Americans Throw Twice As Much Trash In Landfills As Previously Thought

Environment





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The new finding also has profound implications for how much methane the landfills produce. Huguette Roe/Shutterstock

Americans are plugging up landfills with twice as much garbage as previously believed, a new study has found. Looking at actual measurements taken from all landfill sites, rather than the estimations calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it turns out that the average American chucks 2.3 kilograms (5 pounds) of trash into the landfill each day.