According to the Low Carbon Diet, the average U.S. household produces about 4.5 pounds of solid waste per day! About a third of that is packaging used only to get the item to your home. Producing this waste requires energy to extract the raw materials, make them into various goods, and transport them. Every pound of waste that goes to a landfill generates 2 pounds of greenhouse gases, from transporting and land-filling the waste, and from the decomposition of the waste in the landfill. So, by recycling everything you can, you save landfilling needlessly, and you also save someone having to use up more virgin resources to make the next disposable item.