We Can Recycle Better

Jackson County adopted a solid waste management plan nearly ten years ago. The Health Department manages a county-wide recycling program that has achieved a 23% recycling rate. This is a significant improvement since that days of everything going into open dumps. However, the average national recycling rate for municipal discards has reached 30%.

Is 25% a reasonable goal or can we do better? The answer is clearly yes. Eighteen communities, ranging from large to small, have achieved recycling rates of 50% or better – some exceeding 60% rate! Falls Church, VA has achieved a whopping 65% rate.

A few communities have even endorsed zero waste goals. The first U.S. city to adopt a zero waste management plan is Del Norte, California. Seattle is not only one of the growing number of Cool Cities, but it has set a goal of zero waste as a guiding principle. San Francisco plans to achieve a 75% rate by the year 2010 and a long-term goal of zero waste.

Rural counties in southern Illinois have special problems in achieving high recycling rates, but to not establish any goal is inexcusable. Making no further efforts to improve on recycling rates already above 25% is also not acceptable.