LawnStarter Ranks States for Waste Management Efforts

Waste Management

(Credit: Pixabay)

by | Dec 2, 2022

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Waste Management

(Credit: Pixabay)

LawnStarter has ranked how states do in a variety of waste management segments, including the number of recycling facilities, production-based recycling rates, food waste management, and overall landfill use.

Half of the top 10 came from the northeastern United States, and a common thread with most of the highest-ranking states is policies regarding sustainable waste management. Connecticut placed first in the rankings, with California, Vermont, Oregon, and New York rounding out the top five.

The US produces the most waste in the world, according to a report from Verisk Maplecroft. The EPA estimates there were more than 292 billion pounds of municipal solid waste produced in the country in 2018, of which about 32% was recycled or composted.

The EPA says waste management is a priority for state and local governments, especially for recovering recyclable materials. Processing waste through sustainable methods is among those efforts, according to the EPA, including ways to use waste for energy recovery and conversion.

Connecticut and Vermont tied for the top place in LawnStarter’s policy category, and California is third. California this year established tough laws on food and plastic waste.

The most recycling facilities per 100,000 residents are in Vermont, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. The states that do the best with production-related waste recycling are Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Illinois. The LawnStarter rankings had Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Oregon faring the best with food waste.

There has been a recent uptick in businesses and governments attempting to improve their waste management operations and recycling capabilities.

WM, North America’s largest waste and recycling hauler, has taken part in several initiatives to improve recycling rates, especially of hard-to-recycle materials, and has invested in enhancing materials recovery facilities. Companies such as Cority and Roadrunner Recycling have advanced automated platforms to manage waste and recycling operations for businesses and organizations.

Houston and Boise, Idaho, are examples of cities that seek to improve their waste management operations. Houston has added a digital platform to improve the efficiency of its waste operations, and a Boise program is attempting to keep plastic waste out of landfills. In Minnesota, a renewable natural gas facility is operational at a landfill in Grove Heights.

Two of the smallest states in the US – Rhode Island and Delaware – ranked toward the bottom of landfill waste volume, according to LawnStater. Smaller states highlight the need for waste management strategies as Rhode Island may run out of landfill space by 2040, according to LawnStarter.

In terms of the worst-performing states, LawnStarter says there is no regional pattern. Alaska got the lowest ranking, followed by Nevada, Montana, Arizona, and Tennessee. Most of the lowest performers ranked poorly across the categories, but Alaska did score 18th in food waste management.

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