America's Worst Recycling Cities

Camera phone posts pictures of garbage on Facebook, encourages recycling

(AP) - Now on Facebook: Your garbage. Or at least, the garbage of five households who signed up for a Newcastle University program that posts photos of every item dumped in one garbage can on Facebook. Hoping to raise consciousness about recycling efforts, it uses a sensor and a camera phone to snap an image each time the garbage can lid shuts. The person who does that is not photographed, and households that participate will be rated on how efficiently they recycle. So far, researchers say it's working. Non-recyclable garbage has diminished in the weeks since the program began. More»

It's fighting a plan to ship Hawaii garbage to Washington state

(NEWSER) - Hawaii's landfill space is in such short supply, the state decided to transport thousands of tons of trash 2,600 miles to Washington. Making the journey even more bizarre: The waste would travel over the Yakama Indians' sacred hunting grounds to get to its destination, and the tribe is none too happy about that. "This whole dispute leads us to believe the federal government doesn't want to honor its commitments" to Native Americans, says the tribal chairman. More»

(NEWSER) - The current recession was fairly clear to a certain segment of the population as far back as late 2007, the Washington Post reports—landfill operators. Since then, dumps and garbage collectors have seen a steep drop-off in trash—in some cases up to 30%—along with their own jobs. It's a sure sign of a drop in consumer consumption. People are fixing instead of replacing, which cuts down on all that packaging they need to throw out. More»

Controversial UK measures get tough on waste

(NEWSER) - In the midst of a garbage overload, the UK is cracking down on trash with strict new rules, sparking a backlash among Britons, the New York Times reports. Many areas now pick up trash only biweekly, and accept only regulation amounts. Some reject recycling bins tainted with garbage. In response, some Britons are yelling at trash collectors, stealing neighbors’ bins—and burning their rubbish. More»

New tech could burn off Vancouver's garbage and make electricity

(NEWSER) - Vancouver may have a fix for its garbage overflow crisis: Burn the trash into a gas that makes electricity. A Canadian company called Plasco Energy Group has proposed a plant that zaps waste into ionized gas, or plasma; about a fifth of it would run the plant and the rest could be sold off. A few plasma plants by other companies have reportedly tanked, but the Vancouver Sun's Harvey Enchin urges the city to try this one. More»