Few of us take the time to think about where our garbage goes after the truck picks it up or how the current system of garbage collection came to be. The following is a brief history of waste and waste collection.
A century ago the waste disposal system consisted of opening your window or door and throwing your trash on the street. The garbage back in those days was a far cry from our trash of today. It was composed mostly of coal ash and food waste with a very small portion being made up of manufactured products like glass and paper. Today 71% of the waste we dispose of consists of throwaway products and packaging and although the make up of our trash has changed our systems for managing it have not changed at the same rate of speed.
The origins of Municipal Solid Waste came along with the Industrial Revolution. As more and more people moved into the cities from outlying areas this concentration gave way to epidemics of infectious disease caused by unsanitary conditions. At the beginning of the 20th century these health concerns created political support for the investment in an infrastructure that would provide clean water and sewerage and a system to collect and dispose of waste. Pressure from local groups prompted the cities of New York and Chicago to replace “cart men” who were responsible for the waste with garbage collectors working for the city or city contractors. By 1914 half of 150 cities surveyed were providing this type of collection and by 1930 garbage collection had been transformed into an organized municipally operated service.
The major changes that occurred in the 20th century were the changes in the composition of waste. The waste created by manufactured products and their packaging increased more than tenfold over the course of the 20th century going from 92 pounds to 1,242 pounds a year per person as recorded in 2000. During the 20th century product waste created unforeseen challenges to the Municipal Solid Waste Management System. Most of this waste was disposed of in local landfills, which at that time were little more than open-air dumps or was incinerated. During the 60s, 70s and 80s these landfills and incinerators polluted the air and water and were beginning to be viewed by the public as a serious health hazard. Citizens demanded that something be done about this waste problem and they again pressured local governments. This pressure led to the decommissioning of many landfills and precipitated the building of new landfills that met the criteria necessary to contain contaminants. This also was the beginning of an effort by local governments to invest in recycling programs in an effort to reduce the flow of waste to the landfills. Beginning in the mid 1980s local governments began increasing their investment in collection programs for recycling. Although recycling had been practiced throughout American history it had stopped almost entirely in the 50s and 60s. It was not until the 1980s that curbside collection programs were becoming more common.
Waste generation per-capita has more than doubled since 1960 and the amount of waste generated just keeps growing. In 1960 each person on average generated 2.7 pounds of waste per day that had increased to 4.71 pounds per day in 2003 and is now estimated to be around 7 pounds per day. Despite all the advances and investment in recycling, recycling rates have stayed the same since the mid 1990s and the amount of waste generated just keeps rising. Cities and towns bear the burden for cleaning up after producers and consumers of wasteful products.
The convenience of weekly trash collection hides the real cost of increased resource consumption. It is that out of sight out of mind that helps us all avoid looking at our consumption habits and their consequences. The public cost of these practices just keeps increasing but there are no real incentives for the producers and consumers of these products to stop making and using them. Since 1960 throwaway products and packaging waste have tripled. Despite the best efforts of recyclers we are sending more and more throwaway products and packaging to the landfill everyday. Fortunately for us all consumers are becoming more aware of the waste they are generating and we are changing our buying habits and businesses are becoming aware that consumers are changing their attitudes about the products they purchase. New policies need to be implemented that put the responsibility for these products where they belong on the producer. Most importantly we need to do the simplest thing we can do with the products we do purchase when finished with them and that is to recycle. At Sedona Recycles we strive to provide collection for more and more materials while at the same time educating the public on ways to reduce waste. In Sedona and the Verde Valley this recycling is free to everyone and it is as easy as locating the nearest drop off recycling site to you. Visit www.sedonarecycles.org to find our drop off locations and while you are there consider becoming a member or donating to support our efforts.
