“Disposable”: How Waste Impacts Our Health

Contributors: Nobi Kennedy, Bamidele Osamika, Leah Ross, Mitch Singstock, Kelly St Charles, Van Sullivan, and Viviana Saldarriaga

This piece is a part of Green Umbrella’s 2024 PSA Campaign on climate health impacts, highlighting a recent report completed with Scioto Analysis which was supported in part by bi3, HealthPath, and the Interact for Health Data for Equity grant.

In Greater Cincinnati alone, we send approximately 9,000 tons of trash to the landfill each day. What we discard and how we dispose of it make a big impact on both the climate and community health impacts.

Down in the Dump: Sanitary Landfills in the US

In the United States, the most common type of landfill is called a sanitary landfill. These are waste sites designed to accommodate trash with the intention of preventing hazardous materials byproducts from impacting the surrounding environment. They include containment methods like plastic liners, compacted clay, liquid waste runoff (known as leachate) management, and landfill gas recovery systems.

Although modern landfill design makes intentional effort to limit leaks of leachate and landfill gas, leaks do occur. Poor waste management practices can lead to increased risk of respiratory illnesses, heart disease, stroke, adverse birth effects, infectious disease, and asthma attacks. And because landfills are most often constructed near low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, these are the communities that are hit the hardest by the health impacts of poor waste management.

Health Impacts:

Air Quality

Landfill gas, a byproduct of organic matter decomposition in anaerobic (non-oxygenated) conditions, is extremely dangerous to humans. Landfill gas is composed mostly of two greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide, with varying amounts of nitrogen, ammonia, sulfides, and more. If inhaled, it can cause nausea, coughing, and breathing problems immediately and increase respiratory illness and lung cancer over time.

Recent studies have shown that landfill gas can also contain high levels of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS. PFAS are synthetic, human-made “forever” chemicals, called such because they do not degrade, but instead build up over time. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to increases in cancer, developmental and birth defects, hormone and endocrine disruption, low fertility rates, asthma and respiratory illnesses, suppressed immunity, and more.

Leachate Contamination

Leachate is a byproduct of the landfill system, created as water (such as rainfall, snowmelt, or runoff) filters through waste in the landfill. The exact composition of leachate varies depending on the landfill contents, but it contains pollutants like heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, “forever chemicals” like PFAS, and ammonia nitrogen compounds. When improperly managed, leachate can contaminate soil, groundwater, and surface water like rivers and lakes. When humans come into contact with these pollutants, they can experience a wide array of negative health outcomes, ranging from skin irritation to antibiotic resistance to cancer and more.

Plastics Everywhere

In landfill conditions, the chemicals in plastics are absorbed into leachate and landfill gas. Across the globe, more than 82 million tons of plastic waste is mismanaged or littered annually, meaning that is not stored in secure landfills, recycled, or incinerated. Of this, 19 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the environment, where it can break down into microplastics that seep into water, soil, and air, to eventually wind up in plants, animals, and humans. Studies have shown that chemicals found in plastics can have major impacts on cancer, diabetes, cardiac health, reproductive health, and the health of newborns and fetuses.

Breaking the Trash Cycle – the Four R’s

Proper and effective waste management practices start with the Four R waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse.

Reducing waste has some significant environmental impacts, including pollution prevention, reusing existing items, among others. By refusing to create or consume wasteful products, reusing existing items, and viewing our “waste” as valuable resources, our region could radically change our ecological footprint and overall community health.

What YOU Can Do

Compost Food Scraps

An astounding 32% of what goes to Hamilton County’s landfill could be composted. Whether you are able to compost in your own living space or you take advantage of the region’s growing composting infrastructure, composting is a powerful way to make a difference.

Greater Cincinnati is building robust composting infrastructure through community-scale initiatives. Green Umbrella’s The Common Orchard Project, through a USDA Community Composting grant, has established multiple composting sites, including their Camp Washington Perennial Farm facility that can process up to 6,000 pounds of food scraps weekly. The impact is significant—their program’s CO2 reduction equals removing 626 gasoline-powered vehicles from the road annually. Residents can access 24/7 drop-off bins for composting common items like fruits, vegetables, grains, and coffee grounds, turning waste into valuable resources for urban farming.

Practice Safe Disposal

Some items (such as batteries, electronics, light bulbs, needles, paint, and tires) are especially dangerous to throw away. When you need to dispose of these items, research what places and organizations near you accept them for proper disposal. Great resources for local hazardous material disposal include Hamilton County ReSource, Rumpke, and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

More Actions

• Replace “disposable” items with reusables (washable cloths instead of paper towels and napkins, cutlery and storage containers instead of plastic to-go & take-out items)
• Avoid impulse shopping, fast fashion trends, and single-purpose decor
• Take care to properly recycle glass and metal, which do not break down in landfill conditions but can be easily and effectively recycled

What WE Can Do

While individual actions make communities healthier and safer, the biggest impact comes from the collective action of community leadership, businesses, organizations, and institutions.

Better Waste & Recycling Resources for Your Organization

Organizations like Indiana Recycling Alliance offer education and support for waste reduction initiatives. Northern Kentucky Solid Waste Management Area (NKSWMA) provides resources for proper waste disposal and recycling. The Circular Indiana Initiative promotes sustainable practices and connects residents with reuse opportunities. For electronic waste, Indiana’s IDEM maintains an updated list of certified e-waste collectors to ensure proper recycling of hazardous materials. Hamilton County ReSource offers a Trim Our Waste program to help organizations, institutions and property owners in Hamilton County waste less, recycle properly, and conserve resources.

Fundamental Changes in Policy

Community leadership is imperative to lessen the impacts of excessive waste on our regional climate. Successful waste reduction requires both infrastructure and communication. Communities should ensure convenient access to recycling and composting services, especially in multi-family buildings and public spaces. Local governments can support this through zoning codes that require adequate space for recycling and waste management in new developments.

Several current policy initiatives can drive change at the state and federal levels, such as:

• Right-to-Repair Laws that encourage product longevity, with options to repair the product instead of purchasing a new one
• Product Stewardship Policies that shifts responsibility of a product’s environmental impact to the manufacturer
• The COMPOST Act and Zero Food Waste Act, which prioritizes composting and food waste reduction policies at the federal level
• Pay-As-You-Throw programs that incentivize waste reduction by charging according to the amount of garbage thrown away

Food System Resilience: The Four R’s in Action

According to Maddie Chera, Local Food Specialist for What Chefs Want! and former Director of the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council, creating a resilient regional food system requires addressing social, environmental, and economic factors through policy and systems change. Food waste reduction exemplifies how following the waste hierarchy – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse – creates positive ripple effects throughout our community.

The Food Policy Council follows these Four R’s in their work:

• REDUCE: By strengthening local food supply chains to minimize waste during harvest/production and transportation, as well as prevent food spoilage 
• REUSE: Through food rescue programs that redirect surplus food to those in need
• RECYCLE: Supporting composting initiatives that turn food waste into valuable soil nutrients
• REFUSE: Unlike metals, plastics, and glass, at every stage of its existence, food can be used for something. Whether conserved, consumed, or composted, food always has a use and should not end up in landfill as refuse.

The Council supports local institutions in adopting policies that prioritize community nutrition while benefiting area businesses. This approach reduces emissions by shortening supply chains and keeps resources within Greater Cincinnati—supporting local farmers, improving food access, and reducing environmental impact.

By integrating these local initiatives and expert perspectives, we can see how waste reduction connects to broader community benefits—from soil health to food security to economic resilience. Whether you choose to start composting, change your own waste habits, or advocate for policy change, every action guided by the Four R’s contributes to a healthier, more sustainable region.

Learn More

Learn more about Waste and climate change by viewing a recording of our latest Climate Health Webinar.

Resources

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