THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 7, 1995 TAG: 9501070239
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
More trash, less filling.
Even though Americans are creating more garbage than ever, the amount dumped or burned has dropped, according to new figures that provide the first concrete evidence that America's recycling drive is working.
More than one-fifth of all garbage in the United States is transformed into new products or, in the case of yard waste, composted, the study commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency shows.
In 1993, 162 million tons of trash was sent to landfills or incinerators, 3 million tons less than in 1990.
During the same period, U.S. garbage increased to a new high of 206.9 million tons, up from 198 million tons, the study shows.
``This offers proof of the viability of recycling,'' Richard Denison, a senior scientist at the Washington-based Environmental Defense Fund, said Friday.
The EPA study analyzed data on consumer goods, garbage generation and other statistics supplied by industry and government groups from 1990 to 1993.
Previously, there was only anecdotal evidence to suggest that increased recycling had reduced landfilling and incineration.
While landfills and incinerators still account for the bulk of U.S. trash disposal, government requirements aimed at curbing pollution have increasingly restricted their use.
At the same time, despite the spread of curbside recycling into 6,500 communities in the 1990s, some industries and policymakers continue to oppose large-scale recycling programs. They contend the expense of recovering garbage outweighs potential savings from building fewer dumps and incinerators.
But recycling has started to pay off for many communities. Manufacturers, notably paper mills, have invested billions of dollars in recent years in equipment to process trash into raw materials for new products.
Many manufacturers are actually paying cities for trash, instead of the other way around.
``What we're seeing is that no longer are communities trying to give this stuff to unwilling manufacturers. Finally the pull is from the demand side,'' Denison said.
Despite the gains in recycling, plastic has lagged compared with other garbage, and comprises a higher percentage of landfilled trash than it did in 1990.
Back then, plastic made up 10 percent of all trash buried or burned, compared to 11.5 percent in 1993.
But a sharp rise in recycling of paper and cardboard has kept the amount sent into landfills and incinerators roughly the same. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
AP
SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency
KEYWORDS: RECYCLING TRASH STUDY by CNB