Water and Waste

Water and Waste Reduction Workflow

Americans use an average of 80-100 gallons of water per person per day directly (drinking, bathing, cooking, laundry) — and far more indirectly through the products they consume. A single pound of beef requires about 1,800 gallons of water to produce. These tools help you quantify both direct and indirect water use, and measure the impact of waste reduction choices.

Water Footprint

The Water Footprint Calculator covers household direct water use (showering, laundry, irrigation) and the embedded water in your diet and purchases. The embedded water footprint of food is often surprising: wheat takes about 200 gallons per pound, almonds take 1,900 gallons per pound, and coffee takes about 2,500 gallons per pound. Knowing which items drive the biggest water footprint helps prioritize where changes matter most.

Composting and Recycling

Composting diverts about 30% of typical household waste from landfills, eliminating the methane emissions that occur when organic material decomposes without oxygen. The Composting Benefits Calculator shows the annual CO2 equivalent prevented and the volume of waste diverted for your household size.

Recycling impact varies dramatically by material. Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water. Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy needed to produce it from ore. The Recycling Impact Calculator quantifies the energy and emissions savings for your recycling by material type and volume.

Plastic and Paper Use

The average person generates about 185 lbs of plastic waste per year. Single-use plastic production doubled from 2000 to 2019. The Plastic Use Calculator estimates your annual plastic footprint and shows substitution options. A standard office worker uses about 10,000 sheets of paper per year. The Paper vs Digital Calculator compares the environmental cost of printing versus digital documents.