Oregon DEQ Reports 2008 Recycling Rates

The state of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality has reported that the municipal solid waste recovery rate reached 48.2 percent last year, an increase from the prior’s year’s rate of 46.5 percent. The recovery rate includes recycling, composting and material burned for energy recovery.

Along with an increase in the recovery rate, the state reported that per-capita waste generation last year was 2,761 pounds, down significantly from 2007’s per-capita waste generation of 3,045 pounds.

This is the 17^th year that the Oregon DEQ has conducted an annual material recovery report. The figures are calculated from compiling statistical surveys by haulers, recycling and composting companies, MRFs, transfer stations, landfills and other handlers of solid waste.

Among the materials recovered in 2008, paper represented the largest percentage, 33 percent, followed by yard debris, 21 percent; metals, 17 percent; wood waste, 16 percent; glass, 4 percent; plastic, 2 percent; electronics, 1 percent; and other materials, 6 percent.

To view the full report click on the following link -- Oregon Report