ECO INFO: THE STATS ON U.S. TRASH

According to a report put out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 10/23/06, Americans are making progress in the area of reducing trash by doing two things: recycling more and throwing away less.

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, who spoke at the National Recycling Coalition Conference in Atlanta on 10/23, announced that the U.S. recycled 32 percent of its waste in 2005. Including composting, Americans recycled 79 million tons, representing a 2 percent increase from 2004 and a huge jump from 16 percent in 1990.

Some other stats to gnaw on:

* Americans generated nearly 246 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2005 – a decrease of nearly 2 million tons from 2004.
* Individual waste generation has gone down to about 4.5 pounds per person per day, representing a 1.5 percent decrease from 2004.
* In addition to generating less waste, individuals recycled nearly 1.5 pounds per person per day.
* Recycling trends across the board are generally up:
Container and packaging recycling increased to 40 percent.
Nearly 62 percent of yard waste was composted.
About 42 million tons of paper were recycled—a 50 percent recycling rate.

This is all good news, but we must keep our awareness high and our efforts steadfast! Reduced consumption is a first step...