Interesting facts about waste. Interesting facts, amazing facts, unknown facts in the museum of facts

• The most common waste on the planet is cigarette butts. 4,500,000,000 of them are thrown away every year.
• The problem of waste recycling was first tackled in England 200 years ago. IN late XIX century, the first waste incineration plant appeared there. Today in Europe, waste disposal involves sorting it and using it as recyclable materials.
• Sweden copes best with its waste, recycling 52% of the total amount of waste. It is followed by Austria (49.7%) and Germany (48%). We, with 25%, have someone to follow.
• Garbage has always played a dominant role in human culture. It is surprising that he left his mark in religion. For example, a plot of land near Jerusalem, where waste was dumped and periodically burned, is called Gehenna of Fire in the Bible. For Christians, Gehenna has become one of the designations of Hell. No less famous is one of the 12 labors performed by the hero of ancient Greek myths, Hercules - he solved the problem of waste accumulated in the stables of King Augeas.
• The science of garbology studies methods of waste disposal. Garbology (from the English garbage “garbage”), or garbage science, or garbage science, is a separate branch of ecology that studies garbage waste and methods of its disposal. Garbology is also a type of archeology, in other words “garbage archaeology,” which studies garbage waste in order to study the everyday life of people.
• Every second, 3.8 kg of “environmentally friendly waste” appears in the world: leftovers, eggshell, potato peels, etc. It is 29% of the average trash can modern man. As for other components, 25% are cardboard and paper, 13% are glass, 11% are plastic, 4% are metal and 18% are other materials.
• A huge problem is recycling old computers. They contain compounds hazardous to the environment, so in Europe computer equipment There are special, closed landfills. They are always supervised to prevent theft of valuable but harmful parts.
• In one year, the world's recycling of recycled metals saves enough resources to heat and light about 150 million private homes. The energy saved by recycling one glass bottle is enough to keep a 100-watt light bulb lit for 4 hours.
• The largest landfill in the world is located in America. In the Fresh Kills area. It covers an area of ​​1,200 hectares, which is equal to 1,700 football fields. Every day 13 thousand tons of waste are brought there.
• A garbage museum has been opened in New Jersey (USA). A museum of non-standard, interesting and dangerous garbage may also appear in Bashkiria this fall. Museum exhibits will be collected as part of the World Cleanup 2012 campaign, which will take place on September 15 in Russia.
• Generating electricity by burning waste in the British city of Edmonton saves 100 thousand tons of coal annually.
• Disposing of waste into the sea in containers does not guarantee that the water will not be polluted, since the material of the containers is susceptible to corrosion. Metal containers are destroyed in marine environment for ten years, and concrete ones - for thirty years.
• Worldwide, more than 100,000 mammals, birds and fish are killed every year by discarded plastic bags. Animals eat them or suffocate.
• Every year, 7,000,000 tons of clothing are thrown into landfill around the world, of which only 12% is recycled and reused.
• Since the mid-1990s, a movement of freegans has emerged in Europe and North America - people who reject the modern economic system and the underlying thirst for consumption, and find food in landfills and garbage containers. In landfills, freegans find clothes and household utensils, which, if no longer needed, can be exchanged for flea markets for other things without the participation of money.
• After the completion of the Winter Palace, the entire area was filled up construction waste. Emperor Peter III decided to get rid of him in an original way- ordered to announce to the people that anyone can take anything they want from the square, and for free. After a few hours, all the debris was cleared.
• If you throw it into the sea paper napkin, then it will disappear in three months, the matches will dissolve in six months. An abandoned cigarette butt floats in the sea from one to five years, and a plastic bag from ten to twenty years. Nylon products will dissolve in thirty to forty years, and a tin can in five hundred! A thousand years will pass, and only after that the standard Glass bottle!

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There are many problems in the world, and one of them is the problem of environmental pollution.

Fact No. 1. The most common waste on the planet is cigarette butts. 4,500,000,000 of them are thrown away every year.
Fact No. 2. Sweden copes best with its waste, recycling 52% of the total amount of waste. It is followed by Austria (49.7%) and Germany (48%). We, with 25%, have someone to follow.
Fact No. 3. The science of garbology studies methods of waste disposal. Garbology (from the English garbage “garbage”), or garbage science, or garbage science, is a separate branch of ecology that studies garbage waste and methods of its disposal.

Garbology is also a type of archeology, in other words “garbage archaeology,” which studies garbage waste in order to study the everyday life of people.
Fact No. 4. Every second, 3.8 kg of “environmentally friendly waste” appears in the world: leftovers, eggshells, potato peels, etc. It makes up 29% of the average modern person's trash bin. As for other components, 25% are cardboard and paper, 13% are glass, 11% are plastic, 4% are metal and 18% are other materials.
Fact No. 5. A huge problem is recycling old computers. They contain compounds hazardous to the environment, which is why in Europe there are special, closed landfills for computer equipment. They are always supervised to prevent theft of valuable but harmful parts.

Fact No. 6. In one year, the world's recycling of recycled metals saves enough resources to heat and light about 150 million private homes. The energy saved by recycling one glass bottle is enough to keep a 100-watt light bulb lit for 4 hours.
Fact No. 7. The largest landfill in the world is located in America. In the Fresh Kills area. It covers an area of ​​1,200 hectares, which is equal to 1,700 football fields. Every day 13 thousand tons of waste are brought there.
Fact No. 8. Disposing of waste into the sea in containers does not guarantee that the water will not be polluted, since the material of the containers is susceptible to corrosion. Metal containers degrade in the marine environment within ten years, and concrete containers within thirty years.

Fact No. 9. The police did not get the nickname “garbage” from household waste. The fact is that before the revolution, the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department was called the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department. The offensive nickname came from the abbreviation ICC.

Fact No. 10. If you throw a paper napkin into the sea, it will disappear in three months, matches will dissolve in six months. An abandoned cigarette butt floats in the sea from one to five years, and a plastic bag from ten to twenty years. Nylon products will dissolve in thirty to forty years, and a tin can in five hundred! A thousand years will pass, and only after that the standard glass bottle will disappear!

Now let's look at some myths.
Myth No. 1. Garbage can be effectively recycled using modern industrial means.
It is indeed possible to recycle, but economic efficiency Little is known about the environmental safety of such processing. The processing of individual components of solid waste can be considered as economically feasible, however, even in this case, there are many examples of the unprofitability of such entrepreneurial activity. As for the attempts of the engineering genius to industrially process mixed waste, I just want to sympathize with the squandering of this intelligence, since his titanic efforts become Sisyphean labor - the waste processing plant, like a glutton, will demand continuous supplies of “its” raw materials, which will not at all contribute to reducing the volume of waste generation, which is the general goal modern systems waste management.

Myth No. 2. The myth is associated with frequent statements that you can “also make money” from waste recycling.

So far nothing has been heard about “garbage oligarchs,” but the constant need for budget subsidies for such management of solid waste is spoken quite often and loudly. Indeed, some of us make money from garbage, but this income is not a consequence of the implementation of solid classical economic approaches. It is rather achieved due to the intricacy of payment schemes for the corresponding public utilities, lack of order in the formation of appropriate tariffs, the use of dubious units for measuring the volume of waste management, etc. As paradoxical as it may sound, these earnings are also more likely the result of our social ecological stupidity than of economically sound calculations.

One of the basic principles of modern European waste management is that strategic plans for waste management in a specific territory are not developed outside the context of a holistic development strategy for the entire territory. Thus, the problem of waste is considered as an integral and absolutely not a secondary component of the problems of strategic development and, in particular, as an important component of the investment attractiveness of the territory. The need to implement the concept is extremely urgent sustainable development— development in which the needs of society are met without compromising the development opportunities of future generations.
It is sad to admit that human greed has created an economy that has begun to threaten natural environment. Such an economy contradicts its general goal - achieving a high level of human well-being. It turns out that the view of the economy solely as a means of multiplying profits is incorrect. Economic growth as the basis of social welfare makes sense only in the short term. Social values ​​embedded in a long-term strategic perspective must necessarily include environmental components.
The striking fact is that the so-called economic growth has an accompaniment that neutralizes its positive consequences. We are talking about parity between the increase in waste volumes and economic growth (at the end of the last century, a 40% increase in GDP developed countries Europe was accompanied by a 40% increase in municipal waste volumes).

There are a huge number of global problems that concern humanity in the world. One of them is environmental pollution and waste recycling issues. Wherever there is a person, there is a problem of garbage, and since the number of people on Earth is steadily growing, the amount of waste increases accordingly.

Interesting Facts about garbage that you didn't know:

The very first country to tackle the problem of recycling waste on the planet was England, 200 years ago. At the end of the nineteenth century, the world's first plant appeared whose task was to burn waste. Today, waste disposal in Europe involves sorting it, as well as using it as secondary raw materials.

The most common waste on the planet is cigarette butts. About 4,500,000,000 of them are thrown away every year.

In human culture for centuries, garbage is very important role. An amazing fact, but even in religion he left his mark. The thing is that near Jerusalem there was a small piece of land where, as a rule, garbage was dumped and then burned. In the Bible it is called the Fire Hyena. Subsequently, for Christians, Gienna became a symbol of Hell. One of the 12 labors of the ancient Greek hero Hercules is also known, when he solved the problem of waste disposal in the stables of King Augeas, which is described in ancient myths.

Sweden is the best country to deal with waste. It is capable of recycling up to 52% of its total waste. Next comes Austria – 49.7%, Germany – 48%. In our country, about a quarter of all garbage is recycled. This means that there is room to grow and someone to follow as an example.

The science that studies the issue of ways and methods of waste disposal is called garbology. The name translated from English (garbage “garbage”) sounds like garbage science or garbage science. It represents a separate direction in ecology and studies waste, as well as methods for its disposal and processing.

Garbology can also be considered a subspecies of archaeology, so to speak “junk archaeology.” This science also studies garbage waste in order to investigate everyday life of people. This knowledge will help in the future to more effectively solve problems associated with environmental pollution and environmental degradation.

Almost every second, about 3.8 kilograms of biological waste appears in the world, that is, one that does not pose any danger to the environment. This could be leftovers, eggshells, potato peels, etc. This waste constitutes up to 29% of the total contents of the trash bin of an average modern person.

Other components are usually 25% cardboard and paper, 13% glass, 11% plastic, 4% metal and 18% other.

A big problem today is also the issue of recycling old computers and other equipment. The thing is that they contain compounds and substances that are hazardous to the environment. For this reason, in Europe there are special closed landfills for the disposal and recycling of equipment and old computers. These facilities are constantly under strict surveillance in order to avoid theft of valuable and dangerous parts.

In one year of recycling and recycling of secondary metals in the world, it is possible to save resources that will be enough to provide heat and light to about 150 million private homes. The energy that is saved when recycling just one ordinary glass bottle is enough to keep a hundred-watt light bulb burning for four hours.

The world's largest landfill is located in America, in the Fresh Kills area. It covers an area of ​​as much as 1200 hectares. This is equivalent to 1,700 football fields. About 13 thousand tons of waste and garbage are poured into it every day.

In the British city of Edmonton, burning waste saves about 100 thousand tons of coal annually on electricity.

In the USA, New Jersey, an unusual museum has been opened, in which the exhibits are garbage and waste. In Bashkiria, it is planned to open a museum in the near future, which will collect the most interesting, non-standard and even dangerous garbage.

Throwing waste and garbage into the sea in containers is not a guarantee of safety. The thing is that the material from which the containers are made is also susceptible to corrosion and there is no guarantee that garbage from a destroyed container will not escape into the open sea. Metal sarcophagi, as a rule, are destroyed under the influence of sea ​​water for ten years, and concrete ones for thirty years.

- About seven million tons of clothing are thrown into landfill every year, only 12% of which is recycled and reused.

Every year around the world, more than one hundred thousand mammals, fish, and birds die due to waste thrown into the sea. The fact is that animals take plastic bags, and other garbage for food, she choke on it, suffocate or simply get confused in it.

Since the mid-90s, in Europe and North America a movement of so-called freegans began to emerge. These are people who completely deny the modern economic system and what lies at its core - the thirst for consumption. They find food, clothing and other household items in garbage containers and landfills. Among the garbage, freegans look for clothes, household utensils and food, which, if they are not needed, they can easily exchange for something else at special flea markets. The whole specificity of this process is that money is not involved.

After the construction of the Winter Palace was completed, the entire area was completely littered with construction waste, and the pressing question became what to do with it. Emperor Peter the Third decided to use an original way to get rid of construction waste. He ordered it to be announced to the people that anyone could take anything from the square and absolutely free of charge. Within a few hours, all the garbage was removed.

The police did not get the nickname “garbage” from household waste. The thing is that even before the revolution, the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department was called the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department. It was from this abbreviation (ICC) that the offensive nickname originated.

If you throw one paper napkin into the sea, it will disappear in three months, matches and small wood chips will dissolve in six months. A cigarette butt thrown into the sea will take one to five years to dissolve, while a plastic bag will float for ten to twenty years. Nylon products will dissolve in thirty to forty years, and a tin can in five hundred. An ordinary glass bottle will disappear only after a thousand years.

have not left our lips for a long time. Every time we turn on the TV, we see new science fiction filmed in space. However, human exploration of space in reality is not so fast. Despite this, the orbit around the earth has become a real dump for garbage of various origins. Every year it represents more and more great danger, as its number is growing.

1. The first debris in space is an American satellite. In 1958, the Avangard-1 satellite was launched into space. The American satellite became the fourth object launched by people. It ran on solar energy. Avangard-1 is not only one of the oldest vehicles, but also the first space debris to appear in Earth orbit. After it completed its mission, it was never disposed of. For 60 years it has been moving around the Earth and showing signs of life. NASA experts determined that after another 240 years have passed, it will enter the atmosphere and burn up.
2. Woman injured by rocket debris. In 1997, a funny, but no less dangerous incident occurred in Oklahoma. A local resident was “attacked” by a small metal object. A fragment of a rocket fell on her shoulder. Frightened, the woman did not immediately understand what had happened. Within days of the incident, she became a celebrity.

   

3. The movement of debris in orbit can cause irreparable harm to what they encounter along the way.. Experts have determined average speed movement of waste in space. It is 10 km/s.

   

4. Scientists could not figure out what kind of unknown object is on the Moon. In 1969, photographs of the surface of the Moon were taken. The object is clearly visible on them white. For a long time the astronauts considered this object mysterious because they could not establish the cause of its origin. Over time, they were able to determine that this was waste that the astronauts threw out of the ship.

   

5. On this moment There are about 7 thousand units in the planet’s orbit. space debris. This is very a large number of garbage.

   

6. The mass of space debris can range from several grams to kilograms and even tons. Objects moving in orbit can have any weight. There are objects weighing more than 20 kg and a huge number of small ones.

   

7. The Pacific Ocean has its own Titanic from space. The largest piece of space debris that fell to Earth is orbital station"World". She was sunk in Pacific Ocean in 2001. At the bottom of the ocean rests a machine that weighs more than 100,000 tons.

   

8. A huge amount of waste has managed to form an orbital landfill around the Earth. The remains of spacecraft and fragments of meteorites collide with each other, thereby generating even more debris. Small remains pose a danger to any object.

   

9. Types of space debris. It is customary to divide into two groups, depending on their origin: artificial and natural.

   

10. People are to blame for creating garbage. The USA and the USSR conducted a number of tests. This happened from 1968 to 1985. In 1990, 7% of all the garbage that was created from 12 tests was tracked.

    

11. Space archaeologists will now conduct “excavations” in space. Historians argue that there is no need to rid the orbit of tricks. This could be a good find for archaeologists in the near future.

    

12. 3 different cities made the greatest contribution to the creation of space debris. According to 2014 data, Russia takes first place, followed by the United States, and last place goes to China.

    

13. Small pieces are the most dangerous. There is a lot of debris in space, the size of which does not even exceed 1 cm. The most unpleasant thing is that to date it has not been possible to develop effective measures to protect against it.

    

14. Only two countries have the ability to monitor the space around the planet. With the help of created systems, they control space. This makes it possible to develop methods for destroying debris in space.

    

15. Space debris falls to Earth from time to time. Objects large sizes, which move in low Earth orbits, may eventually enter the atmosphere. Their speed slows down, and individual fragments reach the Earth's surface. Almost every day, small particles enter the dense layers of the atmosphere, while large particles enter the dense layers of the atmosphere several times a month.

    

• The most common litter is cigarette butts. 4,500,000,000 of them are thrown away every year
• The average American throws out about 5,000 kilograms of trash every year.
• Every year, 7 million tons of clothing are thrown into the trash worldwide, of which only 12% is recycled and reused.
• Newspapers take up the most space in landfills.
• An aluminum beer can takes an average of 80 years to decompose in the soil.
• In 2007, the average family throws out twice as much trash as it did 50 years ago.
• It is planned that in 2020 special services San Francisco will recycle all discarded garbage and reuse it
• In 2002, astronauts cleaned up the International Space Station, collecting more than 1,800 kilograms of debris. Part of it was sent back to Earth, and the rest was loaded onto an unmanned Russian missile and burned in the atmosphere

  1. Animal droppings - decomposition period 10-15 days

  The least harmful garbage that can be seen on the streets of small towns and villages, however, it causes a lot of trouble for residents.

  2. Food waste - decomposition period 30 days

  Potato peelings, meat trimmings and everything that remains edible after cooking can be classified as this type of garbage. Also not that dangerous.

  3. Newsprint - decomposition period 1-4 months

  Before you throw the newspaper on the road, think that for another 4 whole months the residents of your yard will admire the paper trampled into the dirt.

  4. Leaves, seeds, twigs - decomposition period 3-4 months

  If public utilities did not remove natural debris from parks, people would soon be walking through mountains of branches and leaves.

  5. Cardboard boxes - decomposition period 3 months

  It is completely harmless waste if you throw it in trash cans.

  6. Office paper - decomposition period 2 years

  Yes, just imagine. It's all about composition and density: paper is made precisely so that documents printed on it can be stored for a long time, which, unfortunately, does not ignore the period of its decomposition.

  7. Boards - decomposition period 10 years

  Ordinary boards that are used on construction sites. Of course, if they are not subject to any processing (for example, impregnation with fuel oil).

  8. Iron cans - decomposition period 10 years

  Like boards, cans of stewed meat or condensed milk will rot in the ground for another 10 years after you throw them under a tree in the forest.

  9. Old shoes - decomposition period is 10 years

  Everything here, of course, depends on the composition of the shoe and the degree of its wear, but on average, shoes made of leatherette will decompose within a tenth of a century.

  10. Fragments of brick and concrete - decomposition period is 100 years

  This is exactly the garbage that every development company prefers to bury under the playground in the courtyard of the house. Yes, they do this quite often. Perhaps this is justified: after all, the “Stalin” ones have already been standing for 80 years =)

  11. Car batteries - decomposition period 100 years

  This kind of waste is, of course, more profitable to recycle. After all, for 1 used battery (20-25 kg) you can earn about 500 rubles.

  12. Foil - decomposition period more than 100 years

  Yes, despite the fact that the thickness of the iron leaf is less than 0.5 mm, it is very strongly compressed. So don't throw away the packaging from yours. meat products on hikes.

  13. Electric batteries - decomposition period 110 years

  Here, not only the decomposition period plays a role, but also the harm environment, which the lithium battery causes when it oxidizes. Many charitable organizations fighting for a cleaner planet offer to save batteries so that they can later come and take them from you.

  14. Rubber tires - decomposition period 120-140 years

  Rubber is one of the most durable materials. Fortunately, when changing tires at a service station, most drivers leave their old ones as a gift, or for a symbolic price there. And smart service holders then hand it over for recycling.

  15. Plastic bottles - decomposition period 180-200 years

  Plastic is also very dangerous and toxic, not to mention the fact that it is not very pleasant to look at the roadsides strewn with empty plastic bottles from Coca-Cola.

  16. Aluminum cans - decomposition period 500 years

  Almost the most dangerous garbage. It takes a long time to decompose, releases harmful substances during oxidation, and predominates on our planet.