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Monday, April 21, 2008
John Judge and his daughter Patrice are pleased with their trash bin everyday, not just on Earth Day.
It doesn't contain Merlot bottles, Pepsi cans or old Dayton Daily News editions.
McKenzie Garnet, 8, was among the girls from Brownie Troop 30292 and Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 151 at Beavercreek's St. Luke School to plant pin oaks for Earth Day on Monday, April 21, at Waste Management's Stony Hollow Landfill.Those things are stored in their orange recycle bin until they are picked up each Monday to be recycled.
"There is probably more recycling than trash," said Patrice Judge, 39, of Washington Twp. "It becomes one of the things you do."
Judging by the bins that line the street on trash day, most folks in the Judge's neighborhood seems to be on the recycling bandwagon.
But Patrice Judge knows not everyone recycles. She was surprised to learn recently a number of her co-workers and friends don't recycle.
About 32.5 percent of the nation's waste is recycled, according the Environmental Protection Agency. The recycling percentage in Montgomery County mirrors the nation, said Daniel Graeter, assistant manager of Montgomery County Public Works.
Still, many more recyclables end up in Americans' landfills than its recycling facilities.
Consider that about 75 percent of waste can be recycled or composted, according to Earth911.com, an environmental information Web site. Other sources estimate that up 50 percent of waste can be recycled or composted.
John Judge said he and his family have recycled and composted since moving to the Miami Valley from New York 20 years ago because it is easy.
All their recyclables can be put in to one container and placed for curbside pickup.
Rumpke Recycling in Dayton and Waste Management's Fairborn Recycling Facility both accept "single stream" recycling.
Papers, metals, plastics and other matter are separated by human sorters and an automatic system at Rumpke, which processes about 42,000 tons of recyclables a year from homes and businesses in Montgomery, Greene, Warren, Clinton, Miami, Darke and Preble counties.
Waste Management's Fairborn facility processes about 200 tons a day from commercial sources and communities including Kettering, Springfield, Centerville, Riverside and portions of Dayton.
Rumpke officials say recycling is a growing business.
"A lot more people are interested in recycling than there were five years ago or even a year ago," said Brandy Luhn, a Rumpke recycling sales and marketing representative.
That interest comes for good reason: there's no shortages of waste.
In 2001, Americans produced 4.5 pounds of waste day per person, up from 2.7 pound a day in 1960, according to the EPA.
"We are running out of place to put the trash," 71-year-old John Judge said.
Comments
By Laura
April 22, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this
If there is such a push for more people to recycle, why isn’t the City of Dayton doing more to get recycling bins set up at apartment buildings?