#Penn into the trash it goes manual#

Recycling facilities generally focus on processing aluminum, plastics, paper and glass, while composters use food and agricultural waste to create compost for municipal and consumer use. The goal of both recycling and composting is to reuse waste by turning it into new products. Roughly 35% of all solid waste goes to either a recycling or composting facility. Eventually, garbage will decompose in a landfill, but the process is slow in this oxygen-free environment. As a layer fills, it is covered with another sheet of plastic and topped with soil and plants. Drains and pipes crisscross each layer to collect the contaminated fluid created by garbage. They are made up of layers lined with clay and covered in a flexible plastic skin. Landfills are designed to store waste, but not to break it down. There are more than 3,000 active landfills in the U.S., and approximately 52% of our country’s garbage ends up in one of them. Where Does Garbage End Up?Īfter our trash has made its way through compactors and sorting machines, it is taken to one of the following four destinations where it will be dumped, recycled or, in some cases, used to make energy. State-of-the-art MRFs incorporate a variety of technologies to recover recyclables, such as magnets, shredders and current separators (for sorting ferrous and non-ferrous metals).

#Penn into the trash it goes manual#

Dirty MRFs process recyclable items that have been mixed with trash, which requires more manual labor for sorting. Clean MRFs receive recyclables which have already been sorted by homes or businesses. There are two types of MRFs – clean and dirty. Material recovery facilities, or MRFs, are locations where debris is sorted to separate useful materials from the waste stream before it reaches its final destination. Then, it is loaded into larger trucks that will take the trash to its final destination. Here, the trash is compacted and prepared for transfer. Transfer stations provide a temporary location for garbage trucks to drop off their waste. Where does trash go after you throw it away? Whether it’s picked up in a trash can, roll off dumpster or somewhere else, your garbage might make a few stops before it reaches its final destination. also goes to recycling centers, composters and waste-to-energy plants. Some cities, like San Francisco and Seattle, are able to recycle more than they send to landfills, but the majority of the U.S. The landfill is the most popular destination for solid waste, by a wide margin. Where garbage ends up varies widely between regions, states and even cities.

So, where exactly does all that trash go? The United States is the top producer of municipal solid waste, or MSW, in the entire world, generating about 268 million tons every year. What Happens to Trash After You Throw It Away?