Waste is largely a hidden problem. But hardly without impact. Americans generate a minimum of 280 pounds of waste per person per day. It is not simply the huge quantities of materials that we consume, it is also the consequences that follow from the many forms of that waste. While waste is mostly considered to be the things we throw away each day, in reality that is only a small portion of goods, services, time, and money wasted because of the inefficient use of resources.