The amount of trash we (Americans) produce is insane. I don’t get how it actually all gets disposed of. I live in a less populated area but when I see all the trash set out each week in my neighborhood, I feel like it would fill up an entire trash truck. There are tons of neighborhoods around ours that are even bigger. Where tf does all the trash go. My mind explodes when I think of massive cities like NY. I just feel like more trash gets produced than can be disposed of. This is one of the things that makes me believe we live in a simulation 😂
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We have a lot of empty space to work with. We stick it in landfills, when necessary we cover them up and open another one. Many times we turn the covered landfill into a golf course.
We are really good at using debris. All of the land from Michigan Avenue to Lake Michigan is made up of burned refuse from the Great Chicago Fire.
Your garbage is compacted in the truck with a giant hydraulic ram. So by volume about 2/3 is reduced before it gets to the landfill. Most municipalities are recycling at least some material too, so the bulky cardboard and paper are pulped and reused. Plastic recycling has gotten a bit….complicated. metals are often stripped out too. And then the organic material will eventually break down by volume. Many places are composting now too, and so the volume of garbage is less than it once was
Your garbage is compacted in the truck with a giant hydraulic ram. So by volume about 2/3 is reduced before it gets to the landfill. Most municipalities are recycling at least some material too, so the bulky cardboard and paper are pulped and reused. Plastic recycling has gotten a bit….complicated. metals are often stripped out too. And then the organic material will eventually break down by volume. Many places are composting now too, and so the volume of garbage is less than it once was
Your garbage is compacted in the truck with a giant hydraulic ram. So by volume about 2/3 is reduced before it gets to the landfill. Most municipalities are recycling at least some material too, so the bulky cardboard and paper are pulped and reused. Plastic recycling has gotten a bit….complicated. metals are often stripped out too. And then the organic material will eventually break down by volume. Many places are composting now too, and so the volume of garbage is less than it once was
For most places in the US it goes to a “dump” aka a landfill. That’s just a big well engineered hole that they put trash into. They can fit A LOT of trash there, generally several years worth. When it’s full they cover it over and start a new hole. Sometimes the trucks drop it at a transfer station instead of the dump. The transfer station puts it onto other vehicles like barges, or highway trucks for transport to a dump if the dump is far away.
We generate a lot of trash, but not nearly enough to worry about running out of landfill room, except in a few cases like NYC, where there is no large open undeveloped areas nearby to build a landfill
A lot of these places are open to the public if you want to drop off trash yourself. If you call ahead you can probably get a nerdy engineer to show you around.
For most places in the US it goes to a “dump” aka a landfill. That’s just a big well engineered hole that they put trash into. They can fit A LOT of trash there, generally several years worth. When it’s full they cover it over and start a new hole. Sometimes the trucks drop it at a transfer station instead of the dump. The transfer station puts it onto other vehicles like barges, or highway trucks for transport to a dump if the dump is far away.
We generate a lot of trash, but not nearly enough to worry about running out of landfill room, except in a few cases like NYC, where there is no large open undeveloped areas nearby to build a landfill
A lot of these places are open to the public if you want to drop off trash yourself. If you call ahead you can probably get a nerdy engineer to show you around.
For most places in the US it goes to a “dump” aka a landfill. That’s just a big well engineered hole that they put trash into. They can fit A LOT of trash there, generally several years worth. When it’s full they cover it over and start a new hole. Sometimes the trucks drop it at a transfer station instead of the dump. The transfer station puts it onto other vehicles like barges, or highway trucks for transport to a dump if the dump is far away.
We generate a lot of trash, but not nearly enough to worry about running out of landfill room, except in a few cases like NYC, where there is no large open undeveloped areas nearby to build a landfill
A lot of these places are open to the public if you want to drop off trash yourself. If you call ahead you can probably get a nerdy engineer to show you around.
City of Phoenix contracts with Waste Management who operates a multi square mile land fill near Mobile, AZ. Neighborhood garbage trucks carry your trash to a local waste transfer station where it’s loaded into semi trailers and driven 40+ miles to this man made mountain. Maybe visible from SPACE
City of Phoenix contracts with Waste Management who operates a multi square mile land fill near Mobile, AZ. Neighborhood garbage trucks carry your trash to a local waste transfer station where it’s loaded into semi trailers and driven 40+ miles to this man made mountain. Maybe visible from SPACE
City of Phoenix contracts with Waste Management who operates a multi square mile land fill near Mobile, AZ. Neighborhood garbage trucks carry your trash to a local waste transfer station where it’s loaded into semi trailers and driven 40+ miles to this man made mountain. Maybe visible from SPACE
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