As a nation, Americans generate more waste than any other nation in the world with 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg) of municipal solid waste (MSW) per person per day, fifty five percent of which is contributed as residential garbage.
As you'd expect of a country with a population of 1.4 billion, China produces the most municipal solid waste (over 15%). However, considering in terms of population, the US generates the most waste per person. The United States makes up around 5% of the world's population but produces 12% of the solid waste.
In 2020-21, Australia generated 75.8 mega tonnes (Mt) of total waste, including 14 Mt from households and local government, 32.8 Mt from the commercial and industrial sector and 29 Mt from construction and demolition. 75.8 Mt of waste is roughly the equivalent weight of 471 Sydney Opera Houses.
According to the Australian Government, Australia has 1,168 operational (counting both licensed and unlicensed) landfills. These landfills in Australia receive more than 20 million tonnes of waste each year.
The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering 2,200 acres (890 ha) in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western Staten Island.
Only 1% of Sweden's trash is sent to landfills. By burning trash, another 52% is converted into energy and the remaining 47% gets recycled.
New York's old garbage isn't gone. Whatever wasn't burned or beached is in places like Riker's Island, or Brooklyn, or under the U.N. and East Side Drive. South of City Hall, perhaps one-third of New York is "made" land, and much the same is true of almost any city in the world.
In 2020-21, Australia exported about 4.25 million tonnes (Mt) of waste and recovered materials with a reported value of $3.2 billion7.
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush.
Australia generated 75.8 million tonnes of solid waste in 2018-19, which was a 10% increase over the last two years (since 2016-17). Over half of all waste was sent for recycling (38.5 million tonnes), while 27% was sent to landfill for disposal (20.5 million tonnes).
Australia has plentiful supplies of natural resources, including the second largest accessible reserves of iron ore in the world, the fifth largest reserves of coal and significant gas resources. For a long time, commodities have made up a sizeable share of our exports.
Australia air quality is generally among some of the cleanest in the world, although the country is vulnerable to short-term extreme pollution spikes which occur due to bushfires and dust storms.
Central Australia's immense 'outback' is made up of semi-arid bush and deserts where temperatures can soar above 50°centigrade and it might not rain for years. This makes Australia the world's driest inhabited continent—and it's getting drier.
South Korea created its Waste Management Law in 1986, a practical step to achieving a no-waste country. The law focused on reducing the millions of tonnes of waste dumped at landfills. To reduce the high quantities of plastic in the garbage, the government banned the use of disposable plastic bags and containers.
One reason behind this large landmass being so desolate is the shortage of rainfall. More than two-third part of the country only receives less than 500 mm annual rain. This arid, uninhabitable part of Australia lies in the middle of the continent (the Outback), away from the coasts.
Strong growth in 2021 solidified Australia's position as the world's 12th largest economy in 2021. Nominal GDP was around A$2.2 trillion (US$1.6 trillion) in 2021. Australia is home to just 0.3% of the world's population, but accounts for 1.7% of the global economy.
Australian households waste 2.5 million tonnes of food each year, or more than 4kg per household per week. Organic material makes up about 50% of a what is in the average household wheelie bin.
In financial year 2018, approximately 748 thousand metric tons of waste were exported from Australia to China for recycling.
The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, found that 7% of the garbage originated from dumping at sea, while the source of 42% could not be definitively identified, due to the debris breaking down into smaller fragments. Most debris was found on the east coast of Australia.
The garbage makes its way into the center of the gyre, where it becomes trapped and builds up. Trash buildups in the middle of gyres are known as garbage patches. For example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch exists in the North Pacific between the U.S. states of California and Hawai'i.
The waste is burned in boilers, producing steam. The steam drives turbines that generate electricity, which is sold to Hawaiian Electric Co.; This accounts for 7% of the electricity used on Oahu. The burned trash reduces to ash, which is taken to the landfill. “Ash is much preferable to trash in a landfill.
If garbage is dumped into the ocean, the oxygen in the water could be depleted. This results in poor health for marine life due to lack of oxygen. Animals such as seals, dolphins, penguins, sharks, whales, and herring could all die. Bottles and other plastics including bags can suffocate or choke sea creatures.