Living :

Quoth the Raven, "How long does trash last in landfills?"

07.17.2008

Submitted by tmeronek on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 12:21am.
The Bite:
Evermore. Like something out of a creepy poem, even biodegradable items like food can hang around in garbage dumps for years. Trash is packed so tightly that it doesn't always get the necessary light, oxygen, and/or microorganisms it needs to decompose, so truly, we implore: Reduce, reuse, and recycle when you can. Ca-caw!
The Benefits: 
  • A future that's not all midnight-dreary. Researchers have found (perfectly compostable) 25-year-old corncobs and grapes, and (easily recyclable) 50-year-old newspapers that are still readable in landfills. The less waste we toss, the fewer mummified remains will hang around in dumps.
  • It's easier than tapping, tapping on your chamber door. You might be surprised what your local waste management facility will recycle and compost.
Personally Speaking: 
Luckily for SF Biters, the local recycling department takes a lot of stuff, so our trash cans stay relatively empty in comparison to our compost and recycling bins.
Wanna Try: 
  • Try making your trash can the smallest bin in your house, putting everything allowable into your recycling and compost bins.
  • Story of Stuff - we've tipped it before, but this 20-minute vid's a good primer on what happens to trash when we chuck it.

Cocktail Fact

Though it's one of the most famous poems of all time, Edgar Allen Poe made a paltry $9 from the first publication of "The Raven."

Bang For The Bite

If 10,000 Biters halve their daily landfill input, in a year we'll keep the weight of 1,846,900 copies of the Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe outta landfills.

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sama  on November 12, 2009 at 06:05 AM 1
Trash is packed so tightly that it doesn't always get the necessary light, oxygen, and/or microorganisms it needs to decompose, so truly, we implore: Reduce, reuse, and recycle when you can. Ca-caw! games adventure games
sunny  on November 13, 2009 at 01:06 AM 2
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