Waste in the United States

[3] According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Nevada produces the most waste at "[nearly] 8 pounds (3.6 kg) per person per day".

Definitions may apply broadly to solid, liquid, and gaseous forms or may be specific to one or a subset identified by a threshold characteristic such as toxicity or radioactivity.

Dilution may remove a material from a definition of waste by reducing concentrations below a defined toxicity or radioactivity threshold.

As described in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery report of 2009, after the electronic products are purchased and used, they are separated into two groups.

From fluorescent light bulbs to common household batteries, every piece of electronic waste that is found in landfills contains some kind of metal.

[13] Being exposed to a high level of lead can cause various health issues such as blood and brain disorders, comas, and in serious cases even death.

In the online journal Chemosphere, Jeffrey D. Weidenhamer and Michael L. Clement claim in their article, “Leaded Electronic Waste is a Possible Source Material for Lead-contaminated Jewelry” that the majority of electronic waste, which is produced in the United States, is exported to numerous Asian countries, primarily China, for material recovery.

[8] This is because the Chinese economy is increasing rapidly, and they have created a need for raw materials, which come from the electronic waste that the United States produces.

[8] China does not have strict environmental regulations, so the electronic waste imported from America, which is not stripped for spare parts, ends up in large dumps in communal areas.

There have been several different cases were people, primarily children, become very sick, or even die because of the exposure to all the hazardous material found in the waste dumps in China.