Where Does My Trash Go?

Trash is something that we all create and that each household has to get rid of every week. There are so many different types of trash, from food waste to plastics, that we go through, and not many people truly know where that trash goes. When you throw something away in a garbage bag, that is not its last stop. Learning about the process by which your trash is disposed of can help you decide to change things up.

What Happens to Trash After We Throw It Away?

When you put something in the trash can to be thrown away, odds are that is the last time that you think about it. The trash is then taken to dumpsters to be picked up by local sanitation workers.

After the trash is picked up, most non-recyclable trash that has not been sorted or sent to a recycling plant goes to what is known as a landfill. There are more than 3,000 active landfills in the United States that hold tons upon tons of garbage that is decomposing. While landfills are designed to have as little of an impact as possible on the environment, that does not mean that they are not causing any damage during the cycle. 

Some landfills use incinerators to get rid of the trash or to reduce the overall amount of trash that they have. The ashes from these incinerators are then added to the landfill to continue decomposing. In other landfills, trash is mulched or shredded to help make room and to aid in decomposition.

For some, recycling is an option. They can put those materials and those trash items that can be recycled into special bins so that they can be broken down and used again. In some places, however, this is not an option as it may be too expensive for your particular area of residence.

How Can We Reduce Our Footprint?

Recycling is a huge part of reducing our impact on the Earth and reducing the amount of trash that we put into landfills each year. There are tons of options out there, and recycling is our best bet. The real problem comes in finding a recycling company that either comes to you or a center where you can recycle your recyclables.

Large recyclables are particularly hard to dispose of. When you do have larger recyclables like wood, metal, or concrete waste, contacting a recycling company is your best bet to keep these materials out of the landfill and to get them reused. When we throw something out, that is not the end of its life, and it is not the end of what will happen to that garbage. Recycling can reduce the overall impact we have on the Earth and reduce our overall waste.

Debris Box is here for you! For more information or to find out how to get a debris box to your home or business, contact us today!