I remember trips to the local landfill when I was a child. Our home was on a large lot in Whittier, California. Our backyard had two enormous eucalyptus trees, numerous fruit trees, and a large lawn. When cleaning the backyard, sometimes we had to dispose of the trimmings, leaves, and tree cuttings at the local landfill. It was too much for the weekly garbage pick up.

The landfill wasn’t far from our home; in fact, it was within the county limits, above the beautiful Rose Hills Cemetery next to Whittier; acres upon acres of smelly, steamy dirt seen only from the sky but smelled a quarter of a mile downhill.

I went to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website to find out how much garbage this country produces. Based on the 2007 Facts and Figures of the EPAs Solid Municipal Waste Report, the United States produced 254 million tons of garbage (12.8 percent of this was yard clippings) in the year 2007 alone.

One of the more interesting parts of this report documents the number of landfills in the country between 1988 and 2007. In 1988, there were 7,924 landfills; in 2007 there were 1,754 landfills. By doing the math, you can imagine the volume of waste that is now being consumed by 6,170 fewer landfills.

I bring this up because too often we are bombarded by the media on the destruction of the environment. Some news reports declare that we are in a state of emergency; other reports claim the emergency is rubbish. So I found my own answer to back up what I know, but I searched for it from a source that is factual, historical, and gains nothing (financially or politically) by simply stating fact.

It would seem that our country does face an interesting dilemma in the amount of garbage it produces; especially, since the number of landfills has decreased dramatically over the last twenty years. Where will all our garbage go thirty years from now? The environment is many interconnected issues, but at its heart is the fundamental topic of space (the places we live). As our population expands, and space becomes scarce, will the landfills also?

Before we dig ourselves into a hole, let’s think about the holes we have, and waste no time in finding a solution that will benefit future generations.