Illinois has the third most trash in landfills per capita in America

Michigan has the most waste in landfills per capita in America, with 68.3 tons of waste in landfills per capita. Indiana is second, with 60.4 tons of waste in landfills per capita, and Illinois is third, with 56.6 tons of waste in landfills per capita. California has the most waste in landfills overall, with nearly 2 billion tons of waste in its landfills.

A new study has revealed that Illinois has the third highest amount of trash in its landfills per capita.

Secure and sustainable IT asset disposal and liquidation experts IT Asset Management Group (IT-AMG) analyzed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data on landfill utilization to see which states have the most trash in landfills per capita in U.S. short tons.

1. Michigan

Michigan has the most waste in landfills per capita in America, with 68.3 tons of waste in landfills per capita. This is 72.1% above the national average of 39.7 tons of waste in landfills per capita. Overall, there are 685 million tons of waste in Michigan’s landfills.

Table showing the amount of waste in landfills per capita in each state and America overall, as well as how each state compares to the U.S. Average. Table ranked from the highest amount of waste in landfills per capita to the lowest. https://www.itamg.com

2. Indiana

Indiana has the second most waste in landfills per capita, with 60.4 tons of waste in landfills per capita, 52.2% more than the national average. Overall, Indiana has 412.5 million tons of waste in its landfills.

3. Illinois

With 56.6 tons of waste in landfills per capita, Illinois is third. There are 712.1 million tons of waste in Illinois’s landfills overall. Illinois has 42.7% more waste in landfills per capita compared to the national average.

4. Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has 727.8 million tons of waste in landfills and 56.1 tons of waste in landfills per capita. This is 41.4% above the national average of 39.7 tons of waste in landfills per capita, placing Pennsylvania fourth.

5. Ohio

Ohio is fifth. There are 53.8 tons of waste in landfills per capita in the Buckeye State and 632.2 million tons of waste in landfills overall. Ohio’s per capita value is 35.6% above the national average.

6. California

California has 51.2 tons of waste in landfills per capita, 29% above the national average, and places California sixth. Overall, there are nearly 2 billion tons of waste in California’s landfills. This is the most waste in landfills of any state, and more than 800 million tons more than the state with the second-highest waste in landfills (Texas).

7. Wisconsin

Wisconsin is seventh, with 50.2 tons of waste in landfills per capita, 26.6% higher than the national average of 39.7 tons of waste in landfills per capita. Overall, there are 295.9 million tons of waste in Wisconsin’s landfills.

8. Nevada

With 48.2 tons of waste in landfills per capita, 21.5% above the national average, Nevada is eighth. The Silver State has 153.2 million tons of waste in its landfills overall.

9. Colorado

Colorado is ninth, with 47.9 tons of waste in landfills per capita, 20.7% above the national average. Overall, there are 279.6 million tons of waste in Colorado’s landfills.

10. Kentucky

Kentucky rounds out the top ten, with 47.8 tons of waste in landfills per capita. This is 20.6% above the national average of 39.7 tons of waste in landfills per capita. Kentucky has 215.9 million tons of waste in its landfills overall.

Richy George, Chief Revenue Officer of IT Asset Management Group (IT-AMG), commented on the findings:

“Landfills are an integral part of modern waste management, although they might not be the most efficient way of managing waste. Once waste has reached landfill, it becomes much more difficult to be reused or recycled. Landfills can pose severe environmental hazards, such as methane gas pockets and groundwater pollution, if not properly managed, as well as the significant amounts of land and resources that must be dedicated to maintaining a landfill.

“Electronic waste can provide significant environmental risks if not properly disposed of. It can also mean a lot of lost value if e-waste goes to landfill due to how difficult it becomes to recover the valuable materials that make up a significant part of e-waste. Where possible, electronic waste should be disposed of properly to minimize its environmental impact by allowing it to either be reused or recycled.

“The downsides of landfills prompted us to see which states have the most waste in landfills on average, with Michigan coming out on top.”

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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