Recycling Access Remains High

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, says its latest survey shows that 86 percent of the U.S. population, or 254 million people, have access to curbside or drop-off recycling programs.

That represents a number that towers above what was taking place just 15 years ago, when only 15 percent of the U.S. population was served by curbside programs. According to statistics posted to the Web site of the Container Recycling Institute, Arlington, Va., that number rose throughout the 1990s, reaching between 50 and 60 percent of the population by the end of the decade.

AF&PA’s 2005 Community Survey is measures and tracks the growth of access to community-level paper and paperboard recycling in the U.S. and has been conducted since 1994. 

Key findings from the latest survey include:

• 86 percent of the U.S. population (254 million people) has access to curbside or drop-off recycling programs.
• 56 percent of the U.S. population (148 million people) has access to curbside recycling programs.
• 64 percent of the U.S. population (165 million people) has access to drop-off recycling programs.
• Increased recycling access for many mixed paper grades—especially direct mail, telephone directories, and coated and uncoated paperboard—suggests that communities with existing curbside and drop-off programs are adding paper and paperboard categories to their programs.