Oregonians recycling less and less
For all we pat ourselves on the back, it seems we’re backsliding a bit in the last couple of years.
For all we pat ourselves on the back, it seems we’re backsliding a bit in the last couple of years. Yes, the state that brought the world the five-cent deposit on aluminum cans and curbside recycling is actually reclaiming less and less material waste. In a new Department of Environmental Quality report [PDF] and news release Oregonians recovered 46.7 percent of the solid waste we generated. Unfortunately, it’s also becoming a downward trend. In 2006 Oregon recycled 47.3 percent, in 2005, 49.2 percent.
The good side? We’re still way higher than the rest of the USA. The Environmental Protection Agency’s puts the national average of recycling and composting at 32.1%.
The bad side? Are we resting on our laurels as Oregonians? Here’s something to think about, according to DEQ, the total state-wide waste generation was 5.72 million tons in 2007. Also known as….
3,055 pounds (1.36 tons) of waste per person, per year, in Oregon.
And I thought I was doing so well. To be fair, we’re wasting less as well. In 2006 that number was 3,104 pounds of waste per year, per person. So while we’re recycling less, we’re also wasting (a tad) less.
While percentage points might not seem like a big deal, here’s one more thing to think about. Recycling in Oregon (not including composting or energy recovery) saved about 30 trillion BTU (British Thermal Units) last year, which is the equivalent of 241 million gallons of gasoline. It is also equivalent to saving 2.7 percent of the entire energy use for the whole state last year. Not just electricity, but energy. Now matter how you look at it, that’s an incredible savings.
