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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO ENVIRONMENTAL, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
U.S. EPA's Latest Municipal Solid Waste Data Demonstrates America's
Evolving Waste Stream
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National
Waste & Recycling Association (Waste & Recycling) today offered
additional insight into the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
report on municipal waste generation and recycling rates, noting that
the latest statistics, based on 2012 data, show a continual decline in
per capita waste generation and an evolving waste stream that
continues the trends of less printed paper and lighter-weight
packaging.
The EPA report, "Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling and
Disposal in the United States," was released in late February.
"EPA's statistics show that Americans are disposing of less
waste-about 4.38 pounds of waste per person per day-continuing a
decline that began in 2000," said Sharon H. Kneiss, president and CEO
of Waste & Recycling, which represents private sector companies across
all 50 states that collect, manage, dispose and recycle waste.
Kneiss added that while waste recovery rates dipped slightly to
260,000 tons, these statistics do not necessarily mean that Americans
are recycling less.
"Part of the dip in recycling can be attributed to our evolving waste
stream," Kneiss said. "We're generating less printed
material-newspapers, office paper or magazines-as we shift to a
digital world.
"Meanwhile, packaging recycling has continued to climb-more than half
of all packaging is now recycled-and this packaging is getting lighter
and greener as manufacturers seek to minimize their environmental
footprint," she said. "But the bottom line is that the public can help
increase the recycling rate by getting the right materials in the bin
in the first place. It begins with the bin."
Among other notable findings in the report:
-- Population growth is still outpacing waste generation, and waste
generation also continues to grow slower than the economy. Total
national waste generation increased by only 500,000 tons, or 0.19
percent.
-- Waste disposal rose very slightly and recovery (including recycling
and composting) dropped very slightly. Land disposal of waste peaked
in 1990, and waste-to-energy generation peaked in 2000.
-- Packaging continues to be the largest component of trash (30
percent), followed by food waste and yard trimmings (28 percent),
nondurables (20.5 percent), durables (20 percent) and miscellaneous
inorganic wastes (1.5 percent).
-- Packaging recycling has steadily increased during this decade, from
38 percent in 2000 to 51.5 percent in 2012. Printed paper recycling
rose even more dramatically, from 42 percent in 2000 to 71 percent in
2012.
For more information on the waste and recycling industry, and for
facts and figures about waste disposal and recycling, visit
www.beginwiththebin.com.
The National Waste & Recycling Associationis the trade association
that represents the private sector waste and recycling services
industry. Association members conduct business in all 50 states and
include companies that collect and manage garbage, recycling and
medical waste, equipment manufacturers and distributors and a variety
of other service providers. For more information about how innovation
in the environmental services industry is helping to solve today's
environmental challenges, visit www.beginwiththebin.com.
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s),
click appropriate link. Sharon H. Kneiss
http://www.profnetconnect.com/sharonhkneiss
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131120/DC21142LOGO
SOURCE National Waste & Recycling Association
-0- 03/10/2014
/CONTACT: Thom Metzger, 202-364-3751 or tmetzger@envasns.org
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131120/DC21142LOGO
/Web Site: http://www.wasterecycling.org
CO: National Waste & Recycling Association
ST: District of Columbia
IN: ENV
SU: EXE ENI SVY
PRN
-- DC79948 --
0000 03/10/2014 14:18:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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