The amount of municipal solid waste (garbage) produced per person per day at home.
Used to calculate:biodegradable garbage, non-biodegradable garbage, biodegradable solid waste and non-biodegradable solid waste
Varies by: lifestyle
| Used | lifestyle | Reference | Location: Ecosystem (study period) |
Value | Units | Notes |
|---|
| * | Average American | U.S. EPA 2011- Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010 | US: all (1960-2009) | 2.658 | lbs/person/day | This value was calculated by separating the proportion of residential waste (55-65%) from the national per capita waste production per day (4.43 lbs). The value above represents 60% of 4.43 lbs. |
| * | Average Earthling | OECD 2008- Environmental Data: Compendium 2006-2008 | global: all (1980-2005) | 398 | kg / capita / year | This value refers to the average residential solid waste generation rate of 23 OECD countries. |
| * | Average New Yorker | NYC Department of Sanitation 2005- 2004-2005 NYC Residential and Street Basket Waste Characterization Study | NYC: urban landscape (2004-2005) | 2.3 | lbs/person/day | This value refers to the daily curbside waste (including refuse and recyclable materials) generated per person in New York City. |
| * | Eco-conscious | NYC Department of Sanitation 2005- 2004-2005 NYC Residential and Street Basket Waste Characterization Study | NYC: urban landscape (2004-2005) | 1.15 | lbs/person/day | This value was estimated by halving the per capita waste production rate of the average New Yorker assuming that the eco-hipster would actively try to minimize waste through consumer choices. |
| * | Lenape Person | Walker et al. 2001- BERRIES, BONES, AND BLADES: RECONSTRUCTING LATE PALEOINDIAN SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY AT DUST CAVE, ALABAMA | Dust Cave, Alabama: cave (1976) | 0.028241 | lbs/person/day | This value refers to a sample depository in Dust Cave, Alabama. Walker et al. note that the settlement size and the number of people that contributed to each waste pit is unclear. However, waste samples taken at a number of test sites confirms that overall waste was minimal, and that the majority of the waste deposited at Dust Cave were various nut shells (p 174). |