U.S. recycling rate reaches 32 percent.

America's recycling rate saw a slight gain in 2005, moving from 31.4 percent in 2004 to 32.1 percent, according to statistics from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson shared these figures from the EPA's "Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2005 Facts and Figures" executive summary with attendees of the National Recycling Coalition's (NRC) 25th Annual Congress & Expo during the opening plenary session Monday, Oct. 23.

According to EPA figures, the United States generated approximately 245.7 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2005, a decrease of 1.6 million tons from 2004. The recovery rate for recycling, which includes composting, increased from 31.4 percent in 2004 to 32.1 percent in 2005. In 2005, 54 percent of MSW was sent to landfill, a marked decline from 1980, when 89 percent of the MSW generated in the United States was landfilled, according to the EPA.

Johnson told attendees that nearly 40 percent of containers and packaging material was recycled in 2005. According to the EPA's executive summary, the recycling rates by packaging category for 2005 were:

* Aluminum cans, 45 percent;

* All aluminum packaging, including aluminum foil, 36.3;

* Steel, 63.3 percent;

* Glass, 25 percent;

* Plastic containers, 9 percent;

* Wood (mostly pallets), 15 percent; and

* Paper and paperboard containers, 58.8 percent.

"We are turning a throw-away culture into a recycling culture," Johnson said. "By encouraging smart use of resources, we can hand down a more sustainable planet to future generations."

The NRC's 25th Annual Congress & Expo was Oct. 22-25 in Atlanta.