Curb Appeal: Trash

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Curb Appeal Trash collection, explained The United States generates more municipal solid waste per capita than any other nation on Earth: roughly 292 million tons per year, or about 4.9 pounds per person per day. Trash collection in the US is a local responsibility, managed by city and county governments, often with help from private companies.   Waste flows through an industrial ecosystem that spans garbage trucks, transfer stations, landfills, and waste-to-energy facilities. As of 2018, roughly half of all municipal solid waste is landfilled, about 32% is recycled or composted, and nearly 12% is burned for energy recovery.   New York City became the first US city to implement public-sector garbage management in 1895. Around that time, less than 25% of American cities had waste management systems, but by 1910, 80% did. ... Read what else we learned about trash collection here.   Also, check out ...  > An anthropologist spent years riding garbage trucks to understand what our trash says about us. (Listen) > Modern landfills use layered liners, leachate systems, and gas monitoring to safely contain waste. (Learn) > A solar-powered device with googly eyes is pulling trash from Baltimore's harbor. (Watch) > Why some US cities pay thousands of dollars for a single public trash can. (Read)

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From Trash to Treat

Researchers have 3D-printed high-protein cookies from crop waste and recycled plastic (w/video). The cookies, dubbed µBites, are part of a NASA-funded project aimed at feeding astronauts on long-duration missions. The team used water, heat, pressure, and oxygen in a 32-step process to break down polyethylene terephthalate, the main component in single-use water bottles. The resulting carbon-rich liquid was combined with yeast engineered to consume it. As the yeast fed, it converted the carbon into proteins, fats, and other nutrients (how yeast works). Researchers combined these nutrients with sweetener, fiber, and starch to create a paste, which they then printed into cookies. Humans are awaiting institutional approval to try the cookies, but the prototypes reportedly smell good.  Experts say the technology could also help divert plastic waste while meeting global food demand, which is projected to increase by up to 56% by 2050 with population growth. All the plastic water bottles purchased from 2009 to 2019 would tower over New York’s Manhattan Island (scroll for visuals).