Hannah Garrity

Portland FRINQ
Dr. Knepler
4/16/2015
Getting Down and Dirty
Imagine everything you throw away, food scraps, old clothes, broken toys, dead batteries;
the list is endless. Now think where is away? If your garbage did not get picked up would you
be more mindful of what you bought and throw out? Most of our trash goes into a landfill but we
are fortunate to have other resources which reduce the amount of garbage thrown into landfills.
Over the last three weeks I have had the opportunity to study the trash habits that we have in
Portland, and as a nation. First, I investigated whether trash was an issue or not. After finding my
answer, I tested the area around my home for its sustainability, and even went for a dumpster
dive.
In his book Garbology, Edward Humes analyzes garbage to identify the effects and what
it says about us and our countries. Humes even examined the garbage in Portland and explained
they make a lot of [trash] in Portland a shade more trash even than average Americans 7.1
pounds a day(249). This statistic means the average amount of garbage a single person throws
away in one year is 2591.5 pounds! If we didn't have garbage systems we would all be buried
and our garbage. Perhaps the most startling fact is when he continues to reveal that Portlanders
throw out an average of 7.14 pounds per person, per day.
Most Portlanders would be shocked to find out that they throw out more than the national
average. Portland is built on artisan businesses, many of which take what other consider trash

and make it into something new. Oregon is known as the greenest state in America, which is why
it was outrageous to learn that Portland produced more trash than the national average. Luckily
not all of what is thrown out goes to a landfill; about 59% of what Portlanders throw out is
recycled (Humes).
In class we began to study our neighborhoods and ourselves in order to gain some insight
from our waste. One way the citizens of Portland try to limit their waste and save the
environment is by carpooling, biking, walking and using public transportation. In order to save
gas and utilize other means of energy our city makes the streets biker and pedestrian friendly.
Being able to walk or bike to most destinations is made possible through the concept called the
20 minute neighborhood. The Initiative For a Competitive Inner-City (ICIC) explained that a 20
minute neighborhood allows residents have easy access to many of the places and services they
use daily, including local markets restaurants schools and parks-all without getting into a car.
Being able to access necessary resources in a mile or two reduces the amount of waste we
produce.
I tested my neighborhood to see if it met these standards by going for a relaxing 20
minute walk around my home in Beaverton. In 20 minutes I could walk to Fred Meyer's which
has clothes, groceries and a pharmacy. Along the way I passed many other food establishments,
dry cleaners, a bank, gas station and the dentist. All the sidewalks in the area were well taken
care of with two bus stops along the way. Being able to access everything we need within a 20
minute walk means my neighborhood reached the standards and is one step closer to saving our
environment. Being able to walk anywhere we need to, can also lead to less waste because when
people are walking or biking they cannot buy as much. When people go to stores on foot, they

have to think about what they buy, because they cannot carry heavy loads. Having a car at the
store makes it easier to load up on unnecessary items which will end up in a landfill.
To learn more about the garbage we dispose of , our class sorted through a dumpster at
the Portland State Universitys recreational center. As we separated the garbage, there were three
categories which would determine where the trash should go: it could be recycled, composted or
put in a landfill. After going through the dumper, we found was that over half of what would be
headed to the landfill could be recycled or composted. Recycling includes glass, plastic jugs,
cans and papers. All food waste and decomposable items would be utilized in a compost pile. In
the dumper we went through, over 36% of trash could have been composted and not sent to the
landfill. There is so much food going to the landfill, that every day America wastes enough food
to fill the Rose Bowl stadium(Bloom). Most of this food is being thrown into landfills instead of
being put into compost piles, where it would be reused. According to the UN food and
agriculture organization one-third of all food in the world is wasted (Bloom).
If you are like me, then you would've thought that throwing food into a landfill would not
be a problem. The Portland Plan explains that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities
continue to collect in the atmosphere, destabilizing the climates. The food sitting and rotting in
the landfills is effecting our atmosphere which is hurting our planet. Greenhouse gasses are a
gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere
which ultimately leads to global warming(Lallanilla). Because we are throwing away so much
food, we are causing global warming. Our choices are not only effecting ourselves but effecting
the wild life all over the world.

Garbage is not a fun or exciting topic, but it is a very important one. We take one-second
to throw out our waste into a trash bin, which could effect our planet for hundreds of years. If we
all take an extra second to recycle and compost, we could preserve our planet and everything on
it. In Portland, we have access to everything we would need on a daily basis within a 20 minute
walk, but do not have access to the best tools for our waste which could save our planet. Next
time you throw something away, imagine where away is.

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Work cited:

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Lallanilla, By Marc. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Causes & Sources." LiveScience. TechMedia
Network, 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

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"Trending Topics." ICIC RSS. 2015 Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, 2015. Web. 15 Apr.
2015.

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Adams, Sam, and Susan Anderson. "Portland Plan Background Reports." PortlandOnline RSS.
The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

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Humes, Edward. "Green Cities and Garbage Death Rays." Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair
with Trash. New York: Avery, 2012. 247-67. Print.

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Bloom, Jonathan. "In United States, Theres a Lot of Food Being Wasted." Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 20 June 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2015