Mountain States Fail to Recycle

[uglymoney]

All those mountain hippies can't manage to pull up the average recycling rate in the mountain west? These numbers are seriously pathetic and shameful in comparison to the more progressive midwest and coastal states. All those pretty pine trees and the smell of burning herb must lull hippies into inaction. Even Texas recycles 24% of their solid waste!

I've included only a few states, all with ski areas and I'm more focused on % than tons since I am sure tons per capita is influenced by heavy industry, etc.

* Maine generates 1.03 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Maine recycles 49% of the state's solid waste.

* Oregon generates 1.16 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Oregon recycles 48.8% of the state's solid wast

* Iowa generates 1.16 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Iowa recycles 41.7% of the state's solid waste.

* California generates 1.55 tons of solid waste per capita.
* California recycles 40.2% of the state's solid waste.

* Washington generates 1.43 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Washington recycles 34.1% of the state's solid waste.

* Illinois generates 1.27 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Illinois recycles 32.5% of the state's solid waste.

* Vermont generates .99 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Vermont recycles 29.8% of the state's solid waste.

* Pennsylvania generates 1.03 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Pennsylvania recycles 26.8% of the state's solid waste.

* Minnesota generates 1 ton of solid waste per capita.
* Minnesota recycles 25.1% of the state's solid waste.

* Wisconsin generates 1.03 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Wisconsin recycles 24.6% of the state's solid waste.

* New York generates 1.29 tons of solid waste per capita.
* New York recycles 17.1% of the state's solid waste.

* Arizona generates 1.10 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Arizona recycles 17.5% of the state's solid waste.

* Michigan generates 1.68 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Michigan recycles 15.1% of the state's solid waste

* Idaho generates .81 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Idaho recycles 8.4% of the state's solid waste.

* New Mexico generates 1.13 tons of solid waste per capita.
* New Mexico recycles 6.5% of the state's solid waste.

* Utah generates 1.07 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Utah recycles 4.8% of the state's solid waste.

* South Dakota generates .68 tons of solid waste per capita.
* South Dakota recycles 3% of the state's solid waste.

I find Colorado's numbers particularly troublesome. Supposedly a relatively progressive state with residents celebrating their escape from the dirty east by walking among the mountains in hemp shirts and Birkenstocks, but apparently not doing much in the way of recycling. Can we pin this all on the front range? What do Aspen, Vail, Steamboat, Telluride and Summit County have for solid waste programs?

* Colorado generates 1.12 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Colorado recycles 2.8% of the state's solid waste.

Other than Teton County Wyoming really is the environmental armpit of this country. These numbers are terrible.

* Wyoming generates 1.39 tons of solid waste per capita.
* Wyoming recycles 1.7% of the state's solid waste.

[AsheanMT]

Tell me about it. I don't know what Montana's rate is but I know its gotta be bad. We don't even offer glass recycling and since there is no curbside recycling most people are too lazy to do it themselves.

[fez]

the recycling rate in bozeman is probably decreasing rather than increasing. why? well if you take the time to drive down to the recycling pickup areas (there is no curbside) chances are good that all that is going to happen is whatever you dropped off there is just going to end up in the landfill anyways.

so really, if you count the extra fuel you use to recycle, you are probably only harming the environment by doing it here.

[uglymoney]

Tell me about it. I don't know what Montana's rate is but I know its gotta be bad. We don't even offer glass recycling and since there is no curbside recycling most people are too lazy to do it themselves.

I couldn't even find numbers for Montana. Not a good sign

[hialtitude]

I am always amazed that we can't recycle glass in MT. Apparently the cost of transportation is too high to "make it worth while". I feel guilty throwing away all those bottles every week. That doesn't mean that very many people here give a shit here anyway. If nothing else, I have another reason to fill a growler at the brewery instead of buying a six-pack.

[boarddad]

That's downright primitive! Here in So Cal my recycling can is bigger than my trash can. It's picked up curbside and I don't even have to sort it. If I call ahead they'll even pick up my used motor oil and oil filters. If they just had green-cycling in my city my trash would be cut in half - again.

[Jer]

I don't worry about the glass too much. Same story in Utah; there's a few spots where we can dump glass, but I gather it just sits in a heap somewhere in the desert.

The point of recycling is to conserve scarce resources, energy, and landfill space; and to reduce litter.

The raw materials for glass manufacture are cheap, plentiful and easy to collect; it takes about as much energy to turn old glass into new glass as it takes to turn sand into glass. Figure in the cost of collecting & transporting waste glass, and it's probably more fuel efficient to use sand. Pick up after yourself and others, and the litter problem disappears. Landfill space is not in short supply here, and glass does not decompose into methane or leak toxic substances into aquifers.

The SLC recycling system works well for me - most of my trash goes into the recycling bin. All the organic stuff goes into the composter. Not much left for the landfill.

[Danno]

I find Colorado's numbers particularly troublesome. Supposedly a relatively progressive state with residents celebrating their escape from the dirty east by walking among the mountains in hemp shirts and Birkenstocks, but apparently not doing much in the way of recycling. Can we pin this all on the front range? What do Aspen, Vail, Steamboat, Telluride and Summit County have for solid waste programs?

I'm not sure how Colorado is even relatively progressive. Pretty middle of the road, always has been. And considering that the VAST majority of the population is along the Front Range, yes, you can pin it all on the Front Range, I'm guessing. As for the mountain communities, some try really hard. but the economics of recycling just don't work for small population centers in rural areas.

[pechelman]

I paid for the service, paid for the bins, spent the extra time and hassel of dealing with sorting, cleaning, and setting aside the recycling, and then when you paid them to come and pick it up, and they dont, really fucking irks me.

if the garbage companies out here got serious about recycling, maybe I wouldnt have canceled my service.

I am not the only one I know with the exact same complaints.
This is not the same garbage company nor is it the same neighborhood.

I have also heard that with the increased prices in energy, its not efficient or cost effective to recycle.
ie it takes more resources to recycle said object than just making new ones.
whether this is true or not I dont know. maybe someone can comment?

[uglymoney]

I just went to Boulders website and they require their trash haulers to pick up some basic recycle items curbside. Only plastics one and two though, pretty limited there - plus paper, aluminum and tin. Still at least they are trying not to be complete hypocrites.

I have also heard that with the increased prices in energy, its not efficient or cost effective to recycle.
ie it takes more resources to recycle said object than just making new ones.
whether this is true or not I dont know. maybe someone can comment?

The price of oil has jacked the price of plastic greatly since plastic is made from oil. So just the opposite is true. Around here they can't get their hands on enough used plastic. We can throw 1-7 into the bin, which is pretty much any and all plastics used in packaging.

[pechelman]

honestly though
when i look in my bin
its all paper products or glass
im having a hard time thinking of anything consumable\disposable I buy on any sort of regular basis thats plastic.


rather than just heresay, i was kinda looking for a comment based in statistical data.

anyway
the second the state\local governments make it easy for the people, easy as in its "free" to recycle and they come and pick it up, is the second people will start to do it more. seems like if it was done on a large scale like this, the impact to your yearly taxes wouldnt be that significant.
maybe an extra 50-75$ a year?

[Jer]

Depends on the item.

Glass: probably not efficient in most cases.

Aluminum:
probably still efficient, because smelting aluminum out of bauxite is extremely energy intensive. Not to mention that the dams that provide the hydroelectricity that powers the smelters destroys rivers.

Paper: l
ots of different waste streams. Dunno.
But environmental costs of harvesting wood pulp and making paper are not adequately accounted for, so paper should be recycled even at some cost.

Plastic:
same.

Copper:
people steal it for its resale value.

Random metals:
the junkyard will pay you a little for it, or at least put it to better use than the landfill.

Toxic waste:
worth recycling / processing to avoid the environmental costs of careless disposal.

Semi-usable items:
freecycle them (unless it's a gas-guzzling oil-burning derelict of a car, which should be junked.) Somebody else may get a few years' use out of it, possibly deferring the purchase of a new item and the associated impacts. The newer item is likely to be more efficient all around.

Best idea, of course, is to reduce waste and consumption as much as is practical; and then to ask retailers, manufacturers, service providers and communities to offer options that waste even less (e.g. less packaging, less junk mail, lighter cars, bike-safe streets, etc.)

[mcsquared]

Denver actually has a pretty good system if you are able to take part in the service. Its free (well part of your property tax) and easy. Big purple containers that you set out once every two weeks for pickup. You don't have to sort it and they recycle most everything I can think of. However, the problem is that they only extend it to residential properties with <7 units. So all of the big complexes have to pay somebody else to come and do it all. What results is all the apartment complexes and commercial buildings throwing their trash in the city dumpsters and not recycling at all.

[Pura Vida]

That's downright primitive! Here in So Cal my recycling can is bigger than my trash can. It's picked up curbside and I don't even have to sort it. If I call ahead they'll even pick up my used motor oil and oil filters. If they just had green-cycling in my city my trash would be cut in half - again.

Here in Goleta, no curbside recycling, was really suprising as it's seems everywhere else in CA has this. My neigbor drinks a ton of beer and they all end up in the trash. The recycling program around here seems to be left to the local poor Mexican families who scour peoples trash cans for cans/bottles.

[uglymoney]

rather than just heresay, i was kinda looking for a comment based in statistical data.

Yep, and I can't find the table that shows the exact relationship between oil prices and the profitability of plastic recycling. Did find this here and other similar comments scattered throughout different articles.

The high price of oil is boosting demand for recycled plastics, which is outstripping supply, so the new plants cannot be built quickly enough, says Patty Moore of Moore Recycling Associates in Sonoma, California. "Right now we have economics that are pretty favourable for expanding recycling. The environment has changed from barely scraping by to people saying, 'hey, we can make some money at this'."

anyway
the second the state\local governments make it easy for the people, easy as in its "free" to recycle and they come and pick it up, is the second people will start to do it more. seems like if it was done on a large scale like this, the impact to your yearly taxes wouldnt be that significant.
maybe an extra 50-75$ a year?

We have full curbside here in Moose. That includes all papers/cardboards, tin, aluminum if you have it (unlikely with our 5 cent bottle deposit), plastic 1-7, all color glass, and all yard waste which is composted. The cost is $6.15 every two months, so around $40 dollars a year, but could probably subtract part of that out of our solid waste fee since our landfills have been filling much slower and lasting longer than they otherwise would have.

[Buzzworthy]

I am always amazed that we can't recycle glass in MT. Apparently the cost of transportation is too high to "make it worth while". I feel guilty throwing away all those bottles every week. That doesn't mean that very many people here give a shit here anyway. If nothing else, I have another reason to fill a growler at the brewery instead of buying a six-pack.

I too don't get it. So I switched to canned beer and save money and recycle. When I want good beer, I get it, buy the sixer or growler.

Our recycle cans for cans/paper/.... are actually smaller than the garbage can. WTF????

[P_McPoser]

Not much recycling in Summit County that I have seen. Growing up in Tucson, the trash service usually took the recyclables to the landfill also, becuase they were losing money recycling.