New figures from the US suggest that less than half of arisings are recycled.
J
ust a few days ago, we reported on the fact that a UK contractor had almost achieved a 100% rate of materials recycling on a project in Scotland. Compare that to the latest statistics from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which suggest that less than half of all the US’ 170 million tonnes/year arisings are recycled.
New EPA figures show that the US increased its output of debris from construction and demolition debris by 25 percent from 1996 to 2003, while also recovering 48 percent of this waste.
The data is viewed as an estimate because only eight states release both their disposal and recovery data for construction materials.
It is true that the recovery rate was just 25 percent in 1996, meaning although the US is producing more of this waste, there are increased efforts to reuse and recycle these materials. However, it appears that the US still has a long way to go before it catches up with its greener European counterparts on this side of the Atlantic.
