Pop Quiz: I'm The Trashman
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA on 03.22.08
Answer: b) "The average American throws away a staggering 4.5 pounds of rubbish daily -- that's 1,600 pounds each year," according to Heather Rogers, author of 'The Hidden Life of Garbage.'
Like this? Check out:
Garbage, Design, Recycling: An Exhibition and Some Reflections
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: "Out of Sight, Out of Mind"
Survey: What Do You Do With Your Garbage?
The Garbage Project
What does this 4.5 lbs include?
Does it include recycled material? What about home renovations? Lots of heavy material thrown out, but a single home-reno could skew someone's trash outtake for years.
Thats crazy. I just weighed one weeks worth of garbage (for 2 people). It was 2.75lbs. It seemed like an average size bag. I know I'm pretty conscious of what I throw out but c'mon people!
Tom, this figure also includes construction waste, industrial waste, really, any sort of waste from all figures of the economy. Just because you don't personally throw it out, doesn't mean that it doesn't get thrown out by someone making something you purchase, for instance.