In addition to producing less trash, we've got to cut the time that it takes for our trash to degrade. The problem you'll be attempting to solve in the course of this science fair project is related to the second part of the equation above. This symbol means that a product or package may be recycled. To solve this problem, we've got to learn to produce less trash, and to produce trash that won't stick around so long. The problem on a large scale, as stated above, is that we generate too much trash in this country, and much of it is material that will take many, many years to degrade. Once you know, you can become an environmental ranger and start encouraging everyone around you to use the most environmentally friendly bag. In this section, we'll look at several types of bags and try to determine which ones break down faster when dumped into a landfill. It's sort of depressing to think that a plastic bag can outlive the majority of people on the planet. It's estimated, however, that it may take 100 years for a plastic bag to completely degrade. Nobody knows for sure how long regular plastic bags take to totally degrade, or break down, in a landfill, because we've only been using plastic commercially for about 90 years. The plastic bags that most of us place outside of our homes to be hauled off to landfills every week are not exactly what you'd call environmentally friendly. In addition to the amount of trash we produce as individuals and as a country, how we dispose of it is another problem. We all, however, can help cut back on the amount of trash we generate by keeping in mind the motto of environmentalists-reduce, reuse, and recycle. With only so much landfill space available, scientists and environmentalists are looking to other means of disposing of trash, such as burning it. Is it any wonder our landfills are filling up faster than we can figure out what to do about it?Īs you can imagine and probably know, trash is a weighty (no pun intended) topic in this country. There are nearly 300 million people in the United States. Forty years ago, each person produced only 2.7 pounds each day. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans generate about 4.6 pounds of trash per person-every day. The amount of stuff we throw away in this country is staggering. Americans produce a lot of trash, there's no question about it.
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