can trash make you sick
Can trash make you sick? The following is a guide answering a range of questions regarding trash in its relation to sickness.

Trash, there are everywhere, and for some reason, we never seem to have the capability to manage it without it affecting our health, environment, and lifestyle. When we talk about trash management, we have to look into improving our trashing habits and hygiene.

However, most people don’t bother about it and are less concerned about the amount of trash accumulating in their homes and what’s worse is they have even lesser knowledge on how to take care it.

Can Trash Make You Sick

How to improve poor hygiene?

Poor hygiene leads to the improper disposal of trash that ultimately translates into a smelly and unhealthy environment for our neighbors and us. Hygiene can be as simple as washing your hands after a long day at the office to ensuring that you trash all waste properly.  

Engaging in proper hygiene refers to living a clean life by imbibing in clean and healthy habits that involve taking care of ourselves. When dirt and secretions accumulate on our body; it blocks our pores preventing ventilation of the skin and creating a dull effect too. Furthermore, we end up smelly, sweaty, and offensive to our neighbors and are treated poorly by society.

How to overcome poor hygiene

To improve our hygiene, we have to take care of our body, environment, and society through proper personal hygiene as showering with soap to remove stuck dirt and germs from the skin, brushing your teeth, personal grooming, proper food disposal, and trash removal.


How to overcome poor hygiene?

  • Taking baths twice a day – when you wake up and before going to bed especially during summer and in high temperature
  • Shaving your armpits and privates to reduce sweat and improve aeration
  • Using deodorant and antiperspirants to mask offensive odor or dapping cornstarch and baking soda to balance the body pH
  • Drinking plenty of water and avoid strong aromatic food like onions, garlic, and other bulb plants
  • Washing your clothes and bed sheets with detergents and softeners or using repellents to rid bugs and insects from the environment
  • Using large waste bins with plastic bags to hold trash.


The best way to manage junk at home

Waste is generated daily form our homes with the average American disposing trash of almost 5 pounds and increasing. As our lives become busier, a simple task as removing our trash is difficult making our living spaces inhabitable. Waste includes food remnant, packages, plastics, and other materials. The first attempt at managing trash at home is to employ the three R’s. The reuse reduces and recycles method. This not only reduces the trash pile up but cuts back our trash level to the barest minimum.

Some steps to trash management are:

  • Sort trash into different bins: this doesn’t imply having more than one container in the kitchen but trashing only biodegradables in the kitchen while another waste is trashed differently.
  • Create a compost site: if you are into gardening; build a compost pit at the corner of your garden where you can drop food, animal and plant wastes. This reduces your waste, use of artificial and chemical-based fertilizer that harms the environment.
  • Give old clothing, toys, or materials out: instead of trashing old wears, send them to a homeless shelter or orphanage.
  • Reduce the use of plastic and opt for metals or reuse more instead of buying more.
  • Wrap white food waste like protein bits and pieces in paper and foil before disposing of it to avoid interactions that causes quick decomposition and smells in the house.

How separating trash to help the environment?

  • Trash bins are breeding ground from bacteria, insects and other dangerous rodents that feed on decomposing matter causing flies and other germ-carrying vermin that are harmful to us. In fact, having full trash containers in the home can lead to poisoning and stomach upset.
  • Improperly disposed trash can flow into our waterways causing contaminants like carbon dioxide and nitrogen derivatives that are dangerous to humans when mixed with water
  • Waste that pollutes our waterway affects the marine ecosystem and other underwater creatures too
  • Trash hinder the economy of a state and country as waste on the street is not good and creates an unappealing environment for tourists and business people alike
  • Improper management of trash causes the environment to smell causing the huge losses to the government and the city
Separate Trash and Recycle
Seperate Trash Recyle

Waste separation might not seem like much too some people, but these small changes can make a significant impact on the environment. When we trash biodegradables and non-biodegradable, we reduce our trash volume by 50 percent thereby reducing biogases, landfill, and dangerous fumes harmful to humans. Furthermore, it reduces pollution, saves cost and boosts the economy. It also reduces the number of trees fell annually, creates an alternative source of energy especially in rural and remote areas of the world.

The complex nature of waste management challenges even the most developed countries on the planets as more money are invested in creating packages and packaging over the world.

Why trash smell is not good for you?

The dirt we throw away daily is of two types – biodegradable or non-biodegradable. 

Biodegradable is soft and easily decomposed to become soil after a while, examples are food waste, plant and animal wastes. The breakdown is dependent on certain factors like the temperature around the waste bin and the environment, humidity, location of the waste bin, and decomposers that help break it down. This decomposition of trash by this bacteria releases different gases like methane, sulfur, ammonia, and putrescence among others; when combined together give the dustbin its peculiar smell that we all know and hate.


How the bad odor from your trash can affects your health?

Trash smells putrid, and has adverse effects on our body and cause harm. Even though, the gases emitted from decomposing trash are hazardous because they lack oxygen, are an explosion waiting to happen and is suffocating, the great news is that the little trash can in your kitchen cannot produce enough bio-gas to harm you. 

However, scientists are warning people of the side effect of regularly inhaling the smell of decomposing trash and symptoms linked with this are the inability to register and accurately distinguish other smells and skin problems. It has also been discovered that a discomposing bin emits small spores that are harmful when inhaled and can lead to an asthma attack and difficulty breathing.

It is recommended to dispose of bins containing organic trash daily especially in highly humid regions, and trash containers should be placed in cooler areas in the house to reduce the decomposition process.

We can’t really stop ourselves from contacting germs and dirt as we go about our daily business outside our home but within our house; we can put certain measure to keep our home safe and free from germs that can lead to sickness.

We can get infected through various means but living in an unhealthy and smelly environment will escalate an infection to a more dangerous level.

Some steps to take are:

  • Take the trash out daily or every two days and tight the tip well to prevent animals from picking and littering the trash everywhere
  • Wash your hand before and after eating, using the restroom or performing any activity with your hands
  • Clean the kitchen surface with mild bleach and detergent once in a week and keep the windows open for some fresh air
  • Learn to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials
  • Avoid inhaling the smell from the trash can and take out the trash when it begins to emit offensive odors
  • Clean the bathroom and toilet once a week
  • If you work with the trash management corporation, cover you nostril and use hand gloves. Furthermore, always wash up before you leave or eat anything at work.
Necessary measures to take to prevent falling sick by trash
Prevent Falling Sick At Work

Tips to prevent falling sick at work

The working environment is one place where infection and diseases are to spread faster due to the close spaces and improper ventilation.

Some preventive tips to stay safe in the office are:

  • Pat your colleague instead of shaking everybody
  • Wash your hands before handling any edible stuff in the office
  • Don’t leave your food open even if it’s paper wrapped
  • Put the trash cans away from people or only trash empty packs without food remnants to avoid the smell of decomposition.
  • Ensure the restrooms are cleaned, and toilets are flushed or have a working flush system

Where to find bulk trash and junk removal companies to contact

Most communities have trash pickup service located in their vicinity or locality. To contact one, check your telephone directory, ask a neighbor or go online to locate the one closest to you. If you are a new tenant in the neighborhood, register with the trash pickup team with your name and address and endeavor to pay your trash fee on-time before each clearance.

A small amount of trash might not have a significant effect on our health but living with waste around us is detrimental to our health and overall well-being. To avoid falling sick, trash all waste properly and dispose of organic and green scrap instantly or take the trash bin out every morning as you leave for work. Stay clean. Stay safe. Trash well.

Avoid Getting sick From Trash