Transcript How Much Garbage? - ESC-2

HOW MUCH
GARBAGE?
Is taking out the trash one
of your chores at home?
Sometimes the bags are
light, other times they’re
so heavy you have to drag
them to the dumpster.
Based on how much trash
is produced by your
family, what is your
hypothesis on how much
garbage Americans
generate?
How much garbage does a typical
American family of four generate in
one week?
A.
B.
C.
D.
About 20 pound
50 pounds
80-150 pounds
250 pounds
How much garbage is that for each
person for one day?
A.
B.
C.
D.
1 pound
3-4 pounds
Over 10 pounds
22 pounds
Americans generate about
190 to 200 million tons of
garbage a year. That is
enough trash to fill a
bumper-to-bumper convoy
of garbage trucks halfway
to the moon.
What happens to this
garbage? Sure, it goes in
the garbage truck and we
never see it again. But it
does go somewhere.
Usually, it goes to a landfill.
Then what happens to it?
Every day, leaves die and
fall off of plants. In the
Fall, many trees lose their
leaves. Grass is mowed in
yards. What happens to
all of this dead plant
material?
Why aren’t we up to our
necks in garbage, dead
plant material and dead
animals?
When living things die,
what happens to the
energy trapped in the
bodies of the organisms?
When we throw things
away, what happens to
the energy trapped in the
matter of those objects
when they end up in the
landfill?