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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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America's Worst Recycling Cities

Cities who divert the least from landfill named and shamed

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(Newser) – The average American city recycles about a third of its waste, but the lack of any unified national standard for trash disposal means some cities rate way, way, below average. Mother Jones lists those with the biggest trash piles:

  • Oklahoma City recycles only 3% of its waste. Households have to pay a steep price to recycle, resulting in the worst recycling rate in the land.

  • Indianapolis, 3.7% recycled. Just 12% of residents have curbside pickup.
  • San Antonio, 4%. Cheap deals with landfill operators trump pricey recycling plants.
  • Philadelphia, 8.4%: The city decided not to roll out a citywide recycling reward plan, despite its 90% success rate in one neighborhood.
  • Houston, 9.4%: Less a quarter of homes have curbside recycling, and the waiting list for bins is 25,000 names long.

A truck delivers a load of plastic bottles and other containers to the Stratford, Conn., recycling center, part of The Garbage Museum.
A truck delivers a load of plastic bottles and other containers to the Stratford, Conn., recycling center, part of The Garbage Museum.   (AP Photo/Bob Child)
Cities with plenty of landfill space left tended to be among the worst recyclers.
Cities with plenty of landfill space left tended to be among the worst recyclers.   (Shutter Stock)
Recycling plans have been put on hold in many places due to a dive in the resale value of recyclable materials.
Recycling plans have been put on hold in many places due to a dive in the resale value of recyclable materials.   (©Robert S. Donovan)
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Robert_Dada
May 13, 09 10:00 AM CDT
Landfills: Humanity's monuments to the raping of a planet. God's perfect creatures? Right... Reply
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Yourself
May 13, 09 10:15 AM CDT
i'm surprised Las Vegas isn't on there. sadly we're a HORRIBLE city when it comes to recycling. And the worst part is there's a simple solution to get people to start : consignment! $0.05 per can and $0.10 per glass bottle. They pay it when they buy a case of beer or soda/pop/cola (whatever you wanna call it) and then you get it back when you bring it back to a recycling center. trust me, people will start to recycle when money is involved (ironically the money they spent in the first place!) Reply
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tmoore
May 13, 09 2:27 PM CDT
Considering some of the basic "facts" in this article are wrong... I'm not going to give it much credence. Recycling in Oklahoma City is free, curbside, and sorting is done by the city. Pay Recyclers also exist, but it wouldn't surprise me if they only see a very small use rate, given free curbside recycling. http://www.okc.gov/trash/recycle/index.html Reply
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