Waste in the United States Waste in the United States As a nation, Americans generate more waste than any other nation in the world, officially with 4.4 pounds (2.0 kg) of municipal solid waste (MSW) per person per day, with another study estimating 7.1 pounds per capita per day. Fifty five percent of this waste is contributed as residential garbage, while the remaining forty five percent of waste in the U.S.'s ‘waste stream' comes from manufacturing, retailing, and commercial trade in the U.S. economy. Based on proprietary data released to the public, Nevada was named America's "Most Wasteful State" for the years 2005-2010; where each
Per capita each of the named beneficiaries should receive, by devise or bequest, equal shares of the estate. This is in contrast to a "per stirpes" division, in which each branch (Latin "stirps", plural "stirpes") of the inheriting family inherits an equal share of the estate. Per capita Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: "per" (preposition, taking the accusative case, meaning "by means of") and "capita" (accusative plural of the noun "caput", "head"). The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e., per individual/person. The term is used in a wide variety of social sciences and statistical research contexts,