We recycle more than we throw away

The Department of Ecology announced yesterday that for the first time in the history of our state, last year we recycled 50.7 percent of our solid waste. 

In 1989, the legislature passed the "Waste Not Washington Act," which established waste reduction and source-separated recycling as the fundamental strategies for managing solid waste. It set a goal of recycling 50 percent of Washington state's waste by 1995.

Well, that didn't happen.

But 16 years later we finally made it! If you contributed to reaching this goal, you ought to be proud of yourself. 

So what does 50.7 percent mean on a per-person basis? According to Ecology's report, state residents recycled an average of 3.64 pounds of material each day, while throwing away 3.54 pounds of waste. 

That's not all the good news. It turns out that all this recycling helped the state avoid emitting 3.2 million tons of greenhouse gasses, the equivalent of keeping 1.9 million cars off the road. 

Thank you for doing your part to keep our Evergreen State... well, green! 

Read Ecology's release. Learn more about recycling in Washington state.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Nearly 400 new jobs coming to Washington through DOE grants

The Washington state Department of Ecology estimates that approximately 393 jobs will be created in Washington through the Coordinated Prevention Grants program.

Cut-away of a compost bin
Photo credit: BruceMcAdam

The department awarded $18.8 million to 95 city and county governments through this environmental protection program. Every two years, these grants are awarded to help Washington’s communities better manage solid and household wastes, prevent illegal dumping, and to promote recycling and composting programs.

You may remember this blog post and that composting is a great alternative to burning household organic waste, which releases toxic particles into the air.

The funding for these grants comes from an initiative passed by Washington residents in 1988, which taxes wholesale distributors of petroleum and other hazardous materials. The Legislature approved $18.8 million to be used for these grants.

The local governments receiving the grants are required to match the grant amount by 25%, which the Dept. of Ecology estimates will leverage more than $25 million to support local programs.

To read more, click here.