Although most Americans have had opinions and beliefs about the nature of our refuse, there was little empirical evidence to confirm or deny these ideas. Among their findings, the Project has identified five myths about garbage and has collected data disproving these widely-held beliefs. Popular opinion is that each of these three components takes up about 30 percent of a typical landfill's volume. The Project's excavations tell a very different story. The myth probably arose because these items are so visible among litter.
Plastic is also a big problem.
Plastic materials of all types comprise about 22 percent of average landfill volume upon their initial deposition in the landfill, and only 16 percent after compaction. Paper, by comparison, takes up more than 40 percent of landfill volume. Although we are using more plastic packages and other plastic objects than twenty years ago, today's plastics take up much less volume than their 1970s counterparts. Not only do light-weighted plastics save landfill volume, they also save transportation energy. A lot of biodegradation takes place in landfills.