Officials from the state of North Carolina have recently reported that in 2012, residents participated in recycling close to half a million tons of household grade recyclable waste material, exceeding more than three hundred pounds of recycled material per person. The information was included in the yearly report released by North Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment.

This participation from last year marks the state’s greatest rate of recycling and lowest rate of waste disposal since the state began taking yearly measurement of landfill use starting in 1991. In some counties around the state, the personal household recycling rate was in excess of seven hundred pounds per person.

Additionally, reasons for the increase can also be attributed to a seven percent increase in available curbside recycling services in municipalities and a doubling of opportunities for residents to recycle e-waste and other unwanted or unusable electronics.

The collected recycled materials are then re-sold to regional manufacturers who rely on the material as part of their production supply chain.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you’re looking to increase your business’ or town’s recycling rate, take a look at how, where, and when you provide opportunities to promote recycling. Are people aware of the importance of reducing waste? Are recycling bins easy to access and routinely collected? Are successes promoted and announced? Small steps can yield big results in cutting waste and saving money!