The Secret Life of Your Garbage

Ever wonder what happens to you as trash after you throw us in the trashcan or dumpster and then watch it disappear from the curb? You might just assume it vanishes into thin air, but really, we embark on a journey filled with adventure and a complete transformation. I'm about to make you a piece of trash, well figuratively.

Step 1: The Pickup

Every week, you take your us out to the curb then a garbage truck swoops in and hauls it away. This is where we begin our journey, we go from house to house until the truck is full then it is time to head to the landfill. Depending on what kind of trash we are we could be taken on one of several different paths. Some of us head straight to a landfill, some gets sorted for recycling, and some of us even get turned into energy.

Step 2: Time To Sort

At a waste processing facility, we will go through a sorting process that determines our fate. Recyclables like paper, some types of plastic, and glass get a second chance. While the non-recyclable among us is prepped for disposal. Some dumpster rental companies will sort trash and begin the recycling process the waste reaches the landfill. 

Step 3: The Landfill

For those of us who didn’t get recycled or repurposed, the landfill is the final destination. But modern landfills are very different from the overflowing garbage pits of the good old days. Most are now designed with liners to prevent contamination and methane capture systems that harness gas emissions and produce energy.

Step 4: The Recycling Revolution

Recycling is where things get really interesting. That plastic water bottle we were yesterday, we could be turned into a brand-new bottle or even clothing. Our paper friends get pulped and reshaped into new sheets, while aluminum can buddies are melted down and reborn as fresh cans in just a few weeks.

Step 5: Waste Into Energy

Some of us doen’t go to a landfill ever we get converted into energy through incineration. This technology helps reduce the volume of us piling up while generating electricity and/or heat. Cities around the world are adopting these methods to make throwing us out more sustainable.

The Strangest Things That Show Up in Waste System

People are surprised at some of the bizarre items that people say we are. From rings, antique collectibles, and even cash. So, everything in a trashcan is necessarily trash, it's in the eye of the beholder, right? Events that we often dont tihnk about such as cleaning up after a winter freeze can create unusual types of waste. 

How People Can Make a Difference

Your role in throwing us away doesn’t end at the trash can or dumpster. By reducing us and reusing articles like us you can help keep landfills from overflowing with our kind and make it nicer for the humans. Compost us, donating us, and properly disposing of the hazardous ones among us are all easy ways humans can live cleaner.

Final Thoughts

In closing we as garbage, may be out of sight, but we are far from out of mind. Every piece of us has a journey—whether it’s rotting in a landfill, getting transformed into something new, or powering the home your human lives in. So next time your human takes you out, remember: it’s not the end, it’s just the beginning.