An Inside Look at Landfills

Do you ever wonder what happens to that piece of trash you throw away? Where does it end up? What happens to it? Americans generate nearly 4.6 pounds of waste per day per person. That's nearly 250 million tons of waste produced per year! All that trash is sent to landfills to decompose. Landfills are given a bad rap, but it's really the stuff in landfills that's bad. For example, nearly 50% of landfill space is taken up by paper. If that paper would have been recycled then more energy and resources could have been saved.

There are actually several different classifications of landfills and they are heavily monitored to ensure they do not contaminate the environment per the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Regardless of the regulations set in place, landfills are still the third largest source of methane emissions in the US. Trash is buried under layers and layers of trash that cut off the supply of oxygen and cause anaerobic decomposition. Any organic matter that is sent to landfills is a wasted resource as well since food can easily be composted and repurposed.

Trash production in the US has almost tripled since the 1960s. 32.5% of the trash is recycled, 12.5% is burned and 55% is buried in landfills. Those numbers need to change, we need to see an increase in recycled product and send as little as possible to landfills. Burning trash may provide an alternative use and provide power, but it also uses a similar amount of water per unit of electricity generated. The use of that water comes with its own environmental repercussions.

It's not easy to live a zero-waste lifestyle when all food products come in pre-packaged plastics, but with just a little effort we can easily reduce the trash we put in landfills with just a second of thought. Ensure you know what can be recycled, located your nearest recycling bins and take advantage of them.

Fall in Love with the Environment this Valentine's Day

It's Valentines Day <3 Love is in the air, and so are harmful toxins, greenhouse gases and an increase in CO2! But don't worry, let Cupid help you fall in love with the environment and take these 7 easy steps to go green today!

There are little things you can do every day to help reduce greenhouse gases and make less of a harmful impact on the environment:
1) Pick up trash you see on the sidewalk. When trash is left on the ground it finds its way into sewers and into the ocean. In 2010 there was eight million tons of plastic trash that ended up in the ocean.
2) Pay attention to how much water you use. Little things make a big difference, so try shutting off the tap while you brush your teeth, reduce your time in the shower, even washing your clothes in cold water makes a difference.
3) Walk, take a bike or carpool to your destination. You can reduce greenhouse gases while enjoying the fresh air or just riding with friends!
4) Recycle. So much of what we use can be recycled, and the more we recycle the less natural resources we use.
5) Compost. Plant matter that is composted instead of thrown into landfills actually helps reduces greenhouse gases. It's easy to start your own compost bin!
6) Change your light bulbs! Compact fluorescent light bulbs last 10 times longer than standard bulbs and use at least two-thirds less energy. They not only save you money but also save the planet.
7) Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Unplug appliances when they're not being used. It only takes a second to be environmentally conscious.

A Guru's Guide to Recycling

Recycling in 2018 doesn't include just paper and water bottles, with today's advances in technology we are able to recycle more than ever.

Most standard recycling bins that you'll find on campus will take any plastic bottles, any paper products, aluminum cans, and even glass. Recycling these products instead of sending them to landfills makes a big difference. For example, the recycling of tin cans saves 74% of the energy used to produce them. Paper is one the largest products recycled and just one ton of recycled paper saves enough energy to power the average American home for six months! But did you know you could also recycle old electronics, batteries and light bulbs?

You may not be able to throw electronics and batteries into your recycle bin on the curb, but they have very valuable and even harmful components that should be recycled properly. Rechargeable batteries usually contain nickel-cadmium, lithium ion, or nickel-metal-hydride, all of which should be recycled to reclaim valuable compounds and keep toxins out of the environment.

If you're lucky you can get through college with just one laptop, and maybe a few visits to the VCC. If your unlucky (like me) you'll go through three laptops and a few hard drive replacements. While my busted laptops seemed useless at the time, they were actually still full of valuable resources. Nearly 100% of a computer is capable of being recycled, so don't make the same mistake as me (like not having an insured laptop) and throw away something you can recycle. It's easy to recycle once you know what you can recycle and where.