ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Tucson Garbage Project

The Tucson Garbage Project is a really cool idea that some scientists came up with to learn about how we throw away and recycle things. You know how when you're done eating a snack, you might throw the empty bag in the trash? Well, scientists wanted to learn more about all the different things that people throw away in their trash cans.

So they went to Tucson, which is a city in Arizona, and asked people to save all their garbage for a week. That means instead of throwing things away, they put them in a special bag so the scientists could look at it later.

When the scientists got all the bags of garbage, they looked at every single thing inside. They sorted the trash into different piles based on what it was made of - like paper, plastic, metal, and food - and counted how much of each type of trash there was.

They even looked at things like old homework assignments and letters, to learn more about what people threw away and why. This helped them figure out if people were recycling enough, and if they could recycle more things to help the environment.

The Tucson Garbage Project was a really important study that helped people understand how much trash we create and how we can do a better job of recycling. Plus, it's a good reminder for all of us to think about the things we're throwing away and how we can help keep the planet clean and healthy.