You Can Recycle THAT!?

Los Angeles is the latest community to up the ante when it comes to municipal recycling -- adding plastic clothes hangers and grocery bags and Styrofoam to its list of recyclable goods.That's far more than many in communities, where well-meaning residents are restricted to recycling only plastics designated with a 1 or 2 stamped on the bottom.

In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented about 64 million tons of material from ending up in landfills and incinerators, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That amounts to 32% of our waste -- a rate of recycling that nearly doubled since 1975, when recycling programs began to get more federal backing. L.A. aims to recycle 70% of its trash, under a goal set by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Why do some communities recycle more? Part of it is economics and access. How easy it is for a community to generate enough of a recyclable product to make it economical to process it? Is there a processor nearby willing to do the job? But this unevenness in recycling is pervasive, even from town to town in the same county. There, the equation is more simple, and it comes down to political will. So if you look across the town line and see more trash going into the recycle bin than the garbage bag, take note. Then call your elected leaders. It is possible.

COMMENTS ()