Connecticut DEP Report Shows Urgent Need to Increase Recycling

Date: December 29, 2006

Source: News Room

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection issued an ambitious new Solid Waste Plan on Dec. 20 that seeks to reduce municipal waste disposal by greatly expanding recycling and waste reduction. Currently the state generates 3.8 million tons of waste annually of which 57% is burned in one of six regional resource recovery facilities, 30% is recycled, 4% landfilled in state and 9% (or 400,000 tons) is exported to landfills in Pennsylvania and Ohio. However, the DEP projects that waste generation will increase to 5.2 million tons of waste or 1.42 tons per person annually by 2024. If recycling remains at 30 percent, the state will have an additional 1 million tons of waste to deal with by then. "Here's the bottom line," said DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy, "simply recycling that stray soda bottle and newspaper is no longer enough. We must radically and quickly change the balance in favor of waste reduction, recycling and reuse over disposal."

For a copy of the report, please visit:
dep.state.ct.us/wst/solidw/swplan/index.htm.

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