How Green are We?

(page 10 of 11)

WASTE

There are some states where residents cheerilycut their cardboard into neatly twined stacks, where tossing cans and bottles into the recycling bin is second nature. Not so Rhode Island. With a recycling rate hovering around 14 percent, this basic act of environmental stewardship hasn’t really proved our forte. Massachusetts’ recycling rate is even lower, at around 10 percent, but compared to nearby Connecticut, with a rate of 26 percent (and more distant states like Washington, with a rate of 35 percent), our numbers look downright abysmal. The state did reach a milestone in 2005, recycling 55,538 tons of paper, saving 183,275 cubic yards of landfill. But the Johnston Landfill will reach maximum capacity by 2010, meaning we may soon have to ship trash across our borders—and pay big bucks for it.

---

No More Room at the Bin

Where will we dump our trash when our landfill reaches capacity in three years?

Covering 230 acres and towering at 564 feet above sea level, the Johnston landfill receives about 96 percent of our state’s garbage. Since 1982, when the state acquired it, 22.5 million tons of solid waste have been piled onto the
site, which has been expanded five times. It is projected to reach capacity again in 2010. A mountain of a problem? It could be if the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, the group that manages waste in the state, does not receive approval for expansion. With nowhere
to go, garbage would have to be trucked out of the state at a higher cost to the tax payer. Or worse yet, a coveted piece of the area’s open space might have to be used to make
room for a new dump.

The RIRRC is working to improve recycling and divert material from the landfill. But only recently have Rhode Island’s recycling rates been rising faster than the landfill, which receives more than one million tons annually. No matter what happens in Johnston, the state will need to reduce trash to keep the landfill viable in the more distant future. The best way to do this? It’s simple: less dumping, more reuse, more recycling.