Washington’s recycling rate dips in 2013

The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) has released data showing that its recycling rate in 2013 stands at 49 percent, a slight decline from the state’s 2012 recycling rate of 50.1 percent. Despite the decline, the Department of Ecology adds that the state still exceeds the national average recycling rate of 34.5 percent for 2012.

The department notes that the decline was driven by a 105,000-ton drop in the amount of material recycled by state residents in 2013, even as the total amount of material disposed increased by 88,000 tons. Recycling declined in several major categories, such as appliances, cardboard and wood waste.

“Recycling not only keeps material out of the landfill, it also saves a huge amount of energy—enough to power 1.3 million homes in Washington in 2013,” says Laurie Davies, manager of the Department of Ecology’s Waste 2 Resources program. “That’s why it’s important that we all do our part to get our state’s recycling rate back over 50 percent.”

On average, Washington residents recycled 3.4 pounds per person per day in 2013. Electronics, gypsum and nonferrous metals showed the biggest increases in recycling, and Washington’s E-Cycle recycling program passed 250 million pounds of television sets, computers and other electronics collected since the program began in 2009.

The state’s diversion rate measures the total amount of waste diverted from landfills, including recycled materials and those reused or burned for energy. The diversion rate fell from 52.4 percent in 2012 to 51.2 percent in 2013. This was largely in light of a drop in construction and demolition related materials diverted from the waste stream despite increased construction activity.

“As the economy recovers and more construction is underway, we need to work with builders to ensure they are reusing or recycling materials whenever possible,” Davies says.