As Americans, we may be more cognizant of the need to recycle, and an article in The (Raleigh) News & Observer demonstrates the success of comprehensive curbside recycling programs in the city.
Americans produce tons of garbage, and more and more if it is being recycled. The article this week by Wade Rawlins explains how the volume of curbside recycling has increased significantly in North Carolina – up 12.5 percent last year from the previous. Cities like the Carolina capital have expanded their programs to serve more households, and private recycling facilities are being built to handle more materials, such as plastic milk jugs, soda and water bottles.
The program has…
“…made a big difference,” said Scott Mouw, the state recycling coordinator. “If we weren’t recycling, there would be another 1.3 million tons going into landfills. We would be using that much more virgin material to make products we’re buying every day — more petroleum for plastic, more trees for paper and more ground chewed up to get metals out.”
The article also contains a great description of the streamlined recycling process. Be sure to read all about it, and do your part to reverse the trend.