RALEIGH -- The state’s Recycling and Materials Management Section released recycling numbers for all 100 counties and municipalities, showing a 5.3 percent increase in paper and container recycling as compared to the previous year. Local recycling programs collected more than 1.7 million tons of traditional and non-traditional materials last year.

“Recycling collection in North Carolina has expanded alongside increasing demand for recyclable material by in-state manufacturers,” said Wendy Worley, Recycling and Materials Management Section chief in the Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service. “Counties and municipalities are targeting much more than paper, cans and plastics. There are so many more materials that can be recycled, like construction debris, wood and electronics, and kept from going into the landfill. This puts value-added material back into the North Carolina economy and preserves the state’s important natural resources.”

Recovery of paper and metal also has continued to rise. North Carolina recovered almost 27,000 more tons of paper than the previous year and 8,000 more tons of metal. Plastics and glass tonnages remained essentially unchanged. Counties that ranked higher have implemented programs to collect non-traditional materials, like asphalt singles, scrap metal, construction debris, electronics and wood waste.

Counties are ranked in two different ways: their total recycling of all materials and recycling of common household recyclables. In each case, data on the recovery of yard waste and tires is excluded from the totals because tire and yard waste generation can vary widely from year-to-year and by region.

The Recycling and Materials Management Section collects recycling and disposal data from local governments through an annual reporting cycle each year. It is used to profile public recycling efforts and measure the per capita recycling rates for each county in the state. The per capita recovery rate for common household recyclables helps compare the relative effectiveness of residential recycling services, while total recycling measures broader community efforts. Counties are then ranked based on their program performance.