After watching Waste Land (2010) on Hulu, it really got me thinking. The movie made me want to be more conscious of what I throw away each day. I know my family already has a very small amount of trash compared to the average American family, since according to sources 4.4 lbs is the average amount of trash produced by an American each day. We (my husband, my son and myself) go through one 13 gallon trash bag a week that never weighs more than 20 lbs. We also rarely eat out and I stay at home with my son, so I know this really is the amount of trash we produce a week.
I am also curious what it would be like for our landfills if we had pickers (not that I am saying we should). The trash going into the landfill is 60% recyclable. This is a very large percentage that could very easily be reduced. I feel like recycling should be a given, but it still is not. In Denver recycling is part of your trash service, you have a bin that you place out twice a week and you can throw all your recyclables into that bin. It is pretty easy to recycle here, yet for some reason, we have a neighbor that still doesn’t recycle. I really don’t understand it. It isn’t like they are not using items that are not recyclable, because that would be nearly impossible.
These are just some thoughts that came from watching the movie. Again, I think you should check this movie out.