Ohio among top 5 states with most trash with over 50 tons of waste per capita
Earth Day is April 22, and April is Earth Month, a chance to start being mindful of how much trash, single-use plastic and wasted food we go through each year.
IT Asset Management Group (IT-AMG) analyzed data from the Environmental Protection Agency and released a list of top states in the U.S. who accumulate the most landfill per capita.
“The downsides of landfills prompted us to see which states have the most waste in landfills on average, with Michigan coming out on top,” said Richy George, Chief Revenue Officer of IT Asset Management Group.
In the U.S., there are 333,287,557 people and 13,222,824,424 tons of waste in landfills, according to the EPA’s data.
That’s 39 tons per capita on average.
“Landfills are an integral part of modern waste management, although they might not be the most efficient way of managing waste. Once waste has reached landfill, it becomes much more difficult to be reused or recycled. Landfills can pose severe environmental hazards, such as methane gas pockets and groundwater pollution, if not properly managed, as well as the significant amounts of land and resources that must be dedicated to maintaining a landfill,” said George.
Which states have the most trash?
Michigan is at the top of the list for U.S. states filling their landfills the most, with 685 million tons of total waste in the state’s landfills.
Pennsylvania takes the fourth spot with 727.8 million tons of waste in landfills across the keystone state.
Ohio is the fifth worst state in the U.S. for trash, a total of 632.2 million tons of waste in landfills overall in the buckeye state and a little over 53 tons of waste in landfills per capita.
“Electronic waste can provide significant environmental risks if not properly disposed of. It can also mean a lot of lost value if e-waste goes to landfill due to how difficult it becomes to recover the valuable materials that make up a significant part of e-waste. Where possible, electronic waste should be disposed of properly to minimize its environmental impact by allowing it to either be reused or recycled,” said George.
Upcoming recycling events in Mahoning Valley area
The Mahoning County Green Team electronics and appliance collection starts April 24 to help residents responsibly dispose of electronics no longer needed or functional.
It’s happening every Wednesday and every third Saturday until the end of October at 825 Bev Road in Boardman.
Community members will register online ahead of the event or call (330) 740-2060 to get their drop-off time.
The Green Team is also hosting a household hazardous waste collection from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on May 11 at the Canfield Fairgrounds.
There are several community waste cleanups happening around the Mahoning Valley area, like the city of Girard’s volunteer cleanup day at 9 a.m. - noon April 13 at three locations: Stambaugh Park, Tod Park, or the Girard Free Library.
Youngstown Cityscape is hosting a cleanup and tree planting excursion at 9 a.m. April 20 at three locations over on Mahoning Avenue: Trek Coffee, Calvin Center for the Arts and Spring Commons and the B&O Station.
This story was originally published April 9, 2024 at 3:12 PM.
