Greener Living
Americans Throw 76% of Their Recyclables Into the Trash
US households recycle just a fraction of the items they could, according to new research.
Photographer: Epics/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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It is no secret that recycling in America is broken: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the US has a combined recycling rate of only 32% for materials including glass, plastic, cardboard and paper. That figure reflects collections from industrial, commercial and residential trash.
But a new report that zeros in on residential recycling suggests that we are capturing far less material than that — at least at the household level.