Waste, and how we choose to handle it, affects our world's environment—that's OUR environment. The environment is everything around us including the air, water, land, plants, and man-made things. And since by now we probably know that we need a healthy environment for our own health and happiness, we can understand why effective waste management is so important to US and everyone else. The waste we create has to be carefully controlled to be sure that it does not harm your environment and your health.

https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/topics/reduce/index.htm