Environmental IQ - Where Does My Trash Go ??
Did you ever wonder what happens to your trash? Every day we pile things into our garbage cans - collect them and take them to a can outside our home and then once or twice a week take it to the curb where a Garbage Truck picks it up and takes it "away". 
But where is "away" Did you ever wonder ... ?
"Every Californian generates approximately 6 pounds each of trash per day! There’s everything from paper, uneaten food, construction leftovers, cut grass, plastic, glass, metal, old batteries, computers, phones, and tons of other "stuff." ... What happens to that trash once it gets thrown away?"
"The trash ... gets picked up by your ... "garbage collector"--and then makes its way to a "materials recovery facility (MRF)" to be sorted. ... MRFs sort out the reusable and recyclable materials that accidentally get put into the trash can, like plastic bottles and glass."
"The things that can be used again are then taken to recycling facilities. ... The rest of the trash is transported to a landfill ... A landfill is not a simple hole in the ground to dump waste! A landfill is a lined opening to put trash. ... The trash is poured into the landfill and covered by a layer of soil so that the trash doesn’t fly away, get wet, or get into the surrounding area to affect wildlife. Each day’s layer of trash and soil is a "cell" of trash that gets stacked on top of one another like a row of dominoes. They repeat this process until the landfill is full."
You can imagine how big the landfill can get ... and see the need for and value of recycling. The less trash that actually makes it to the landfill the lower the cost that you are charged by your garbage collector ... and the less land that is needed for landfills ... and the less chance for landfills polluting the environment. The national average fee for of trash "tipped" at a landfill is $35. / ton.
The answer?
>>> Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Via: State of California Web Pages Link