Globally, we produce about 2.12 Billion tons of waste every year. If you’re having a hard time picturing that much waste, how about this – if that garbage was put into trucks they would circle the globe 24 times!
But what the hell does garbage have to do with preparedness?
Well, it’s probably one of the biggest threats you will face during a long-term disaster or collapse. In fact, in areas of the world that do not have regular trash collection, the threat to the environment, health, and safety is monumental. From pollution issues and dirty waterways to toxic discharge from trash and disease, these issues are very real and they are issues that will hit Americans very hard during a long-term disaster or collapse.
Often, people who talk about urban survival worry about things like raiders and roaming gangs, but the real danger may actually come from something that you already have in your home: Garbage
What are the threats and ramifications of trash during a collapse or long-term disaster?
Unfortunately, this is topic that’s often ignored be so-called preparedness experts. But it’s a topic that you can’t afford to ignore, especially if you live in a big city.
The average American throws away a lot of stuff, so much stuff that if you added up all the waste that’s produced each year in the United States, you would be able to fill over 2.3 million 747 jumbo jets.
That’s a lot of Garbage!
With so much waste being produced in America, you really need to start thinking about what things might look like during a long-term collapse scenario. If the country ever collapsed, and basic services like garbage removal stopped, people who live in big cities are going to be in for some major trouble.
Here is what you can expect.
When waste stops being collected, the frequency of illness such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections are going to skyrocket. In many parts of Africa, where waste management is almost non-existent, improper garbage disposal already causes devastating epidemics of mosquito-borne malaria, Lassa Fever, Yellow Fever, and other grave diseases.
First, the fleas and flies will move in; followed by ants, cockroaches, and then rats and other rodents. But the real danger will be one that’s a little harder to see.
Garbage will become a huge public health issue. The growing waste problem will likely spread infectious diseases throughout the community. This one problem has the potential to kill more people than any other part of the crisis.
Don’t think it can happen in the U.S.? It Already is!
In hellholes like Los Angeles, where mentally ill liberals have allowed their city to be taken over by drug addicts and scumbags, people are illegally dumping trash, used syringes, and human waste throughout the city. The problem is so bad that the city is starting to see outbreaks of typhus throughout the homeless community.
Los Angeles city officials actually declared downtown’s skid row — roughly 54 square blocks where more than 4,000 homeless congregate — a “typhus zone.”
“The Pasadena Public Health Department is reporting epidemic levels of typhus fever this year,” read a statement from that city on Friday.
“With increased rat density, diseases like typhus are very likely to occur,” said Dr. Lee W. Riley, an infectious disease researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.
Remember, this is happening during the so-called “Good Times”! What happens when the system completely breaks down?
What to do with Garbage when the SHTF?
If you live in a city, there may not be a lot that you can do. Even during short-term disasters like Hurricane Katrina, garbage became a huge problem for people living in the city of New Orleans. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality estimated that the hurricane resulted in 22 million tons of garbage.
If you live in a rural area, you might be in better shape:
Burning your garbage: Although it’s not the healthiest solution in the world, for thousands of years it was about the only solution that people had to remove waste from their homes. To this day, a number of people in rural areas of the United States still use it as their primary source of waste removal.
If this becomes your only option, you want to do it late at night to minimize your exposure. The last thing that you want to do is draw attention to your bug out location, by advertising the fact that you have stuff to burn to begin with. Burning at night makes it harder for people to see the smoke, and will make it harder for them to find your location.
Burying your Trash: Another option that you may need to consider during a long-term disaster situation is burying your trash. Burying your waste can help prevent the spread of disease, and can keep rodents and predatory animals away from your home.
Just remember, never bury trash close to a water source, and never dig a garbage pit below the water table level.
Creative uses for your garbage: Like it or not, stuff that you normally would have thrown away during the good times will now have to be recycled, and I’m not talking about placing it in the big green bin. You will have to find creative uses for everything that you have, including things that might seem like garbage.
Animal Feed. Most of your scrapes, vegetable peels, and other inedible foods can be easily turned into feed for your animals. This will help not only minimize your waste but is also a great way to feed helpful animals like chickens, goats, and rabbits.
Composting – Composting is easy and is another great way to turn your organic wastes into a valuable resource. Composting produces nutrient-rich material that can be used to help your survival gardens thrive.
Have you prepared to deal with health and sanitation issues during a long-term disaster? Now is the time to make a plan and stock up on Sanitation supplies!
After a while, the cities will be the most frightening places on the planet… Avoid them like the plague, and chances are you will be avoiding a plague. I’m worried that people will bring their garbage and disease outside of the cities and contaminate water sources and whatnot. But, I guess I’ll have to boil and filter anyway so it’ll probably be all the same in the end. Many people won’t bother to dispose of their garbage in the safe ways mentioned in this article :{
New York could become like this, since I see rats ALL the time in the subwayz :P
Vermin, rats, rodents? Get a cat.
If your options are limited and you plan an urban bug-in, use your craw space under your house as part of your sanitation program. Prep ahead by digging a hole for your internal outhouse, or “inhouse” if you will. Simply remove the access board that came with the house to expose the crawl space below. After digging a wide hole directly under the access opening, build a sturdy box that you will place over the opening. Now cut out a hole on the top of this wood box and over that attach your toilet seat. The key to this is you have to separate the human waste liquid from the solid if you want to greatly reduce odors. Do not co-mingle the two -that is what creates the bad smells. The easiest way to do this is to purchase something like the Separett Privy 500 dry toilet kit from Norway, (http://www.toiletrevolution.ie/products/urine-diverting-dry-toilet/privy-500-kit/ ). You add a diverter hose to it and then a long PVC tube to divert the liquid to a distant spot. The soil will mitigate the urine smell. In absence of urine the solids will loose their smell quickly as they dry. To further help mitigate the solid waste smell you occasionally add some saw dust or hydrated lime on top of the pile. Most crawl space access holes are in a closet of one of your bedrooms. Keep the closet door closed and bedroom door closed while the smell is vented out the air vents that surround your house. I hope this can be of some help.
Being retired military I have a working knowledge of what to do with trash above ground. My question deals with what to do with trash in a long term live in bunker situation. We know to stock up on everyday use items like food, water, paper towels and toiletries. If we are forced to stay inside a shelter/bunker, what do we do with the table scraps and empty cartons and whatnots? Not everyone will have protective gear and decon equipment to enable them to venture outside if there is contamination in the environment.
The only thing I can think of is reusing your leftover containers as storage for the trash. As infrequently as possible, have a single person go out there to dispose of it in a pre-determined area. Switch out who this person is each time, perhaps beginning with the healthiest, strongest, and wisest down to the weakest. Why? Because the first people will set a tone for the others. And by only sending one person out each time, you are giving the least bit of exposure.
Im a 30yr old woman and i plan on living way up in north west Montana mountians.when tshtf
And I’ll burn/bury my trash. And stay away from all towns/cities and fellow humans.
Something not many have thought about is investing in a composting toilet. You can get a NICE one on craigslist for about $500. Now you’re turning your own wastes into compost. If SHTF, simply dig a nice, big hole. Any trash you KNOW can do well in a compost, add it daily. When the waste from your compost toilet is ready, dump it (which is mostly DIRT now) into this pile, as well. Have a hard rake to give it a hurt every couple weeks. Of course, anything like peels that the pets will eat, that’s great. I’m talking beyond that.
What you need to keep on hand in your supply: mulch! That’s it! One or two bags will last you for quite some time. And less disease!
Is there a way to buy someting in a metal can and safely restore elsewhere to get rid of the metal while garbage system still works?
When SHTF, my people will have NO trash. Everything recycled. If you can’t recycle it, burn it for heat/power generation. If it can’t be burnt, its highly likely recyclable. If it’s some sort of biohazard, bury it.