LITTER, HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?

Is it possible that something so easily discarded from our lives as our everyday trash can last one million years on the planet? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding YES. A typical American generates an average of four pounds of solid waste per day, producing a ton of refuse in a year. But how many of us actually realize how long the garbage lasts?

When solid waste is properly disposed of or recycled, the effects can be drastically reduced. But what about the thousands of pounds of trash that are lying by the side of the road? We see litter each day, everywhere we go. We drive by it in our cars, on our way to work, or to school. It has become a disappointing part of our everyday lives, and when left to slowly rot on its own, litter can and will outlast us all.

The facts are plain to see. Newspaper takes one full year, when left to its own, to decay. Some other common roadside garbage is not so "friendly" including: cigarette butts, five years; tires, 50 years; steel cans, 100
years; plastic bottles, 450 years; aluminum cans, 500 years; six-pack holders, 1,000 years; and glassbottles, 1,000,000 years. The only way to combat this is to properly dispose of your garbage at all times and to
recycle whenever possible. We live in a disposable society. In Cumberland County, over 3,000,000 lbs of litter and illegal dumpings have been removed from our roads, in the last 10 years. Manufacturers offer us many products
which are designed to make our lives easier, but all too often they are not environmentally friendly.

The Cumberland County Improvement Authority urges you to buy recyclable products whenever possible, and to think before you throw anything away. Remember what the Jersey Devil says "Litter Burns Me Up!" For more
information about recycling and Clean Communities programs available in Cumberland County, please contact the Cumberland County Improvement Authority at 825-3700 or visit us on the web at: www.ccia-net.com