How much trash do we dispose of each day, week, or year?

Question

How much trash do we dispose of each day, week, or year?

Answer 1

A useful site for calculating your own impact on the environment is the BP (British Petroleum) Carbon Footprint Calculator (see link below). This is provided in both Flash and Non Flash versions and is country specific. You can enter a number of differing parameters to see your existing carbon footprint and how your impact would change if you altered them. These include house size, number of people in the household, differing technologies, waste disposal - you name it. It's also useful to see how your neighbors or a typical local household would impact the environment by adjusting those parameters accordingly.

Answer 2

Americans produce about 230 million tons of refuse a year- 5.1 lbs. per person a day or about 1900 lbs. per year. A typical suburban family of three generates 40 lbs. of garbage weekly.