Political Quotes

“Recycling is an important environmental concept that predates, by decades, the first Earth Day and talk of global climate change. In fact, according to the National Recycling Coalition, before the 1920s, 70 percent of U.S. cities ran programs to recycle certain materials. And during World War II, 60 years ago, American industry reused and recycled 25 percent of the waste system. Today we're recycling and reusing about 33 percent of our Nation's waste. Moreover, the need for serious recycling takes on an added dimension when one considers the state of America's landfill capacity. According to the EPA, since 1980 the total annual generation of municipal solid waste, otherwise known as regular household trash, has increased by more than 60 percent to its 2005 level of nearly 246 million tons every year. And further, according to the EPA, over the last 15 years, 9 percent less, or about 9 million tons, of household garbage is going to our Nation's landfills. That means that the increased recycling efforts must step in to bridge the gap.”