NJ Spotlight Map: How Does Union County Stack Up With Recycling?
Data shows Union County rates for recycling dropping from 2008 to 2009.
Residents in Union County are doing a fare good job recycling their waste. In a county where 1,082,31 million tons of waste was generated, 54.1 percent was recycled according to the most recent numbers, according to NJ Spotlight's latest interactive map. Overall, New Jerseyans are recycling less of their waste than they did in the mid-1990s, data from the state Department of Environmental Protection show. At the peak, residents across the state were recycling 61 percent of what they discarded in 1996 and 1997. That number dropped to 57 percent statewide in 2009. Prior to the enactment of the state’s mandatory recycling law a quarter of a century ago, 10 percent or less of waste was recycled. The law initially set a goal of recycling 25 …
