Waste generation is a direct consequence of consumption practices. In the United States, consumption levels per capita have reached an almost incredible level. Around 6 × 109 t of materials are consumed yearly - fuels, minerals, foods, timber, and chemicals. That amounts to 28 t for each man, woman, and child each year or 150 lb day−1. Like some insects, we consume the equivalent of our own weight in ‘stuff’. High consumption rates necessitate high energy consumption to harvest, extract, process, and move about the materials we need. The U.S. per capita energy consumption is twice as high as England's, the next contender. Waste generation, therefore, has international implications and is not merely a local problem of finding disposal sites.