Nina Golgowski: The U.S. creates 3 times the global average of waste despite representing just 4% of the world’s population

By Dilip -
The U.S. is one of the top offenders when it comes to its creation and management of solid waste, according to an alarming new study examining global trash management. A report by global risk group Verisk Maplecroft released last month found that the U.S. produces 12% of global municipal solid waste ― or three times the global average ― despite it representing just 4% of the world’s population. That equates to 239 million tons, or 234 pounds of waste per person per year. If that wasn’t bad enough, the U.S. recycles just 35% of it.

“Given the US is the world’s largest economy it may not be surprising that it is one of the largest producers of household waste, but what is significant is its lack of commitment to offsetting its waste footprint,” the report states. The report’s figures are slightly better than the numbers last reported by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2018, which estimated that the country generated 262.4 million tons of waste and recycled 25.5% of it in 2015.

Why Southeast Asia Is Flooded With Trash From America And Other Wealthy Nations

The U.S., of course, isn’t alone in having a poor track record. Highly developed European and North American countries were also found to be disproportionately responsible for the highest levels of waste generation. One major exception to this is Germany, which the report said has the world’s most efficient record on waste management with 68% of its municipal solid waste being recycled.
That’s not to say that recycling is argued as the best solution.

Previous reports have found that not all recyclable trash sorted for recycling actually undergoes the process for reasons including contamination with non-recyclables and an inability to process it. It is instead being dumped, buried and burned, including in cities like Philadelphia... read more:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/verisk-maplecroft-us-waste-report_n_5d1cc25ce4b0f312567d7842

Wiped out: America's love of luxury toilet paper is destroying Canadian forests
David Cox - The planet's prodigious poo problem
What’s It Like to See a Democracy Destroyed? By Susan Glasser interviews Hannah Dreier

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