Recycling rate rises in Vermont

An article in the Burlington Free Press, Burlington, Vermont, reports that recycling in Vermont has increased to 35 percent and the trash disposal rate decreased by 5 percent, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

According to the article, the increase is a result of Vermont’s universal recycling law passed in 2012, which required all residents to start recycling by July 2015 and for trash haulers to begin collecting recyclables at the curbside. 

The mandate also banned residents from throwing away:

• paper; 
• aluminum; 
• cardboard;
• steel cans;
• glass bottles and jars; and
• hard plastic bottles and containers.

“Since state recycling kicked in, we’ve seen a huge jump in recyclables from both residential and commercial customers,” Jeff Myers, president of Myers Container Service, Colchester, Vermont, told the Free Press. “Most people already did this, but now there is a little extra motivation.” 

According to the article, trash haulers also will be required to collect yard debris starting July 1, 2016. By July 2020, food scraps will also be mandated for recycling and prohibited from the state’s landfill.