Use less paper -- cut the largest waste component down to size

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2005 “Facts and Figures” on municipal solid waste management in the United States, the amount of trash generated by Americans declined between 2004 and 2005 - from 247.3 million tons to 245.7 million tons.

The agency says the decline is due in part to a dip in individual waste generation to about 4.5 lbs/person/day, a 1.5 percent decrease since 2004. At the same time, EPA claims the U.S. recycled 32 percent of its waste in 2005, a two percent increase from 2004 (and equivalent to 1.5 lbs/person/day). Excluding composting, the amount of MSW recycled increased to 58.4 million tons, an increase of 1.2 million tons from 2004.

Tons recovered for composting rose slightly to 20.6 million tons in 2005, up from 20.5 million tons in 2004. Container and packaging recycling increased to 40 percent; nearly 62 percent of yard waste was composted; and about 42 million tons of paper (50 percent) were recycled.

Of the 246 millions tons of MSW generated in 2005, paper and paperboard made up the largest component (34 percent); yard trimmings were the second largest, at 13 percent. Food scraps accounted for 11.9 percent, and wood was 5.7 percent. The recovery rate for food scraps as a percent of generation was 2.4 percent (that includes recovery of other MSW organics for composting); the recovery rate for wood as a percent of generation was 9.4 percent.

The USEPA's data, extrapolated from manufacturing and consumption trends, contrasts sharply with BioCycle's State of Garbage In America survey data (see April 2006 report, which reflects 2004 data). The BioCycle survey, done in collaboration with Columbia University's Earth Engineering Center, utilizes tonnage data reported by the states. BioCycle/EEC reported an estimated 387.9 million tons of MSW were generated in 2004. Of that, 110 million tons (28.5 percent) were recycled and composted. Waste Age Wire, an on-line bulletin, appeared skeptical of the data as well.

Citing EPA's claim that waste volumes are down by two percent, Waste Age Wire notes: “This despite a growing population and economy, and as far as most can tell, an ever more disposable consumer product marketplace. Never mind that most waste firms have reported both strong pricing and volume improvement as contributing to solid financial results.”

An Executive Summary of EPA's 2005 Facts and Figures can be downloaded at: www.epa.gov/msw/msw99.htm.