One-third of the food we produce globally winds up in a landfill. That’s everything from fugly-looking vegetables that never even make it to store shelves to last night’s forgotten leftovers. And while throwing moldy bread and stale chips in the trash seems like the end of their story, it’s only the beginning.
Food doesn’t stop being food when it hits a landfill. And all sorts of animals are all too happy to swoop down and gorge themselves on our scraps. Our waste has the power to disrupt animal reproduction and create population booms. It can remake ecosystems and upend social structures. Food for thought, the next time you throw away a soggy sandwich.
Global municipal waste is expected to double by the year 2025. And while the developed world is responsible for the lion’s share of that mountain of garbage, there’s one thing the rich and the poor have in common: Most of that waste will never see a compost heap or recycling facility. Indeed, more than two-thirds of the world’s trash is destined for a dump or landfill.
To get a better sense of how waste management plays into the lives of wildlife, here are five stories from the animal kingdom about what happens when our trash becomes part of their menu.
To read the full story, visit https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/lure-landfills-how-garbage-changes-animal-behavior.