The Case of the Missing Garbage

The Sunday Concord Monitor reported that since the City of Concord implemented their pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) solid waste program, the combined total of solid waste and recycled material has dropped by about one third. There are a number of theories about the cause of the reduction in material including a reduction of out-of-town trash left on the curb in Concord, trash abandoned in the woods, more waste directed to adjacent towns, an overall reduction of goods during a recession or yard waste and leaves being directed out of the waste stream.

The City has not seen an increase in solid waste being left on the roadside and regional solid waste facilities are also experiencing a decline. The EPA noted that this reduction is common in areas where a PAYT program is implemented.

Solid Waste was an important part of the ASCE Report Card. Statewide the recycling rate has struggled to exceed 30 percent of the overall solid waste stream. The state is currently on track to use up our available permitted landfill capacity within the next decade.

The Concord story reported that over the last two years, Concord’s recycling rates have increased by over 52 percent to approximately 34 percent (up from about 16 percent prior to the program) and solid waste had been reduced by over 180 percent. Statewide the legislature had set a goal of 40 percent recycling by the year 2000, so although Concord is a success story for the two year program and is now exceeding the 30 percent statewide average, there is still room for improvement.

Thanks to Ben Leubsdorf of the Concord Monitor for his important article on our state’s infrastructure.