Americans are recycling 32 percent of waste

At the National Recycling Coalition Conference, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced that Americans are recycling more and throwing away less.

The most recent figures available for 2005 show that 32 percent of waste was recycled, including composting of organic waste.

Americans generated nearly 246 million tons of municipal solid waste, according to Johnson, whether destined for landfill, incinerator, recycling or composting. This is a decrease of nearly two million tons from 2004 figures.

This averages to around 4.5 pounds per person per day, down from five pounds per person per day.

In specific recycling and composting figures, container and packaging recycling reached 40 percent. Nearly 62 percent of yard waste was composted. Fifty percent of paper, about 42 million tons, were recycled.

For information on Wayne and Yates County municipal solid waste and recycling, please contact the Western Finger Lakes Solid Waste Management Authority at 1.800.724.3867 or www.wfingerlakesauthority.org

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