Issue Date: September 30, 2007

Garbage in, less garbage out

Americans could be trashing their wasteful ways: In 2005, we generated less garbage and recycled more waste. That was the first time the government has ever recorded a drop in the amount of trash produced.

The nation made 245.7 million tons of garbage in 2005, about 1.6 million tons less than in 2004, says the Environmental Protection Agency. That works out to about 4.5 pounds per person per day.

Nearly one-third of trash was recycled in 2005, the last year of available government statistics. The EPA has set a goal for the nation to recycle 35% of its trash by 2008. That would be a big change from 1980, when only 10% of trash was recycled.

"People want to do the right thing, but they're confused about what it is," says Kate Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition, whose group has launched a comprehensive education campaign to teach people what to recycle and where to do it.

One of the newest targets for recycling: electronic waste, the fastest growing portion of the nation's trash. In 2005, about 1.5 million to 1.9 million tons of used and unwanted electronics were discarded, mainly in landfills; only 345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled.

Recycling helps prevent greenhouse gas emissions and saves energy, and the government says our 2005 efforts saved the energy equivalent of 11 billion gallons of gasoline.

-- Rochelle Sharpe