By Patrick Oppmann, CNN
Trash study tracks how pieces of garbage may travel hundreds of miles
MIT researchers hope study will help people better understand impact of garbage they produce
"Can we create a situation of minimum waste?" researcher says
Seattle, Washington (CNN) -- The plastic Ziploc bag thrown in the trash in Seattle, Washington, spent a week traveling 300 miles to an Oregon landfill. The old Apple iBook that was recycled is a month into its journey. And a pair of worn Asics running shoes is still logging miles even after being dropped in a bin for used shoes.
Those are just some of the trails of trash exposed in a high-tech trash study.
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The tracking is not part of some top-secret government program to spy on garbage, but rather the brainchild of MIT researchers who wanted to learn if society could more efficiently dispose of what it throws out.
"The idea with this tagging exercise is to bring an invisible system to life," said Assaf Biderman, associate director of MIT's SENSEable City Lab. "By knowing how long it stays in the system, where it goes, we are hoping to create an increased awareness in the public."
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"It could make a huge difference," Waste Management spokeswoman Rita Smith said. "We want to do everything we can to get our materials to their destinations as efficiently as possible; not only because of the economic cost, but also because of the environmental cost. There's no point in hauling material around in circles."
Researchers are still compiling data as the trash makes its journey.
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