RECYCLING RATE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH

RECYCLING RATE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH		VOLUME III, ISSUE XV Podcast Listen to the PennFuture podcast at http://www.pennfuturepodcast.org/ Includes interviews with Urban Sustainability Forum speakers and more! Questions or Comments? Email Christine at:knapp@pennfuture.org or call 215-545-9692 Don't forget to visit our website at: http://www.nextgreatcity.org/
Next Great City applauds the City of Philadelphia and you for making big strides in recycling. According to the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, residential recycling in Philadelphia has reached an all time record with a 46 percent increase in household recycling over the last year. For fiscal year 2009 (July 2008 June 2009) the Streets Department collected 75,060 tons of waste from Philadelphia households, a 23,734 ton increase from last year. The average household with City collection recycled 278 pounds of their waste last year, 88 pounds more than in the previous year. The diversion rate, the amount of residential waste that ends up in recycling compared to trash, is now nearly 12-1/2 percent, an increase of over 5 percent since Mayor Nutter took office in January 2008. This amounts to saving of nearly $5,000,000 in avoided landfill costs.