The majority (38.6 percent) of municipal solid waste is paper including writing paper, office paper, and paperboard. In fact, a 12-foot high wall could be built from Los Angeles to New York City with the office and writing paper that Americans throw away every year (Blair 13). Yard waste follows at 12.8 percent or 31.6 million tons each year.

This solution is considered a high-waste

Another important step to prevention is source reduction. This is defined by the EPA as, “any change in the design, manufacturing, purchase, or use of materials or products (including packaging) to reduce the amount or toxicity before they become MSW. Source reduction means using less material in a package, reducing the volume of packaging material that must be recycled or discarded after consumption. Prevention also refers to the reuse of products or materials.” (Alexander 90).

Environmentalists throughout the world have come up with four golden rules to waste management:: 1) Know that everything is connected, 2) Know that there is no “away” for the wastes we produce, 3) Know that dilution is not always the solution to pollution, and 4) Know that the best and cheapest way to deal with waste and pollution is to produce less and then reuse and recycle most of the material we use.

Landfills cause numerous environmental problems because they release harmful contaminants that are either produced during the decomposition of, or naturally found in, municipal solid waste. One of these chemicals is methane, a flammable gas that is deadly to breathe and can trigger explosions or underground fires that can smolder for years. Another dangerous chemical frequently found in MSW is cadmium, a carcinogen which, when ingested by humans through air or water pollution, can build up in the body for years, damaging the lungs, ki

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