Indicators:  Leading Environmental Indicators*

Recycling

In 1993, Connecticut set a recycling goal for 2000 which it has not yet met.

The General Assembly established a goal of reducing and recycling 40% of Connecticut's municipal solid waste stream by the year 2000 (Sec.22a-220(f)). The DEP has calculated that this would require 33% of the waste to be recycled (with the other 7% disappearing through waste reduction). This goal was not met, and the consequences have been enormous: hundreds of thousands of tons of waste are shipped out of state each year, putting thousands of diesel trucks on the highways for trips of hundreds of miles.

Technical note: In 2002, the DEP changed the way its data are calculated. In the past, numbers were based solely on annual municipal recycling reports. They were changed to include recycling facility market reports as well as the municipal reports. This more accurate data probably accounts for the small increase in the statewide average that year. If some composting were also counted, the number would be higher but still short of the goal. Because of staff reductions at the DEP, data for the years after 2003 are not available. Regardless of the fine points of the data, this indicator shows that progress appears to have halted.

*Leading Environmental Indicators illustrate trends in behavior or practices that can be expected to influence the condition of tomorrow’s air, water, land and wildlife.