13th ANNUAL BIOCYCLE NATIONWIDE SURVEY
THE STATE OF GARBAGE IN AMERICA
There is little change in the nation’s rates of recycling, landfilling and incineration, while the amount of municipal solid waste generated increased by more than 26 million tons.
Nora Goldstein and Celeste Madtes

BIOCYCLE conducted its first State of Garbage in America report in 1989. At the time, recycling programs were popping up around the country and landfill closures were on the rise. Consensus among solid waste professionals was that a shift in how the nation managed its garbage was underway. The infamous garbage barge in 1989 dramatized the perceived changes.

On a national level, there was little data to indicate with any certainty what was happening. And thus the concept of initiating a nationwide survey was born by the editors of BioCycle. In the early years, the survey results reflected the patchwork of state programs around the country, but gradually, most states began tracking solid waste management practices. Baselines that are now standard in the annual State of Garbage in America reports were established. In 2001, the 13th year of the BioCycle annual survey, we continue the tradition of tracking recycling, composting and other solid waste management related trends in the United States.

HOW ARE WE DOING?

To conduct the State of Garbage in America survey, BioCycle editors send out a detailed questionnaire to state solid waste management and recycling officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (For the purposes of this survey, the District of Columbia is referred to as a “state.”) BioCycle extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who assisted us with this year’s report. States are requested to report the most current data available. The majority of the states provided data for 2000. The table footnotes indicate if states are using data from years other than 2000.

Every state responded to this year’s survey except for Montana. Three other states – Georgia, Idaho and South Dakota – did not have the data available to determine how much of the municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in their states is recycled, incinerated and landfilled. In the 2000 report, BioCycle did not have a percentage breakdown for eight states (see “The State of Garbage in America,” Part II, November 2000).

The 2001 State of Garbage in America survey found a total of 409,029,000 tons of municipal solid waste generated in the United States in 2000. (This figure represents all 51 states as a per capita based tonnage was calculated for Montana.) This is an increase of 26.4 million or seven percent from the 2000 State of Garbage report. The increase is significantly bigger than the one seen between 1999 and 2000 (a gain of about eight million tons), but less than the 34 million ton increase that BioCycle reported between the 1998 and 1999 State of Garbage in America surveys.

The national rates calculated for recycling, incineration and landfilling are based on the tonnages reported for every state but Georgia, Idaho, Montana and South Dakota (thus a total of 396,436,000 tons). BioCycle has calculated that the recycling rate in the United States, which includes yard trimmings composted, is 32 percent. The amount of MSW landfilled is 61 percent and the amount incinerated is seven percent. In last year’s State of Garbage report, the rate of MSW recycled and composted was 33 percent; 60 percent was landfilled and the incinerated rate was the same.

This is the first time that BioCycle’s State of Garbage in America survey has reported a decline in the recycling rate. However, several key factors should be noted:

—The national rates are calculated using weighted averages, and the final percentages are rounded to whole numbers. Looking at the non-rounded numbers paints a slightly different picture. The 2001 rates not rounded are – Recycled 31.90 percent; Incinerated 6.89 percent; Landfilled 61.19 percent. The 2000 rates not rounded are – Recycled 32.40 percent; Incinerated 7.28 percent; Landfilled 60.32 percent. The 32.40 was rounded to 33 percent (as it was higher than the .28 and the .32 in the other numbers). In reality, there is only a half percent difference between the 2001 and 2000 recycling rates.

—The fact that the amount of MSW generated rose by seven percent while the recycling rate only fell a half percent between the 2000 and 2001 surveys indicates the strength of recycling in the United States. Looking at the tonnages upon which the rates were based shows the following: 2000 – 106,891,230 tons (32.40 percent); 2001 – 126,490,700 (31.9 percent).

Table 1 provides a history of the MSW tonnages and percents recycled, incinerated and landfilled for 1990 through 2001. It is interesting to note that from 1998 to 2001, there has been only slight changes in the percentages of MSW recycled, landfilled and incinerated. Essentially, the recycling rate has been hovering in the low 30s; the percent of MSW landfilled has been at 61 percent for three of the past four years. At the same time, the amount of MSW generated has grown by 68.6 million tons, or 20 percent.

WHAT’S BEHIND THOSE MSW NUMBERS?

In the 2001 survey questionnaire, several questions were rephrased and/or expanded in an attempt to gain a clearer picture of how the MSW tonnage is determined – based on per capita, total amounts or tonnages disposed — and what waste streams are included in the total amount provided. Table 2 summarizes the responses to these questions. Per capita is based on EPA’s current estimation that Americans generate 4.6 lbs/person/day of MSW. (Not all states use the 4.6 lbs number, as is indicated in the footnotes.) We calculated a number for Montana based on a population of 902,000 in the 2000 census multiplied by the 4.6 lbs/person/day amount.

Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, ten use per capita only, 25 use total amounts (i.e. actual generation), and 16 provide an amount disposed (typically combined with an estimated generation amount based on tonnages diverted from disposal). New Mexico uses a per capita calculation to estimate generation but tracks disposal.

States were asked to indicate if they include the following waste streams in the MSW tonnage number: Residential, commercial, construction and demolition (C&D), institutional, industrial, white goods, tires and agricultural. (Some indicated other categories, which are reported in the footnotes.) Arkansas and Wyoming (plus Montana not reporting) did not indicate the waste stream included in the MSW tonnage. Wyoming does not track that information at the state level.

All of the 48 states reporting include residential, and all but the District of Columbia include commercial. Five states do not include waste from the institutional sector. For the remaining categories, the breakout is as follows: C&D – 29; Industrial – 24; White goods – 30; Tires – 26; Agricultural – 14.

The MSW tonnage numbers reported in Table 3 reflect the information provided in Table 2. California tops the list in terms of tons generated (66.1 million tons), followed by Texas (44.8 million tons), New York (31.1 million tons) and Florida (24.8 million tons). In terms of gains and losses, 35 states reported an increase in MSW tonnages, 13 had a decrease, and three (Hawaii, Kansas and South Dakota) had no change. States with the biggest gains are Texas (+10.8 million), followed by Indiana (+6.8 million) and California (+6.1 million). States reporting the biggest losses are South Carolina (-4.9 million), Tennessee (-4 million) and Arkansas (-2 million).

On a regional basis, the South leads the nation in terms of total MSW quantity at 85.5 million tons. The South also topped the list in the 2000 State of Garbage in America report at 92.8 million tons. The lower amount tallied in 2001 is due primarily to lower MSW tonnages reported by South Carolina and Tennessee. South Carolina reported a higher generation number (15 million tons), however the state based its tonnages of MSW recycled, incinerated and landfilled on the 4.5 million ton number reported in Table 3.

Continuing the regional breakdown, the South is followed by the West at 83.6 million tons, then the Great Lakes (71 million tons), Midwest (69.7 million tons), Mid-Atlantic (62.3 million tons), Rocky Mountain (20.5 million tons), and New England (16.3 million tons). The regional ranking in terms of MSW tonnages is identical to last year.

WHAT’S IN THAT RECYCLING RATE?

Table 3 provides a state by state break down of the amounts of MSW recycled, incinerated and landfilled. In the case of Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming – where no recycled rate was provided – BioCycle calculated a percentage after gathering data and background information from local recycling programs (see below).

Similar to the 2000 State of Garbage report, Delaware reports the highest percentage of MSW recycled (59 percent). Arkansas is the second highest (45 percent), followed by Minnesota, New York and California (42 percent) and Maine (40 percent). Oregon reported a recycling rate of 39 percent, and three states — New Jersey, Missouri and Massachusetts — checked in at 38 percent.

In the 2000 State of Garbage in America report, we did not include a paragraph presenting the states with the nation’s highest recycling rates. The primary reason is that states vary in what they include in their recycling rate, making comparisons difficult and somewhat inaccurate.

To better understand what is behind the recycling rates reported, BioCycle asked states to list the material categories included. Table 4 summarizes the answers received. In 1997, EPA issued a report, “Measuring Recycling: A Guide for State and Local Governments.” Standard recyclables defined in the guide are commercial and institutional food scraps, glass, lead acid batteries, metal (including aluminum and tin/steel cans, metal found in appliances), paper, plastic, textiles, automobile and truck tires, wood products (including pallets and crates), yard trimmings and miscellaneous items in the MSW stream including household hazardous waste, oil filters, mattresses and consumer electronics. A range of glass, paper and plastic materials are accepted. Not included in the standard recyclables are C&D debris (including wood), biosolids and agricultural and industrial residuals.

Forty-three states answered this question. All include the EPA standard recyclables in their calculated rate. In addition, 20 include wood recovered from the C&D stream. Common “other materials” included are biosolids, other C&D debris such as asphalt and concrete, motor oil and scrap metal.

THE RECYCLING PICTURE

Overall, recycling rates were reported for every state but Georgia, Idaho, Montana and South Dakota. Comparison data between the 2000 and 2001 State of Garbage in America reports is available for 41 states. Of those, ten had no change in their recycling rate, 14 had an increase and 17 had a decrease. States with the biggest gains are Oregon (+9 percent), California and Illinois (+5 percent) and Indiana and Nevada (+3 percent). Other gains reported were either one or two percent.

Arizona and North Dakota reported a decline of nine percent in their recycling rates. Other decreases are as follows: Nebraska and Virginia (-6 percent); Hawaii and Rhode Island (-4 percent); Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire and North Carolina (-3 percent).

In the 2000 report, Utah reported a 20 percent recycling rate. This year, the state did not include a recycling percentage, however it did provide the tonnages composted, incinerated and landfilled. The state official said Utah has always estimated a recycling rate between 15 and 20 percent based on a solid waste plan done in 1994. To get a more current estimate of the tonnages recycled in Utah, BioCycle contacted several cities with curbside programs and a private recycler doing collection and processing. The major population centers of the state were represented. Through this route, seven curbside recycling programs were identified. An estimated 40,000 tons of residential and commercial recyclables were recovered, yielding a rough recycling rate of 1.5 percent. Added to the reported composting rate, a total of five percent recycled was used in Table 3. This is clearly a conservative number, but helps to establish a baseline for future surveys.

The same process was followed in Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming. In Colorado, the Colorado Association for Recyclers and EcoCycle in Boulder helped to determine the level of recycling in the state (listed in Table 3 as less than ten percent). Local solid waste officials in Oklahoma and Wyoming – whose cities accounted for the primary recycling programs/population centers in those states – also were very helpful, providing information that was used to set a baseline for tonnages recycled.

The Mid-Atlantic and West tie for the highest recycled rate (39 percent), followed by New England (33 percent), Midwest (32 percent), the South and Great Lakes (27 percent) and Rocky Mountain (11 percent). Last year, the Mid-Atlantic also had the highest rate (40 percent), followed by the Midwest and West (35 percent), New England (34 percent), South (28 percent), Great Lakes (26 percent) and Rocky Mountain (19 percent).

The recycled rate reported includes yard trimmings composted. On the questionnaire, the percent recycled and percent composted are requested separately (if the data is available) and then combined and reported as one number in the survey report. This year, 20 states provided a separate number for the amount of yard trimmings composted. Massachusetts reports that 11 percent of its recycling rate of 38 percent is a result of composting. Maryland and Nebraska each attribute ten percent of their recycling rates to composting (out of 37 percent and 23 percent respectively). Table 5 summarizes this information.

CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAMS

There are 9,709 curbside recycling programs in the United States (with five states not reporting a number). The majority of states are reporting data from 2000. These include programs operated by municipalities, counties and solid waste districts. In the 2000 State of Garbage in America report, there were 9,247 programs.

New York leads the nation with 1,500 curbside recycling programs, followed by Pennsylvania (892), Minnesota (765), Wisconsin (631), Iowa (608), California (546) and New Jersey (510). All of the top five states held the same ranking last year. At the other end of the spectrum, only Alaska reports having no curbside recycling programs. Table 6 provides the data on curbside programs.

On a regional basis, the Mid-Atlantic comes in first at 3,055 curbside recycling programs, followed by the Great Lakes (2,617), South (1,357), Midwest (1,122), West (976), New England (519) and Rocky Mountain (63). In the 2000 report, the regions ranked in exactly the same order.

Out of the 46 states with curbside data, 16 had no change, 16 had an increase, ten had a decrease and four did not have a number reported in 2000 thus no comparisons could be made. Georgia’s number increased the most since the 2000 survey (+265), but according to the state, there were 459 programs last year as well but an incorrect number was provided. Washington State had an increase of 183 (from 100 to 283), which is most likely due to better tracking as the state’s recycling rate only grew by two percent. Other states with large gains include Michigan (+83), New York (+28), California and Iowa (+25) and Oregon (+16). States reporting the biggest losses are Ohio (-140), Florida (-73), Maine (-66), Texas (-26) and Missouri (-22).

Curbside Population Served: The 2001 State of Garbage in America survey found a total of 139,766,000 people serviced by curbside recycling programs. In 2000, the total reported was 133,165,000. In both 2000 and 2001, eight states provided a number for curbside programs but did not have an estimate of how many people were receiving the service. As a result, the total amount of the U.S. population with curbside recycling service is most likely on the low side.

California reports the largest number of people with curbside recycling service (31.1 million), followed by New York (17.2 million), Pennsylvania (8.8 million), Illinois (8 million) and New Jersey (7.5 million). Regionally, the West services the greatest number of people (40.6 million), followed by the Mid-Atlantic (37.1 million), Great Lakes (22 million), South (16.8 million), New England (10.5 million), Midwest (9.9 million) and Rocky Mountain (2.9 million). However, with eight states not reporting population figures, regional comparisons are not very informative.

On a percentage basis, Connecticut reports that 100 percent of its population has access to a curbside program; New York comes in second at 95 percent of its population served, followed by New Jersey (90 percent), California (89 percent) and Rhode Island (85 percent). Of the 36 states able to report a percentage, ten are at 75 percent or higher and seven are between 50 and 75 percent. Nationally, the 139.8 million people receiving curbside recycling service represent about 50 percent of the U.S. population.

YARD TRIMMINGS COMPOSTING

The State of Garbage in America survey is the only national initiative to track the level of yard trimmings composting in the United States. The number of projects reported has hovered around 3,800 for several years. In 2001, BioCycle found a total of 3,846 yard trimmings composting sites. Three states did not provide a number this year (Colorado, Montana and Tennessee). In 2000, 3,804 sites were reported nationwide.

On a state by state basis, Ohio reports the most composting sites (519), followed by Minnesota (454), Pennsylvania (313), Massachusetts (219), New Hampshire (192) and New Jersey (170). Of the 48 states reporting, 12 had no change in the number of composting sites, 15 had an increase and 18 had a decrease. Comparisons could not be done for three states. Alaska, the District of Columbia and Nevada are the only states reporting no yard trimmings composting facilities.

States with the largest increases are New Hampshire (+129, primarily due to different tracking), North Dakota (+60), New York (+25), Wisconsin (+19) and Ohio (+18). States with the largest decreases are California (-80), Massachusetts (-66), Iowa (-27), Georgia (-23) and Arizona (-19). In California, a comprehensive survey of the state’s composting infrastructure conducted for the California Integrated Waste Management Board identified 88 sites that predominantly compost yard trimmings and two sites that handle large quantities of yard trimmings with food residuals. This more detailed tracking resulted in the lower number of yard trimmings composting sites reported.

Looking at yard trimmings composting activity by region, the Great Lakes have the most sites (1,404), followed by the Midwest (640), Mid-Atlantic (632), New England (556), South (370), West (161) and Rocky Mountain (83). Last year, the regional rankings were identical excepting that Mid-Atlantic was second and the Midwest was third.

FOOD RESIDUALS COMPOSTING

The 2001 State of Garbage in America survey asked state officials for information about projects composting food residuals. Categories included composting food residuals at centralized facilities, on-site projects at institutions (e.g. prisons, school, universities) and on-site projects at commercial establishments (e.g. restaurants).

In terms of centralized food residuals composting facilities, 23 states provided data, yielding a total of 121 projects. Massachusetts reports 40 sites composting food residuals, followed by Ohio (10), Indiana (8), Oregon and Vermont (7), New York and North Carolina (6) and Maine (5).

Twenty states report a total of 204 on-site food residuals composting projects at institutions. California leads the pack with 77, followed by New York (60), Connecticut (10) and New Hampshire and North Carolina each with six. Nine states report having a total of 25 projects on-site at commercial establishments. Wisconsin reports nine, New Hampshire has six and New Jersey reports three.

LANDFILLING TRENDS

As has been the case every year since BioCycle began the State of Garbage in America survey, the total number of landfills in the United States declined. This year’s total is 2,142, a decrease of 74 landfills from the 2000 survey. Despite the decline, the percent of MSW being disposed actually increased by one percent (to 61 percent).

Table 3 provides the state by state listing of landfill rates. Kansas and New Mexico landfill 91 percent of the MSW tonnages in their states, followed closely behind by Utah and Colorado (both at 90 percent), and North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wyoming (all at 89 percent MSW landfilled). At the other end of the spectrum, the District of Columbia and Connecticut have the lowest landfilling rates (5 and 12 percent respectively). Overall, 37 states landfill 50 percent or more of the MSW tonnages reported in Table 3.

Nine states had no change in their landfilling rates since the 2000 State of Garbage in America survey, 20 had an increase and 12 had a decrease (comparisons couldn’t be done for 10 states). States with the largest gains are: Arizona (+9), New Hampshire and North Dakota (+8), Delaware, Hawaii and Massachusetts (+7), and Nebraska, New Jersey and Virginia (+6). Utah had a gain of 14 percent, but that is based on a number calculated by BioCycle for the state’s recycling rate, which is only an estimate. The District of Columbia had the largest decline (-10), followed by Washington (-7), California (-6) and Illinois and South Carolina (-4).

Regionally, the Rocky Mountain states account for the highest landfilling rate (88 percent). The Great Lakes come in a pretty distant second (68 percent), followed closely by the Midwest (67 percent). The West has a 58 percent landfilling rate, the Mid-Atlantic region landfills 46 percent and New England brings up the rear at 31 percent (which is actually eight percent higher than last year). The Rocky Mountain region had a gain of eight percent between the 2000 and 2001 surveys. The West had a decline of eight percent. The rest of the regions pretty much stayed the same.

Landfill Numbers: Every state but Montana provided data on the number of landfills. Alaska and Texas lead the nation with the most landfills (275 and 227 respectively), followed by California (175), Colorado (70), Georgia (69) and Virginia (67). Six other states report having over 50 landfills; eight have between 40 and 50. Only the District of Columbia has no operating landfills. Table 7 summarizes the data related to landfills in the United States.

Overall, 19 states had no change in the number of landfills between the 2000 and 2001 State of Garbage reports, 12 had an increase and 19 had a decrease. States reporting the biggest gains in landfills are Texas (+43), Alaska (+36) and New Hampshire (+11). Nine states added less than five each. Colorado lost the most landfills (-45). New Mexico was down 33, followed by Massachusetts (-22).

On a regional basis, the West tops the list with 533 landfills. The Midwest comes in second with 479. The South has 404, followed by Rocky Mountain (287), Great Lakes (252), Mid-Atlantic (132) and New England (55). The regions ranked in the same order last year.

Tipping Fees: The State of Garbage questionnaire asks states to provide both the landfill tipping fee range and the average landfill tipping fee statewide. BioCycle ranked the states based on the average per ton tip fee. Vermont comes in at the highest amount ($75/ton), followed by Massachusetts ($67), New Hampshire ($66), Maine ($65), Delaware ($58.50) and New Jersey ($55) — all states either in New England or the Mid-Atlantic regions where recycling rates are among the nation’s highest.

Overall, 37 states provided an average tip fee. Only two — Nevada and Colorado – have fees under $20 ($18 and $11/ton, respectively). Fourteen are in the $20 to $30/ton range and eight are in the $30 to $40/ton range. Florida, West Virginia, Rhode Island and Minnesota are hovering in the $40 to $43/ton zone, while Hawaii, Washington and Maryland are around $50/ton. BioCycle does not compute a national weighted average as data is not available from every state. According to Chartwell Information Publishers, the average tipping fee in the United States, as of October 2001, is $36.97/ton.

Landfill Capacity: Forty states provided information on how many years worth of landfill space are available. (Three states responded with actual tonnages or volume that we converted into years based on the current tons/year disposed.)

Utah reports having 100 years of remaining landfill capacity, making it the most landfill-rich state in this year’s survey. Alaska responded with 0 to 100 years of landfill capacity. Other states on the top of the list include Iowa (60 years), Washington (51 years), Nevada (>50) and Oregon (40 years). Texas, Delaware, Arkansas and West Virginia all come in at about 30 years. States with the fewest years remaining are Massachusetts (<2), Wisconsin (5) and Vermont (6.3).

Every state but Arkansas, the District of Columbia and Montana responded to a question about whether landfill capacity is being added in their state and if there are any legislative restrictions to adding more capacity. Thirty-three states indicated that more landfill capacity is being added and that there are no legislative restrictions. Eight states – Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia — reported more capacity is being added and have legislative restrictions. Five states – Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and West Virginia — said no new capacity is being added and that there are no legislative restrictions. Finally, Connecticut and Utah are not adding landfill capacity and note there are legislative restrictions.

C&D Landfills: Table 8 provides information on the number of construction and demolition debris landfills around the country. The survey questionnaire asked state officials whether or not sorting of clean wood streams was taking place at these landfills. Only eight states had data available. Florida reports that 47 of the state’s 92 C&D landfills are sorting wood for recycling. In 2000, 232,000 tons of wood were recovered from these C&D landfills. Maine notes that five of the state’s 40 C&D landfills are sorting wood, accounting for 40,000 tons recovered. Three out of six C&D landfills in New Mexico are recovering wood, capturing about 3,000 tons/year.

TRANSFER STATIONS, MSW IMPORT/EXPORT

Table 8 also includes the number of municipal solid waste transfer stations in the United States – a total of 3,970 in the 2001 report compared to 3,493 last year. As has been the case in past years, the number of MSW transfer stations continues to rise as the number of landfills declines, supporting the theory that as landfills close, waste just gets consolidated at transfer stations and transported to more distant disposal or incineration facilities.

Table 9 provides the amount of waste imported into and exported from states that track this data. Last year, a typographical error led us to report that Illinois had the highest tonnage of waste imported (15.9 million tons reported versus the actual amount of 1.6 million tons, about what Illinois is reporting this year). Omitting Illinois, Pennsylvania was at the top of the list last year with close to eight million tons imported. In the 2001 report, Pennsylvania is on top again with about 9.8 million tons. Virginia comes in second with about 3.9 million tons, followed by Michigan with 3.1 million. Five states – Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio and Wisconsin – import between one and 1.5 million tons.

On the export side, New York is the clear winner with 5.6 million tons – much of which reportedly goes to Pennsylvania and Virginia. New Jersey exported 1.8 million tons in 2000; Missouri was close behind with 1.7 million tons exported. Other states exporting over one million tons/year are Maryland (1.5 million tons), Washington (1.2 million tons), Massachusetts (1.2 million tons) and North Carolina (1.1 million tons).

INCINERATION SNAPSHOT

The 2001 State of Garbage in America survey found a total of 132 incinerators in operation, up from 122 reported last year (Table 7). The 132 incinerators are located in 35 states (with 13 having only one each). Texas, Florida and New York have the greatest number (16,13 and 10 respectively).

On a national basis, seven percent of MSW is incinerated. As reported in Table 3, the District of Columbia has the highest incineration rate (79 percent), followed by Connecticut (65 percent), Maine (39 percent), Massachusetts (36 percent) and Hawaii (32 percent). Overall, 21 states reported no change in the percent of MSW incinerated since last year’s survey, seven had an increase and 13 had a decrease. States with the biggest gains are the District of Columbia (+9), Washington (+5) and South Carolina and Vermont (+4). States with the largest declines are Delaware (-9 to 0 percent incinerated), Massachusetts (-7), Oregon (-6) and New Hampshire (-5).

Regionally, New England has the highest incineration rate (36 percent), followed by Mid-Atlantic (15 percent), South (8 percent), Great Lakes (5 percent), West (3 percent) and the Midwest and Rocky Mountain (1 percent). The rankings were basically the same last year, with the exception that the Midwest reported a zero percent incineration rate, making it last on the list.

In terms of daily capacity, Florida comes in first with 19,000 tons/day. New York takes second with 11,000 tons/day reported, followed by Massachusetts (10,000 tons/day), Pennsylvania (9,000 tons/day), Connecticut (7,000 tons/day) and New Jersey (6,000 tons/day).

TONNAGES RECOVERED, GOALS, BUDGETS

The last four tables in the State of Garbage in America report contain other data gathered from this year’s survey. Table 10 presents the quantity of materials recovered via recycling in 2000 (31 states reporting). Table 11 includes 20 states that provided estimates on what percent of various organics streams are being recovered (showing the amount of compostables still being disposed or incinerated). Table 12 shows the states with landfill disposal bans for selected materials. Table 13 summarizes state recycling and composting budgets and source of program funding. Table 14 summarizes the states with recycling and/or waste reduction goals, and includes current recycling rates to determine where states are in meeting their goals.