In our society, getting stuff can be as easy as tapping your smartphone. Responsibly getting rid of stuff — packaging, broken, used, or outmoded items, waste products, and all the other materials that make up our “solid waste” — is a lot harder.

We look to the mantra “Three Rs” — reduce, reuse, recycle — to slow the flow to landfills. But 55 years after the first Earth Day, we still fall short.

In 2021, Vermonters diverted from landfills only 34% of the solid waste they generated, while Granite Staters, in 2022, diverted 27%, according to reports from the Vermont Solid Waste Program and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. Residents did so by recycling, reusing and composting. Meanwhile, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American now produces about twice as much solid waste as they did in 1960 — 4.9 pounds per day versus 2.68.

Working with consultants and Vital Communities, the City of Lebanon hopes to decrease the amount of landfill waste flowing into it from the New Hampshire and Vermont municipalities that are contracted to bring waste to Lebanon. Along with extending the life of the landfill, better waste management will reduce the landfill’s greenhouse gas emissions and groundwater impact; produce fertilizer from compost; produce high-quality recyclable material that can be made into new products to conserve trees and other extracted raw materials; and even generate some income from selling recycling and compost as commodities. In addition, those measures will save the millions of dollars required to locate and build a new landfill.

Following assessments of what’s going into the landfill, from which sources and how solid waste is handled in each municipality, city officials will consider recommendations from consultants for landfill policies and management practices. Lebanon, with support from Vital Communities, will communicate and provide educational information to advance positive changes in practices by municipalities and the haulers with whom they contract. Vital Communities will also work with municipalities and Lebanon staff to coordinate efforts to educate households and businesses about ways to reduce waste.

“Education builds understanding and sparks curiosity about how things work and how to be a part of change that makes economic and environmental sense,” Vital Communities Special Projects Manager Gabrielle Smith said.

Differences among towns

One challenge is the diversity of ways solid waste is managed in each of the 22 member municipalities — ranging from zero-sort recycling collection to towns that separate recyclables into more than a dozen different bins; to curbside collection of trash and recycling to weekly “fast trash” collections by a licensed hauler; to extensive in-town facilities for recycling, compost and trash, to towns that rely on neighboring towns’ facilities.

Big differences exist in how food waste is managed. Food waste makes up about a quarter of all municipal solid waste in U.S. landfills, according to the EPA, and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions by producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas, as organic matter decays in anaerobic conditions.

Since 2020, Vermont has required that food waste be kept out of landfill trash and some communities have centralized collection. In New Hampshire, people are still allowed to put food scraps into the trash but, as of Feb. 1, businesses and institutions generating a ton or more of food waste per week are required to divert it from landfills to alternative management facilities, such as composting, if a suitable facility is within 20 miles.

More composting education and problem-solving could help. Although Vermonters support the food waste ban, over a quarter are confused about the rules, and one-fifth of households that compost characterize it as “hard” or “very hard,” according to a 2023 University of Vermont study. Businesses’ support is also high, but restaurants report negative impacts on costs and revenues. Other challenges include access to composting facilities in apartments and condos and understanding how to compost in winter.

The plastics problem

Plastics are a rapidly growing segment of municipal solid waste — particularly plastic used in food and beverage containers and other forms of packaging. In 2018, plastics made up 19% of the tonnage of waste going into U.S. landfills — and an even higher percent of the volume, given the light weight of plastics.

Plastics are problematic not just because for the space they take up in landfills but the pollution they cause as they break down into tiny microplastics that easily migrate into the soil, waterways and oceans, the food chain, plants and creatures, including humans. A 2023 article in MIT Technology Review reported that the average person consumes 5 grams of plastic every week — mostly from water; and that about 95% of the tap water in the United States is contaminated.

The creation of plastic also causes pollution: More than 90% of global plastic production consists of primary plastics — which are newly manufactured, rather than recycled — are made from petroleum products. This reliance requires a huge amount of energy and produces greenhouse-gas emissions.

Sadly, most plastic items collected as recycling are not actually recycled, according to a study published in 2020 by Greenpeace. Plastics are difficult to recycle primarily because they must be separated into different types of plastic, which is difficult for the consumer. In addition, many products contain more than one type of plastic or contain dyes that render them unrecyclable.

Therefore, the best way to cut down on plastics in the landfill may be to avoid buying them in the first place by prioritizing reusable alternatives, reducing single-use items and choosing products with minimal or eco-friendly packaging, experts say.

From 30 percent to 90?

According to the “Zero Waste” concept, a community could potentially divert up to 90% of solid waste from landfills or incineration. Could this be a moment for the Lebanon landfill communities to set zero waste goals?

Zero waste is not just about “throwing away better but eliminating the need to constantly buy new things,” according to zerowaste.org, a nonprofit organization. For each pound of waste that a single person creates, there are 32 additional pounds that come from extraction, shipping, refining and packaging — all before consumers purchase a product.

“Real solutions to the waste crisis focus on reducing consumption in the first place and using only resources we have already extracted,” according to the website.

The extraction, transportion, manufacturing, storage, use and disposal of things that end up in landfills are huge drivers of climate change, as well, amounting to 70% of global greenhouse emissions, according to zerowaste.org.

Zero waste involves five Rs in addition to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:

Refuse: Avoid unnecessary consumption and products.

Rot: Compost food scraps and yard waste to create nutrient-rich soil.

Rethink: Consider the impact of your choices on the environment.

Repair: Extend the lifespan of products by repairing them instead of replacing them.

Regift: Pass on items you no longer use to others.

Which of these Rs are you already doing? Which could you do more of? Maybe zero waste is closer than we think.

Rebecca Bailey is the communications manager at Vital Communities, a White River Junction-based nonprofit organization.