Pennsylvania Leads Nation in Trash Imports

Rebekah A.Hall

Harrisburg, Pa. -- The amount of waste Pennsylvania imports has fallen by more than 1 million tons in 2003, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) states. But despite this figure, the state still leads the nation as the No. 1 waste importer. Total trash import dropped to 10.6 million tons, a 10 percent decrease from 2002. At its peak in 2001, Pennsylvania imported 12.6 million tons. The DEP reports that approximately 25.4 millions tons of refuse were disposed of in 59 landfills or burned in 5 incinerators.