2006 Municipal Recycling Supplement -- Welcome

Renewing Curbside Recycling

There are many arguments in favor of recycling, ranging from the environmental to the economic. In addition to conserving natural resources and reducing energy consumption, recycling creates 1.1 million jobs in the United States and $37 billion in annual payrolls. Recycling can also contribute to corporate America’s bottom line, saving companies millions of dollars in raw materials and disposal costs.

Despite such benefits, the U.S. recycling rate made only the slightest of gains in 2005, reaching 32.1 percent. The EPA reported a nationwide recycling rate of 31.4 percent in 2004.

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson recognized the need to "restart the nation’s recycling engine" when he addressed attendees of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) Congress & Expo in October. To that end, the EPA and the NRC announced that they have partnered with a number of industry associations to help re-energize recycling.

These organizations are not the only ones interested in researching the factors that can motivate Americans to recycle more. Our supplement includes features on several noteworthy efforts designed to promote recycling. We hope that our readers will find new inspiration from these efforts and that the ideas and solutions they propose will help America increase its recycling rate in the years to come.