The US Landfill Crisis And Sustainable Junk Disposal

The amount of solid waste we generate continues to increase every year but the amount of landfill space continues to decrease. And this is not sustainable.

And a large amount of the solid waste we dispose of each year is made up of junk and other household debris that can be recycled. But much of it gets landfilled instead.

A Nation of Landfills and Solid Waste Generation

In the United States, dumping our trash and solid waste into large pits, or piling it up into large mounds, has been a questionable, but practical approach to solid waste management for almost a century.

Granted, trash disposal was managed in somewhat different ways across the country over the last 300 years or so, but the first relatively "modern" landfill was developed about 85 years ago.

According to an entry at Wikipedia,

The Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill, opened in Fresno, California in 1937, is considered to have been the first modern, sanitary landfill in the United States, innovating the techniques of trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of waste with soil.

Interestingly, this site represented the significance of waste disposal in modern, American urban society and it was later designated a National Historic Landmark.

It stands to reason that, as the population increases, the amount of solid waste generated will increase as well. However, when viewed as a percentage or an average amount per person, the actual volume of municipal solid waste, or MSW, as it's known, has actually increased beyond the population rate. 

As one source noted,

In the U.S., trash generation has tripled since the 1960s, largely because of the proliferation of cheap packaging: styrofoam, plastic, aluminum cans. Whereas meat used to be carried away in paper, now it’s placed on a styrofoam tray and wrapped in plastic film. And much of this packaging, without thought, is tossed. It goes down a chute, inside a bin, onto a truck, and, eventually, into a landfill.

The resulting problem, which has become one of crisis proportions, is that we are gradually running out of space for landfills while older facilities are filling up or already shut down.

And, yet, the volumes of trash generated each day and each year continue to grow. 

A Snapshot of the Landfill Crisis and Sustainable Waste Management

There is good news, however. 

New technologies and innovative processes are promising to reduce the overall amount of solid waste, especially plastics, that still end up in landfills today. 

In addition, recycling efforts continue to expand and improve, while manufacturers are working towards reducing packaging for their products and utilizing increasing amounts of recycled and recovered materials to do so.

But we still have a ways to go in this country when it comes to achieving truly sustainable solid waste management practices.

Here is a brief snapshot of the U.S. landfill landscape and sustainable management trends.

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Household and Commercial Junk Removal as a Green Alternative

At Junk King, we pride ourselves on our long history of being a genuinely green junk disposal operation. We always have been and, since our founding in 2005, making the effort to recycle as much of everything we dispose of every day has been central to our corporate mission.

Today, with almost 150 partners operating Junk King businesses throughout the United States and Canada, we are actively pursuing the goal of seeing a society that will achieve Zero Waste and  a truly sustainable solid waste management system.

Most junk items, debris, and other types of household or commercial rubbish eventually ends up in our landfills, while only about 30 of it is actually recycled or recovered.

Junk King's mission is to turn those numbers around so that only 30 percent or less ends up being landfilled. And we depend on our customers to partner with us to help make this a reality. Instead of putting old junk items and other unwanted debris and trash into waste bins and containers, calling Junk King for rubbish removal is a green alternative - and an easy one since we do all the heavy lifting!

Your Best Choice for Green and Sustainable Junk Removal 

Junk King provides efficient, safe and eco-friendly junk and household trash removal services and commercial junk removal so you don’t need to worry about loading or disposing of your junk, solid waste materials, and other debris that you might otherwise take to a landfill. 

And it doesn't matter if you need our services a few times during your spring home cleanout, or just once after you're all done, our junk hauling professionals will make sure that all the garbage and junk is out of your way so that you can get on with enjoying the spring weather!

Do you have large piles of household junk, debris, and trash? No worries! Our highly trained team specializes in all types of junk and household garbage removal.

We can be at your home or place of work in no time, so call us today!

Our crews are fully insured and professional, which means can trust them to get remove and dispose of your unwanted items in an expert and courteous fashion.

And, of course, one of the best things about partnering with Junk King is that we always recycle as much of the material we pick up as possible. This is a central tenet of our corporate mission and proof of our commitment to being an eco-friendly removal service.

If you have questions about what we can do for you, give us a call at 1-888-888-JUNK (5865).