Connecticut seeks to boost recycling levels.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released the state's new solid waste management plan that calls for reducing the amount of waste generated in part by dramatically increasing the rate of recycling.

The state is hoping that putting in place a number of programs could boost the recycling rate from 30 percent to 58 percent.

The steps the state recommends are establishing a recycling program for electronics; adding certain plastics as well as magazines to the list of mandated recyclables; increasing the volume of material available for recycling by expanding the bottle bill to include plastic water bottles; and continuing to support environmentally preferable purchasing by state government.

"Here's the bottom line: Simply recycling that stray soda bottle and newspaper is no longer enough," DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy says. "We must radically and quickly 'change the balance' in favor of waste reduction, recycling and reuse over disposal. If you look at the amount of waste we generate and then look at the available places there are for it to go, something has to give. If we dramatically increase our recycling rate, we can avoid the need for additional disposal facilities."

The goals of the state's Solid Waste Management Plan are:

* To significantly reduce the amount of solid waste generated in Connecticut through increased source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting;

* To manage the solid waste that requires disposal in an efficient, equitable and environmentally protective manner; and

* To adopt stable, long-term funding mechanisms that provide for sufficient state, regional and local programs while also providing incentives for increased waste reduction and diversion.

The DEP worked rextensively with the public and the specially created DEP Solid Waste Management Plan External Stakeholders Working Group to develop the plan.