What makes up garbage

Due to a change in methodology, there was an increase in the wasted food generation estimate between and , which resulted in a lower composting rate even though the tons composted remained the same from to Other food management pathways, estimated for the first time in , was See the Food: Material-Specific Data web page. Included in the generation number are the almost 94 million tons of MSW recycled and composted and an additional The following provides a detailed breakdown of the numbers:.

Listed here are the recycling or composting rates for three categories of materials, including paper and paperboard, yard trimmings, and food:. The recommendations and analytical framework under the Road Ahead encourage the consideration of multiple environmental benefits when developing materials management strategies. This section shows those GHG reduction environmental benefits. The Agency is developing additional tools to provide information on other environmental benefits and will include these tools and data as they become available.

This is comparable to the emissions that could be reduced from taking almost 42 million cars off the road in a year. This reduction is equivalent to removing over 33 million cars from the road for one year. The energy and GHG benefits of recycling, composting, combustion with energy recovery and landfilling shown in the table below are calculated using the WARM methodology.

The estimates of MMTCO 2 E are calculated using WARM, and identify not only the environmental benefits of recycling, composting and combustion for energy recovery, but also the benefit of not landfilling materials. Numbers in parentheses indicate a reduction in either greenhouse gases or vehicles, and therefore represent environmental benefits. Other nonferrous metals are calculated in WARM as mixed metals.

These calculations do not include an additional Details might not add to totals due to rounding. Skip to main content. Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling.

Contact Us. More Information. Check out the Facts and Figures methodology. See our Sustainable Materials Management web area for relevant information and our State Measurement Program page for state-specific information. Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. Science of this nature is crucial when understanding the many facets of the GPGP. These models have helped the engineers at The Ocean Cleanup to further improve the design of the cleanup system, which is set to be deployed mid What is the great pacific garbage patch?

How much plastic floats in the great pacific garbage patch? What types of plastic float in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch What are the effects on marine life and humans? How did The Ocean Cleanup conduct its research? Concentration Using data from multiple reconnaissance missions, a mass concentration model was produced to visualize the plastic distribution in the patch.

Modelled mass concentration By size classes. Vertical distribution The Ocean Cleanup measured the vertical distribution of plastic during six expeditions between to Persistency Characteristics of the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, such as plastic type and age, prove that plastic has the capacity to persist in this region.

Source: The Ocean Cleanup 02 - This hard hat dates back to Source: The Ocean Cleanup. Size classes Plastic within the patch was categorized into four size classes: — Microplastics 0. Categorization types Once the plastics were collected, a team of volunteers classified the plastic into: — Type H: Hard plastic, plastic sheet or film; — Type N: Plastic lines, ropes, and fishing nets; — Type P: Pre-production plastics cylinders, spheres or disks ; — Type F: Fragments made of foamed materials.

Photo credits: The Ocean Cleanup. Why large debris matter Because the plastics have been shown to persist in this region, they will likely break down into smaller plastics while floating in the GPGP.

Impact on wildlife Plastic has increasingly become a ubiquitous substance in the ocean. Photo credits: Matthew Chauvin. Impact on Humans and Society Once plastic enters the marine food web, there is a possibility that it will contaminate the human food chain as well. Affects the Human Foodchain Through a process called bioaccumulation, chemicals in plastics will enter the body of the animal feeding on the plastic, and as the feeder becomes prey, the chemicals will pass to the predator — making their way up the food web that includes humans.

Footage credits: The Ocean Cleanup. Ocean Research Laboratory Once the ocean plastic was brought back to the Netherlands, it then needed to be counted, classified and analyzed. Counting and Classifying The first step in analyzing the plastic was to quantify it — to turn this physical matter into data.

Understanding Physical Properties Not only is the size and count of the plastic in the GPGP important to calculate, but the way in which the plastic interacts in the water helps the team learn more about the buoyancy and depths of the plastic. Understanding Toxicity It is commonly known that harmful PBT Persistent Bio-accumulative Toxic chemicals are found in ocean plastics, so researchers at The Ocean Cleanup tested plastic samples from the expeditions for their chemical levels.

Ocean Plastic Data Science Numerous computational and mathematical processes and methods were used throughout the study of the GPGP, allowing the team to visualize and characterize many features of the patch and the plastic within it.

Turning Ocean Plastic into Data When the manta trawls samples were captured and then brought on the vessel, several criteria were noted in the datasheets, including the date, duration, and final coordinates of each tow.

Post-processing of aerial images. Photo credits: The Ocean Cleanup There were 3 sensor technicians, 7 navigation personnel and 10 researchers who helped track the plastic from above and monitor the equipment on board. A Key to Convert Pixels into Kilograms A swimming pool was used to find the correlation factor between top surface area and dry weight of large debris.

Merge all the Data into Comprehensive Computer Models The data and imagery gathered from these objectives was eventually used by our team of computational modelers to build various models and computer-generated graphics.

The report declared plastic pollution to be one of the main environmental threats to the seas, along with sea-level rise and warming oceans. The study included two aerial surveys in October of that took 7, images, and ocean surface trawls conducted in July, August, and September of by 18 vessels. Fifty plastic items collected had a readable production date: One from , seven from the s, 17 from the s, 24 from the s, and one from Researchers also found objects with recognizable words or sentences in nine different languages.

The writing on a third of the objects was Japanese and another third was Chinese. The country of production was readable on 41 objects, showing they were manufactured in 12 different nations. Leonard says he was impressed with the scope of the study. All rights reserved. Beyond those details, not much was known about the specific contents of the patch—until now. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

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Large debris, such as old fishing gear and nets, can kill animals by strangulation or prevent them from performing vital activities such as swimming or diving. Plastic trash smaller than 5mm microplastic poses an additional threat because it adsorbs toxic chemicals, including DDT and PCBs, which can cause cancers, weaken the immune system and make animals more susceptible to diseases and other infections.

More than species are known to have ingested or been entangled by plastic debris STAP Ingestion of plastic trash and the consequent uptake of toxins adsorbed on its surface can transfer harmful chemicals through the food web into species eaten by humans; these can include molecules known to increase the risk of birth defects and cancer.

Careless or unlawful disposal of syringes and other medical waste products can spread diseases and pose risks to beach-goers. Marine debris decreases the economic value and productivity of coastal regions, particularly in the tourism, recreation, and seafood industries, and creates additional costs. For the past 25 years, the Ocean Conservancy has organized ocean clean-ups in countries. Local volunteers walk beaches to collect trash, SCUBA divers collect debris from the ocean floor, and volunteers in boats collect floating debris, yielding staggering amounts of trash.

Data from these cleanups are used by ocean scientists, and can help inform policymakers. In water samples from the Great Lakes between the US and Canada, the team found spherical pieces of plastic that were less than a millimeter in diameter. Quickly, they realized that these plastic spheres were the microbeads advertised in facial scrubs as exfoliating agents.

The Ban the Bead campaign urges corporations to eliminate the use of microbeads in cosmetics, toothpaste and other products. An impressive list of corporations that have already removed microbeads from their products, or pledged to do so quickly, is available here. An organization providing information on the causes of marine debris and potential solutions. Boerger, C. Plastic ingestion by planktivorous fishes in the NorthPacific Central Gyre. Marine Pollution Bulletin —