Talking Trash
We’re in the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s…and in addition to it being a busy time of year, it’s also the most garbage-filled.
According to LawnStarter, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Americans throw away 25 to 43 percent more trash. That’s up to an estimated 29 pounds of extra garbage each week…nearly double our typical 34.3 pounds.
But in terms of managing waste, you’re in a good place…since Iowa ranks seventh best in the nation at managing waste when compared with other states and the District of Columbia.
Now many of you may not be thrilled with our current bottle return laws, and the smart money says action will be taken to improve things in the upcoming legislative session.
But Iowa is tops in the nation in terms of presence of both beverage container deposit laws, and mandatory recycling laws.
We’re also fourth in recycling rates for common containers and packaging materials…sixth in terms of the number of large waste facilities per 100,000 residents…and seventh for food waste management.
We often note with a chuckle those overstuffed garbage cans, with Christmas wrapping paper spilling out…but it’s all got to go somewhere…so think about that just a bit this season. At the very least, it may help our rankings.
