Recycling

Recycling is one of the environmental success stories of the late 20th century. Recycling (including composting) diverted 72 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2003, up from 34 million tons in 1990. By 2002, almost 9,000 curbside collection programs served roughly half of the American population. Curbside programs, along with drop-off and buy-back centers, resulted in a diversion of about 30 percent of the nation's solid waste in 2001 (Goldsmith, 47).

Besides diverting wastes from landfills, some of the benefits of recycling are that it conserves resources for future generations; prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases and water ...