Interesting Facts About General Waste
Interesting facts about commercial waste can startle anyone. Did you know plastic bottles account for over 40% of household waste? That food scraps are responsible for 12%? And did you know that dogs are also known to urinate in the garbage? These are just some interesting facts about business waste you can learn about. Let’s explore them one by one, and hopefully you’ll be surprised! Please click here for more information and pricing on commercial waste.
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Facts About General Waste: Commercial Waste
Waste facts that will undoubtedly startle you
People used to be more environmentally conscious and recycle or reused almost everything. They didn’t have the industries and infrastructure to produce thousands of products daily and transport millions of goods back in the day. Today, however, people produce billions of products, which means humans produce an unprecedented amount of waste. You might be surprised to learn just how much trash we generate daily.
Facts About General Waste: Plastic bottles
Plastic bottles make up 40% of household and commercial waste.
The number of plastic bottles used worldwide is staggering. They are used for soft drinks, mineral water, and household and commercial waste products. According to Euromonitor International, 480 billion plastic bottles were sold worldwide in 2018. That’s an increase of 50% from 2009. If the world were filled with all the plastic bottles, we would consume every year. It would tower over Manhattan Island. Then we would need to recycle nearly four trillion bottles to equal that amount.
Recyclable plastic bottles are broken down and turned into new items. These items include clothing, furniture, and even fences. You can also get new plastic bottles, containers, and bags when you recycle plastic bottles. First, however, you must sort the bottles. Sort the plastic bottles by type and remove residue. Once you have separated all of the plastic bottles from the rest of the waste, you can take them to a business recycling centre.
Once you’ve identified which plastics you use, you can take inventory of the plastic in your home. You’ll be surprised how much of this material you’ll likely find in the kitchen and bathroom. Once you know which plastics you can recycle, you’ll be more likely to make a difference. Moreover, this will help you reduce your overall plastic waste, which is already at its highest point in history.
Recycling codes
1
2
3
4
5
7
PETE
HDPE
V
LDPE
PP
Polyethylene Terephthalate.
High-Density Polyethylene
Polyvinyl Chloride
Low-density Polyethylene
Polypropylene
All other plastics
Facts About General Waste: Food scraps
Food scraps make up 12% of household waste.
Did you know that food scraps comprise a quarter of household and commercial waste? According to the Government of Canada, two-thirds of our food is wasted. We throw it in the garbage, but we could reduce our environmental impact by storing leftovers with a tight lid in larger containers. Cover them with wood shavings or brown leaves to keep them dry. When food waste is buried in landfills, it decomposes slowly, producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), food waste makes up around 20% of the total waste sent to landfill in the UK. This represents a significant proportion of the country’s landfill waste and a missed opportunity to divert this waste to more sustainable uses, such as composting or anaerobic digestion.
To address this issue, the UK government has set a target to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, as part of its commitment to achieving a more sustainable and circular economy. This target is supported by a range of initiatives and measures, including the development of voluntary agreements with businesses to reduce food waste in their operations and the provision of support and guidance to households to help them reduce their food waste.
In addition, many local authorities in the UK have introduced separate food waste collections, allowing households to divert their food waste from landfill and instead send it for composting or anaerobic digestion. This not only helps to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, but also generates renewable energy and fertiliser products from the food waste.
Overall, while food waste remains a significant contributor to landfill waste in the UK, there are a range of initiatives and measures in place to help address this issue and promote more sustainable waste management practices.
Facts About General Waste: Ha zardous waste
Ha zardous waste is generated at twice the rate of the global population.
Human waste continues to be a significant health threat. While the term ‘hazardous’ is typically associated with waste with a long history of pollution, it is now more often applied to recent wastes, which have been tied to rising industrial production. Today, hazardous waste is generated at twice the rate of the global population. Despite these concerns, countries continue to produce large quantities of hazardous business waste. According to the World Bank, by 2050, the amount of waste produced by urban residents will increase by 70%.
In 2016, urban residents generated 1.2 kilograms of waste per day, compared to only 0.64 kilograms ten years ago. By 2050, this number will rise more than threefold, while waste generation will nearly double in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Since the early 1980s, the environmental justice of hazardous waste has been a growing concern. Increasing awareness of hazardous wastes and the problems caused by their generation has led to more stringent regulations.
Meanwhile, IOs became central agents in overriding international development efforts. In the 1990s, the World Bank even approved a controversial memo calling for shifting hazardous waste production to low-wage areas. The memo was later leaked to Brazil’s environment minister and became the subject of outrage from environmental activists and politicians.
Facts About General Waste: Old Technology
85% of old devices end up in landfills.
It’s estimated that 85% of old devices end up in landfill sites, and the sad truth is that very few consumers know what to do with them. Instead, these items collect dust in drawers or sleep in landfills. The average European household contains 11 items no longer in use. Each of these items contains up to five kilograms of waste. Many devices are made of precious metals like gold, silver, and copper. Recycling and refurbishing electronics will ensure these precious metals are recovered and reused in other products. While recycling is a good idea, it is also essential to consider the health risks.
Disposing of old electronics in landfills harms our health and damages the environment. Toxic substances in electronic devices seep into lakes and contaminate crops and animals. In some parts of the world, locals pick through the trash and incinerate old devices, leaving toxic ash that pollutes air and water. As our tech-hungry society prepares to upgrade to 5G devices, it’s essential to consider how to recycle old electronics. And even recycling e-waste doesn’t solve the issue entirely.
Facts About General Waste – Learn more about UK business waste statistics here
Other useful links from our Commercial Waste Centre
Why Should Your Business Go Paperless?
Choosing a Garage Waste Management Service
Developing an EMS for Hazardous Waste
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