Have you ever stopped to think about your daily consumption? According to the EPA, the average American produces 4.5 pounds of trash everyday. By age 75, you will have generated more than 123,000 pounds of trash…and that probably doesn’t include all the dirty diapers you created during your first couple of years.

Let’s take a look at the natural resources you consume on a daily basis.

Water Simply taking a shower can consume 15 gallons of water on average (EPA). While a daily shower is pretty much a necessity for most of us, we can cut corners on other water-consuming activities, such as watering the lawn, which can easily take 180 gallons, or washing clothes at about 12 gallons per load.

Fiber Most of the waste we produce is paper (fiber). Think about all the packaging and junk mail that should make it to the recycling bin. Trees are a renewable resource, but it’s important to conserve landfill space and natural resources by placing paper, cardboard, paperboard, catalogs, phone books, etc. in your recycling bin.

Petroleum According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. accounted for 27 percent of the world’s oil consumption in 2009. Almost 5 percent of our U.S. consumption went to making plastic items. Remember to recycle plastic bottles and jugs. You can also conserve fuel in your car by removing excess weight, driving the speed limit and avoiding idling.

Written by Rumpke's Corporate Communications Team.