The United States has long been entrenched in capitalist habits of excessive production and single-use consumption. Citizens are conditioned to throw away and prioritize convenience. This is especially ironic given that the nation’s waste management system is not built for such practices, nor has it been able to handle this amount of waste safely, let alone sustainably. These larger systems must be changed for two reasons: to make sustainability feasible for Americans and to make effective waste management a viable and desirable option.
Waste management in the U.S. relies on several notable methods. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American waste can undergo “reuse, recycling, storage, treatment, energy recovery and/or disposal.” This article focuses on recycling and disposal. Most solid waste is placed in disposal units such as landfills to safely store municipal solid waste (MSW) away from humans. Haulers must pay a fee for landfills to accept their MSW. Once this handoff is complete, waste is placed in a trench-like hole in the ground, covered in soil, and left to decompose.
By 2018 (the latest year reported by the EPA), 69,090,000 out of 292,360,000 tons of waste were being recycled. This is small compared to the 146,120,000 tons sent to landfills. These numbers show a drastic increase from 1960 levels when total waste production was less than 100,000,000 tons per year. More simply, nearly half of the trash produced by Americans in 2018 was sent to landfills. The rate and volume of waste generated have increased massively over the years; based on these trends, such patterns are likely to persist.
Even more jarring than these numbers is that waste management systems in the U.S. have not adapted to such increases. Waste systems have long overlooked their many environmental impacts. Methane is a greenhouse gas, meaning it is a significant contributor to atmospheric climate change. Organic matter, such as food and plants, that has decomposed in oxygen-deprived environments produces this gas. Landfills create such environments by tightly packing waste underground. Landfills will use methane capture to trap the gas in pipes, for example, and burn it to generate energy. While this is productive in theory, methane capture has proven inefficient in the U.S., as landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions, accounting for 15.1%. Gas leaks are a significant contributor to this.
Additionally, large piles of waste sitting in landfills produce wastewater leachate or waste sludge. This liquid is filled with toxins, which leak into the ground and affect surrounding wildlife, ecosystems, and drinking water.
These problems are reinforced by capitalism, which is embedded in governance structures within the United States. The material economy in America promotes the extraction of raw materials, the constant production of goods, and their subsequent disposal to sustain consumer demand. As stated by Environment America, a leading research and policy center, this is a “one-way street.” The country’s consumption system encourages and even incentivizes these poor habits for consumers. Disposable items are cheaper in the short term, making the single-use life more feasible and appealing to lower-middle-income households. Further, it is more profitable for producers to continue using less sustainable materials and creating products with shorter lives; products that break easily, cannot be repaired, and/or are single-use keep consumers coming back for more.
The American approach is certainly not the only approach. Successful waste management can be found overseas, such as in Japan, where waste disposal is strictly regulated. Recycling is collected in different batches, as different materials have their own recycling processes. The separation of glass bottles, cans, plastic, batteries, and paper is required for weekly waste pickups. Citizens must sort through their own waste, and it is picked up numerous times throughout the week. Japan’s waste management system separates items into burnable, non-burnable, and recyclable. Indeed, a major component of this system is a reliance on waste incineration technology and the conversion of waste to energy. This makes waste management more sustainable and efficient. Japan tries to avoid landfills, an area the U.S. consistently falls short in.
So often, we see campaigns encouraging citizens to recycle or to adjust their consumption habits, and just as much, they draw attention away from the systems that impose these habits in the first place. This is not to say that creating cultural change around sustainable lifestyles and habituating ourselves to better practices is not important. However, when considering why we act the way we do, one must look at the options we have to work with. Landfills are the dominant form of waste disposal, as well as the easiest and the cheapest. Yet, even if households want their recyclables to undergo this process, it is not guaranteed under such poorly managed waste systems.
In her study on individual behaviour concerning global environmental challenges, Elizabeth DeSombre analyzes this precise issue: how can individual action matter when it is the system that ultimately prevents progress? Focusing on persuading people to behave more sustainably is counterproductive in the face of larger unsustainable systems. These systems frame how we act; they give us options and limit us. No matter our good intentions, I agree with DeSombre that the system decides our greater impact. Waste management is just one example of how systematic change would make change at the individual level much easier and more effective.
Current waste management problems are systemic, and they require large-scale adjustments so that change can truly last. Of course, this requires reforming production systems before greater waste management can be addressed. This changes the types and amounts of waste being managed to begin with. Offering consumers higher-quality goods that can be recycled or composted sets waste management up for long-term sustainability. Alongside prioritizing recycling and biodegradation (composting), this will be the start of much-needed progress.
Edited by Shihun Lee
This is an article written by a Staff Writer. Catalyst is a student-led platform that fosters engagement with global issues from a learning perspective. The opinions expressed above do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication.
