The three R's: Why do we need them?

You are an earth scientist and you are worried about the overabundance of trash in your local landfill. You notice that if things continue the way they are going that there are going to be some serious consequences of our human wasteful ways. It is your job to find out how we can minimize the waste that fills our local land fills. It is your job to also discover why excessive amounts of garbage is bad for our world. Good luck on your new case!