Top Recycling Cities

From Earth911 Top Recycling Cities

San Francisco, Calif.-

• Recycling Rate- 72%
• Zero Waste Pledge- Year 2020
• Mandatory Composting
• Environmental efforts. The city has also made laws to further clean energy and reduce its carbon footprint.
• Clean Technology
• Biodiesel Access Task Force
• Resource Efficient Building Task Force
• Urban Environmental Accords
• Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force

Portland, Oregon:

• Popular Science lists Portland as the No. 1 greenest city in the U.S.,
• Portland gets half its power from renewable sources,
• 25% of the workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation. 200 Miles of bike lanes
• 35 of its buildings have been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
• City-Wide Green Team, a group of Portland citizens dedicated to improving the city’s environment. The group holds neighborhood clean-ups and community gardens.

Atlanta, Georgia

• Pledged to become a ‘Zero Waste Zone
• Zero Waste Zone, (Atlanta)
• Georgians dispose of more than 17 million tons of solid waste per year.
• Atlanta’s major downtown restaurants and hotels have partnered with D.C.-based EnviRelations to provide food waste for composting and donation to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Thirty-four tons of organic material is diverted from landfills each month and used grease is converted into biofuel.

Austin, Texas

• Austin’s recycling rate is only 30 percent, the city has outlined huge plans to dramatically restructure its waste system.
• At the first of year, Austin became the only city in the state of Texas with a goal to go zero waste. The Austin City Council approved a resolution to adopt the Zero Waste Strategic Plan, eliminating trash from area landfills by 2040.
• Currently, Austin looses an estimated $40 million annually by sending recyclable or reusable materials to landfills. According to the revised plan, the Zero Waste design principle will goes beyond recycling and will first focusing on reducing waste and reusing products, composting and recycling the rest.
• While Austin has a long way to go, the city has already distributed new, 90-gallon recycling carts, making bulk recycling easier for residents. Also, Austin Energy, the country’s largest provider of renewable energy, is taking part in the city’s ambitious goal to become carbon-neutral by 2020.
• Austin’s current green space included 206 parks, 12 nature preserves, 26 greenbelts and more than 50 miles of trails.

Seattle, Washington

• Recycling Rate: 50%.
• Curbside program will accept everything from food scraps (including meat, fish and dairy) to electronics.
• In August, the city will also vote on a 20 cent plastic bag fee to encourage the usage of cloth bags. Also, the city has made an incentive program to encourage residents to install solar panels and educate consumers about energy usage.