Comment 60261

By A Smith (anonymous) | Posted February 25, 2011 at 17:08:01 in reply to Comment 60259

drb >> That averages to 90 garbage bags per person.

From the web site you noted...

Household garbage

30 - The number of green garbage bags this represents, per person.

>> Each bag averages 67 litres.

Let's assume that garbage bags are compressed by a factor of 3X before and after hitting the landfill, that leaves us 22.3 litres per bag.

>> You'd have to get out your shovel and start a new pit in about four and a half years.

If you use the numbers that StatsCan cites and remember that garbage is compressed in the landfill, your probably looking at more like 9 * 4.5 years = 40.5 years.

If you used an area the size of Hamilton, it would take, 1117.1 km2 / 30km2 = 37.24 * 40.5 years = 1,508.2 years to fill it to capacity.

If you were wasteful and decided to use 1% of Canada's total land area, it would take, 9093507km2 / 100 = 90,935km2 / 1117.1km2 = 81.4 * 1,508.2 years = 122,767 years.

Then we have to consider the half life of what is in our garbage bags. Here is a list I found from a conservation group...

· Paper towels 2-4 weeks
· Cardboard box 2 months
· Waxed milk carton 3 months
· Plywood 1-3 years
· Painted wood stick 13 years
· Styrofoam cups and dock floatation material NEVER!!!
· Aluminum cans 200 years
· Plastic bottle 450 years
· Monofilament fishing lines 600 years
· Glass bottles could be forever

Who thinks that after 1,500 years, Canada won't be able to solve the issue of a landfill, that contains almost totally degraded waste, that is only 1.23/10000 of our total land area?

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