Environmentalists Push For More Recycling in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabamians produce more than twice as
much trash each day than the average American, and they recycle or
reuse much less of their garbage than in other parts of the
country.
That's the statistical assessment of state environmental
officials who are joining others in the recycling movement in
praising enactment of a new law designed in part to give more
Alabamians access to trash recycling programs.
Environmentalists say the Legislature has been dragging its feet
on recycling for years.
Alabama Department of Environmental Management figures show that
only 81 of Alabama's 460 municipalities, or 17.6 percent,
currrently have some sort of recycling program -- either curbside
pickup or drop off -- and only 8.3 percent of solid waste in
Alabama is recycled.
On the national level, Environmental Protection Agency records
show that 32.5 percent of solid waste was recycled in 2006.
ADEM statistics show Alabama producing 9.9 pounds of solid waste
per person each day, compared to about 4.6 pounds nationally.
The new law, passed by the Legislature earlier this month and
signed by Gov. Bob Riley in celebration of Earth Day, levies a $1
per ton fee on waste disposed at landfills in Alabama.
The fee is supposed to generate $7 million to $8 million
annually to clean up illegal dumps on private property, inspect
legal landfills and expand recycling programs to reduce the waste
going to landfills.

For more information, visit the Alabama Department of Environmental Management by clicking here