Junk Removal, Landfills And Recycling
Whether you are a business owner or a homeowner, how you manage junk removal matters. Recycling is a critical component in reducing the amount of waste going to landfills.
Junk removal is often a large part of everyone's normal clean up tasks, or a by-product of their business. Whether it's household trash, business waste, or construction debris, hauling it off and disposing of it all is a never ending task. And one of the most important facets of effectively managing this is recycling.
Thinking About Junk Removal and Recycling
Every year the EPA puts out a report titled Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts Sheet. According to the EPA website, the report includes information on municipal solid waste, or MSW, generation. In addition, it reports on that year's statistics on recycling, combustion with energy recovery and the use of landfills.
Currently the most recent figures available are from 2104. According to the EPA:
In 2014, in the United States, about 258 million tons of MSW were generated. Over 89 million tons of MSW were recycled and composted, equivalent to a 34.6 percent recycling rate. In addition, over 33 million tons of MSW were combusted with energy recovery and 136 million tons were landfilled.
In 2014, 89.5 percent of corrugated boxes were recycled. About 61 percent of yard trimmings were composted. Organic materials such as paper and paperboard, yard trimmings and food were the largest component of MSW generated.
Paper and paperboard accounted for over 26 percent, and yard trimmings and food accounted for another 28.2 percent. Plastics comprised about 13 percent of MSW; rubber, leather and textiles accounted for over nine percent; and metals made up nine percent. Wood followed at over six percent, and glass over four percent. Other miscellaneous wastes made up approximately three percent of the MSW generated in 2014.
We understand that opting for recycling and composting of solid waste can help in reducing so-called greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The EPA has estimated that in 2014, because of the 89 million tons of municipal solid waste that was either recycled or composted, there was an annual reduction of over 181 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. This is the equivalent of the annual emissions from over 38 million passenger cars.
Why You Should Make Recycling a Priority
California is not only often on the forefront of most trends in America, it is also one of the most populous states in the country. Consequently, the sheer volume of solid waste that is generated is massive. A graph produced by CalRecycle shows the quantities in tons that businesses and homes in California have produced since 1995:
The references in the key are explained here:
- Total Instate is total amount produced in California
- Total Exported is amount disposed of outside of California
- Total Import is waste brought in from outside of California
- ADC is Alternative Daily Cover - material other than earthen material placed on the surface of a municipal solid waste landfill at the end of each day
- AIC is Alternative Intermediate Cover - approved materials other than soil used as a temporary overlay on an exposed landfill face.
The significant drop in total tons of solid waste between 2005 and 2015 can be attributed largely to increasingly successful recycling programs and technology. But there is still a long ways to go. For businesses in California, the CalRecycle website offers a number of resources for expanding their contribution to recycling.
For consumers and homeowners, there is also a wealth of information and resources to help individuals and families reduce their "carbon footprint" and increase their recycling while reducing their waste production.
Getting Professional Help With Your Junk Hauling and Recycling Needs
We noted at the beginning that junk removal is often a large part of everyone's normal clean up tasks, or a by-product of their business operations. But getting the junk recycled can sometimes be a challenge. Especially when your looking at TV recycling, or refrigerator recycling, for example. So where can you go for professional help?
While we know you have a number of options, it pays to call Junk King. Our junk removal services provide an easy solution for clearing out clutter and hauling away unwanted junk.
People love Junk King because we provide the highest level of professionalism and fantastic customer service. You get a no-hassle experience with upfront pricing, easy scheduling, and fast service. Schedule a no-obligation appointment, and when you say the word we’ll haul away the junk and sweep everything clean.
Being Green, Being Kind
Your junk does not have to end up in a landfill, and Junk King believes in recycling every bit of material possible. You can feel good about doing the eco-friendly thing when you work with us.
We also send usable items to local non-profits and donation centers to help the community and reduce waste. One person’s unwanted furniture or electronics may do a stranger a world of good!
Residential Junk Removal Services from Junk King
Cleanliness and organization make a happy home. Stuck with useless junk? Let Junk King take care of the garbage and unwanted stuff:
- Hauling services for large and bulky amounts of junk.
- House cleanouts for moving, spring cleaning, converting rooms, or just getting a clean slate.
- Property cleanouts for landlords, real estate agents, or inherited homes full of old belongings.
- Trash removal for yard waste, construction projects, and cleaning projects
Junk King is proud to be North America’s greenest junk removal service. We pioneered recycling based junk removal in 2005 and have been going greener ever since. We sort each and every job for metals, e-waste, paper, household goods, textiles, furniture and appliances, in our recycling warehouses.
But “going green” also means we donate, repurpose, and reuse everything from clothing, toys, baby cribs and strollers to office furniture and supplies. We run many of our trucks run on biodiesel, a domestically produced fuel made from more environmentally safe non-petroleum, renewable resources. Junk King is committed to continuing to lead the way to help keep our planet clean, green and beautiful for the generations to come.
Junk King provides an efficient, safe and eco-friendly junk removal service so you don’t need to worry about the pick up or disposal of the debris after your project is complete.
Whether you need our services several times during a storage space cleaning project, or just once after it is complete, our hauling professionals will ensure that the furniture and debris is quickly out of your way so that you can get on with your life.
If you have questions about what we do or what we believe, give us a call at (707) 744-4254.
Junk Removal, Landfills And Recycling