Did you know: The highest point in Hamilton County, Ohio (near Cincinnati) is "Mount Rumpke?" It's actually a mountain of trash at the Rumpke landfill, standing at 1045 ft.
Here are some more fun facts about waste disposal in the United States as stated by by the University of Southern Indiana.
The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world, generating 1,609lbs per person per year. Equivalent to 5% of the world's population generating about 40% of the world's waste.
Each year, the US population discards enough aluminum to rebuild the US commercial air fleet four times over.
On average, each American throws out about 1,200lbs of food and other compostable waste.
Packaging waste represents about 65% of household trash. About 1/3 of total landfill volume consists of packaging waste.
On average, it costs $30 per ton to recycle trash, $50 to send it to the landfill, and up to $75 to incinerate it.
So when we are all back home after buying those new jeans, party clothes, and household necessities (whatever it may be), it's time we think of the bigger picture - like "Mount Rumpke."
These facts are published by the University of Southern Indiana. Read more here.
- Neyda Espana
Neyda is studying fashion design at Woodbury University and is a member of our Spring 2020 internship team.