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Talking TrashAuthor(s): Martin MedinaSource: Foreign Policy, No. 168 (Sep. - Oct., 2008), pp. 40-41Published by: Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLCStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25462335 .
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t I ~~P R I MA EI I N U M4 B E R SI
Talking Trash 3.1 lbs. T T he world throws away more than 2 billion tons of garbage every
year. And though recycling rates are at historic highs, trash heaps are piling up in rapidly growing countries like China and India. So, how 1 do we create a solution to the global garbage crisis that isn't a load of 1 .8 lbs. rubbish? I By Martin Medina 1.3 lbs.
Garbage Generation Rich Refuse (per capita/per day) Unsurprisingly, the wealthier the person, the more garbage he or she produces. The good news? As recycling rates Low-income Middle-income gHighIncome increase, the amount of trash Countries Countries Countries per person in rich countries is leveling off. But it's beginning to overflow everywhere else.
Projected Garbage Generati to (in millions of tons per year)
500 Cw China
Total Tons of Trash 400 O United S ates (per year) * India
2000 21200 23
H I ow-income CountreCountriess
2 t ta C I 2
J** ld"%k ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~h nie tae s h ordsto rs
566 w million
. . j j million X n W~~~~~Chia'sspendn oand wat_aaeetwl
\ B 21 - tme hanChia. I 204,Cheuounryieso
l;;illi.ont/ i the United States as the world's top trash
_ mililon - /
~~~~~~~~~~producer. To cope with its mounds of garbage,E \ I / : : ~~~~~~~~~~~~China's spending on waste management will
have to increase eightfold by 2020, and 1,400 new landfills will be needed, nearly as many
40 FOREIGN POLICY
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In the Dumps Waste Composition Food waste Construction & S Patc X Ppr+ Your trash says a lot about Foodmastetion dOebris 1U Plastics Paper
you. Open up a trash can / in New York City, for Glass Metals Other
example, and you will find evidence of its residents' wealth: There will be as much food packaging paper, wrappers, or plastic-as leftover food, _ plus toys and electronics barely off the shelf. But in poorer cities such as Cairo, garbage piles are full of the NwokCioBeo eh inedible remains of fruits A2,0 tonsie 12,000 tons d 13,000 tons A ilres dai
and vegetables. daily daily 14,000 tons daily 'daily
0: z
2D<
-
1Qz
z O
< n Eco8
2,
"CC <
V =
C)2E
LZ c/o
en t >
Bag It, Burn It, or Bin It Where Trash Goes: How countries take out the trash varies enormously. Some countries, such
as Turkey, rely on landfills; countries with space constraints, like Japan, send most garbage to incinerators. In the United States, where more than half
Landfill of all trash heads to landfills, the number of dump sites has decreased significantly in recent years from 6,300 in 1990 to fewer than 1,800 in
China t 2006-but the average size of each site has grown dramatically. .................... ... .... .........
Brazil Incineration China 2 fc9 _ ;\<fZ= Recycle
Turkey Brazil
France 3 1 g B r t a i Bran
F r A n c ..... X=_*'. ..................................
BvdlU4eKribltain v v y l BtAin
Japan 3.6% *~~~~~Jpa Japan r
USA USUA ------------------------ ............................................
Choosing to Reuse Recycling Rates Choosing to Reuse * ~~~~~~~~Brazil Japan * USA * FranceLV LC
Americans recycle twice as much trash * B Jp * as they did 20 years ago, mostly due 9-% to thousands of local recycling - - N K programs. In countries where such _ X programs are rare, the poor often step - - - -- ------- --------
in to fill the void. Worldwide, at least 62% 59% 2o
15 million people make a living by 51% 52% 5 recovering and recycling trash. Brazil ..
.. . * l
boasts one of the world's highest ------------------------------------ - - - - ...
alum inum recycling rates thanks -------------------------- ........................
largely to the 500,000 trash pickers ------------ -------
who toil on the streets collecting refuse. - - -
s
- -
Plas ic bottlIes Paper Aluminum cans Glass
SEPTEMBER I OCTOBER 2008 41
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