No Impact Week: Trash

As part of Trash Day for No Impact Week, (learn more here and sign up) we're taking a deeper look into trash, recycling and where it all goes after we throw it away. Check out this inspired slideshow from photojournalist Mathieu Young who takes us into a California sorting plant in Pico Rivera, where an average of 225 tons of waste are processed each day.

• • • • • • • • • • • • In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 90,000 pounds of trash.

In honor of trash day, we're launching two citizen journalism projects.

1) Get to the bottom of what happens to trash in your area. Where does it all go? Today or tomorrow, visit the closest landfill or waste processing center and help HuffPost readers experience the place. With photos or in a video under two minutes in length, show us what the place looks like and how much trash they see on a daily basis. If it's too far away, consider simply interviewing your trash collector to get the scoop. For inspiration, check out The Story of Stuff.

Here's how submitting your photo or video works:

If you are sending a photo, hit the participate button, leave your description and mark the location of where you are by searching for an address in the box on the top right of the map, upload your photo and write a caption describing the purchase and hit submit. Thank you! The deadline for submitting videos is Wednesday at midnight.

The Trash We Make

 

Find a picture, click the participate button, add a title and upload your picture

To submit a video, click the upload button below. You will need a YouTube account and will briefly be directly to YouTube for approval.

2) The second assignment is for those participating in No Impact Week (sign up here if you want to join). Starting Sunday, we asked you to collect all the your trash in one bag. Now it's time to take a picture of the trash you've produced over the last three or four days and talk about what was inside. For those of you who want to take this a step further, dump your trash out and, in a minute or less, videotape the pile of garbage and explain what you see. The submission process works the same as above, but click here for video. The deadline is Wednesday at midnight.

My Trash

 

Find a picture, click the participate button, add a title and upload your picture

To submit a video for assignment #2, click here!

To read more about trash and consumerism from Colin Beavan's book, No Impact Man, Click here.

To Sign Up For HuffPost's No Impact Week Click Here!

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Comments

[research]

All this pouting WASTE can be converted in to BioFUels.

BioChar, for instance can work on anything organic: word paper plastic and sewage. . BioChar creates electricity, process heat, liquid and gaseous fuels, and carbon negative Charcoal that doubles the productivity of depleted soils.

see my profile.

You are looking at the answer to our fuel needs.

3 cents rooftop solar is the answer to our electricity needs.

[GirlOutWest]

After we started recycling with our trash company we were shocked by the small amount of actual trash we put out: 1 to 2 bags vs 6 or 7. We now put out 2 bins of recylables every two weeks. We feel so much better and it makes us more aware of everything we purchase or use.

[LiberalBuzz]

I don't understand why every bit of trash is not recycled in one way or the other. ALL trash should be sifted and anything, ANYTHING that can be recycled pulled out for recycling. The rest should be then just about only organic matter and than can be ground up, or something and composted.

Well that's a few ideas and I am sure there are those who have a much better idea of what else can be done. The cost ain't gonna matter one day so start it now. Cuz down the road the cost is going to dwarf any cost we look at today.

[RuthieBabe]

Unfortunately, some recycling places will only take 1, 2, and 3 of the plastics. Where I used to live, anything with a higher number was not collected. They also took newspaper but no cardboard. I always thought that was stupid. If we are going to recycle, then we should do it as completely as possible. Another problem was that I lived out in the country. It was difficult to take my batches in because the center was only open for a few hours on the weekend.

The city where I now live has 3 recycle bins a few blocks away from me. They do take the higher numbers of plastics, glass, cans, etc., so I am able to recycle better. Too bad that I live in an apartment because I would love to have a garden and compost the organic matter.

[jsarets]

Last week, Coskata started up its new 50,000 gal/yr waste-to-ethanol pilot plant in PA. This facility uses a plasma arc to convert any organic waste into a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, which is then converted into ethanol by a specially selected strain of clostridium anaerobic bacteria.

This ethanol produced from waste costs just $1/gal to produce, compared to about $1.40/gal for heavily subsidized ethanol produced from corn and its petrochemical soil amendments.

[Y3rMawm]

Plasma Arc huh? That's a lot electricity input. How is that electricity generated? Since it's PA, I'm guessing coal?

[jsarets]

They use an on-site ethanol generator for electricity. It's an energy-positive process, and they have plans to sell electricity to co-located facilities in addition to selling ethanol.

[doxienan]

Want a fun family learning activity? Start a worm composting bin. The worms cost about $25, but they multiply fast, so you don't have to buy more and can share with friends. You can find videos online to learn how to make the composter, but all you need is a large covered container, some bedding material (like shredded newspaper, cardboard, sawdust or dried up leaves) and garbage. The worms like to eat everything! We put our tea bags, coffee grounds, veggie peelings, egg shells (crushed first), fruit cores, etc. You can't add meat, but everything else is OK (even pizza boxes!). It takes a little trial and error, but it's a great school project or family project that involves all ages. You end up with some valuable 'tea' that is great for plants, as well as beautiful, rich compost that you can mix in your houseplants or garden.

We hardly put out any trash since we compost everything and use our own bags for shopping. We recycle everything possible and bring old clothing and household goods to the Goodwill store. It takes a little effort, but it's a way of life for us now.

[derrickhoyle]

I know it's only a part of the trash problem, but more states should have container redemption fees to encourage people to recycle their bottles and cans.

[ClarcKing]

Humanity's brainpower must be dedicated to creating resources from trash. Thousands of years ago if a farmer found oil, he thought he was so screwed; Didn't have the brainpower.

[The Meek]

Everybody should work on a garbage truck for awhile so they can see for themselves the waste. Everybody should look at the satellite photos of the earth at night so that they can get an idea of the megawatts of power needed by first world countries to send light into space.

[MakeAWish]

Recycling should be mandatory! Garbage going to the land fields should be VERY expensive for the consumer. In fact, there should be a fee attached to each product sold that contributes to the environmental and societal cost of junk that is not biodegradable. Companies should be required to take back and recycle materials from their products or be fined.

[VungTauVet]

I wholeheartedly agree. But then I'm from the generation of folks that collected and redeemed soda bottles for movie and pocket money. Instead of using new resources for milk cartons, the companies can recycle returned containers. I only want to buy their product, not the container.
Oh yeah, I know, prices will go up. Well, have you seen any go down lately ??

[Hillrick]

I was recycling before recycling was cool!(or easy) It is nice to see what happens after it goes out. I want to add that since I was remarried we do not buy a lot of prepackaged food and our trash is a couple of bags a week rather than the full bin I used to put out. We eat healthier too...

[CarmelApple]

WOW!!! What an eye opener!

[ChinaC]

We've been recycling for 20 years. Plastic bottles, cans, milk jugs, egg carton, etc... disposable diapers aren't biodegradable therefore billions are in lanfills. So stop using them. Purchase cloth diapers. It's a start after all.

[skippyB]

I'd cut and paste the Huff Post's feature shot today splashed on the top of page one on foreclosures. It speaks volumes .

[jmad]

The ancient trash heap is one of the archeologist's dream sites.

[MJinCanada]

Yes, it so often reveals why that town, city, kingdom or empire declined.

[Mildmannered]

isn't there technology we can use to turn that trash into energy?