
In our throw-away culture, it is more important that we implement the three R’s than ever.
Recycling is clear-cut, but many people do not understand the easy ways to reduce and reuse. Or they simply don’t care.
Instead of throwing out old household and personal items, donate them to charity.
It’s environmentally friendly and helps someone in need.
Drink out of a reusable water bottle instead of buying plastic bottled water. Or, at the very least, recycle plastic water bottles.
I shutter at the number of old iPhones and PlayStations that are probably taking up space in a landfill.
Not only does this make it easy for someone to hack into your personal information if it falls into the wrong hands, it is also terrible for the environment since electronics contain toxins like arsenic, lead and cadmium that risk leaking into ecosystems.
Why not sell old electronics or recycle them at places like Best Buy?
Some stores and manufacturers will even give you a gift card for bringing in old electronics, according to time.com.
Although it may seem like a bit of a hassle to go through these extra steps as opposed to throwing things in the trash, it will be even more inconvenient when our children or grandchildren are exposed to the effects of our habitual wastefulness.
Squinting your eyes and pretending like the problem isn’t there isn’t going to make it magically disappear. Landfills are here to stay until we do something about them.
tatadams@indiana.edu
@TatianaDeWitt
