Policymakers take aim at new recycling frontier: Solid waste, retailers and packaging

Scientific American (Lloyd) - State, municipal and community policymakers today are re-envisioning waste, even the so-called solid waste that most Americans rarely recycle such as household refuse, tires, discarded appliances and furniture, and now looking at it as it was viewed in the 19th century—as a resource, not just as something to "throw out," said panelist Resa Dimino, special assistant in the Commissioner's Policy Office, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Recycling of paper, glass and plastics is mandatory in some U.S. cities, but compliance varies and enforcement is spotty. Recycling accounted for 36 percent of New York state's total waste stream in 2008, to give a local example, according to the state's newly released draft of its Solid Waste Management Plan. Residential recycling rates vary across municipalities in New York from 21 pounds/person/year to 700 pounds/person/year, Dimino said, so there is huge variation and room for improvement.

Packaging makes up 30 percent of the waste generated nationwide, according to the solid waste plan, so Dimino is a fan of "packaging stewardship," which is practiced in the European Union and many Canadian provinces. This approach involves manufacturers paying into a fund based on the amount of packaging they use and the cost of recycling those materials. The proceeds are allocated by a quasi-governmental or independent organization to cover the costs of collection and recycling or disposal of the packages and materials, as well as market development, infrastructure improvements and ways to spread the word.