Landfills receive 30% less trash
Due to the sputtering economy, landfills are getting up to 30 percent less trash. People are buying fewer new consumer items, so there’s less packaging to discard. Manufacturers are creating less waste, and a stagnant housing market means less construction debris.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of ChristmasCartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
-
Inside the house of AssadThe Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
-
Will insurance cover damage in Boston?, and morefeature Companies that suffered property damage or lost income due to the Boston bombings may not get insurance payouts.
-
A meagre session for Congress, and more
feature Congress has sent only 54 bills to President Obama so far this year, including 14 to rename post offices.
-
The cost of Occupy Wall Street, and more
feature The movement has cost municipalities at least $13 million in police overtime and other services.
-
A linguistic success for Occupy Wall Street, and more
feature
-
The oil lobby's shared profession, and more
feature Three out of four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked for the federal government.
-
Big Oil's big subsidies, and more
feature Oil production is among the most heavily subsidized businesses. BP, for example, was getting a tax deduction of $225,000 a day for renting the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
-
A “pole tax” for the adult-entertainment business?, and more
feature With the adult-entertainment business one of the few bright spots in the economy, states and municipalities are thinking of raising taxes on dirty magazines, sex toys, and strip clubs.