Alabama Reaches Recycling Milestone

Alabama’s Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) announced that the state reached a new recycling milestone in 2018.

Over the last year, the state diverted more than 25 percent of its generated trash from landfill. In addition, Alabama is now recycling roughly 16 percent of the waste it generates, which is nearly double the rate from seven years ago, according to an AL.com report.

However, as the report points out, Alabama “still lags behind the national averages of 25.8 percent for direct recycling and 34 percent for overall waste diversion, compared to Alabama's estimates of 16 percent and 25 percent.” The report also notes that Alabama first established its 25 percent waste diversion goal in 1991 but struggled to make much progress until 2008, when the state passed a law to revamp the way it handles solid waste management.

AL.com has more information:

Alabama reached a new recycling milestone in 2018, according to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, diverting more than 25 percent of all the trash generated in the state from landfills for the first time since the state started closely tracking where its garbage goes.

"The first time was last year, based on our numbers, that we hit the mark," said Gavin Adams, chief of ADEM's Materials Management Section, which administers the department's recycling program. "We're very excited about it and we hope it continues."

Overall, Alabama recycles about 16 percent of the total waste it generates, Adams said. That's nearly double the rate of just seven years ago. And other operations, such as Huntsville's waste-to-energy incinerator, push the state over the 25 percent waste reduction goal.

Read the full article here.