Men’s Health Rates Recycling Across the Country
Men’s Health magazine recently released the findings of their first nationwide recycling survey, ranking how well 100 cities reuse their refuse.
To determine the results, the magazine collected information from cities, including:
- How easy recycling is made for residents. Do residents need to sort the materials? Does the city offer curbside pickup?
- Whether or not recycling is mandated by the city.
- What types of materials does the city collect for recycling. Points were given to cities that go beyond paper, plastic and glass collection.
- The percentage of residents taking advantage of the recycling programs offered by their respective cities.
The results of the survey confirm some commonly known industry trends, but contain a few surprises as well. Not surprisingly, California contains four of the top ten “Best Recycling” cities in the nation. Usually “crunchy” Colorado contains two of the ten “Worst Recycling” cities in the nation. Here is how the survey results played out:
Overall Best for Recycling
Find out how well your city ranked by using the interactive map. Photo: menshealth.com.
- Fresno, CA
- Fremont, CA
- San Antonio, TX
- Burlington, VT
- Anaheim, CA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Jacksonville, FL
- San Diego, CA
- Madison, WI
- Durham, NC
Overall Worst for Recycling
- Wichita, KS
- Las Vegas, NV
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Billings, MT
- Lubbock, TX
- St. Petersburg, FL
- Detroit, MI
- Lincoln, NE
- Aurora, CO
- Louisville, KY
These survey results come on the heels of Earth911.com’s 2008 recycling search results. In 2008, recycling searches in southern states comprised almost half of the daily searches on Earth911.com. The 16 states south of Kentucky were responsible for 43 percent of all 2008 recycling searches. Additionally, California was the individual state with the highest percentage of searches at 14 percent. The report also lists the ten most commonly searched items for the year 2008, with batteries, motor oil and computers leading the way.
