Solid Waste and Recycling
This indicator describes the disposal and diversion of solid waste (also known as "municipal solid waste/ MSW," "trash," "refuse" or "garbage") in the Puget Sound Georgia Basin from 1999 through 2003.

What is happening?

Online Conversion Charts
To convert measurements to and from the metric system, visit NASA's Metric Converter Web site.

The indicator encompasses two steps: (1) It describes the amount of solid waste disposed, the amount of solid waste diverted from landfills, and the sum of these two, the amount generated. (2) The next analysis involves the disposal rate, which is the total number of metric tonnes (Canada) or tons (U.S.) of solid waste disposed per person (capita), by landfill or incinerator.

The following rates are also calculated:

• Diversion rate, which is the per capita amount of materials diverted from disposal and (a) reused as intact products, (b) recycled, (c) refined, or (d) burned for energy recovery; or
• Recycling rate, which is the per capita amount of materials recycled from the solid waste stream, referred to as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW);
  
• Generation rate, which is the sum of the diversion and disposal rates. Waste generation starts when a consumer decides a product or material has no further use for him or her. At this point, the material will either be diverted or disposed as garbage, with costs associated with each.
  

What Is Solid Waste?

In Washington State (Puget Sound), municipal solid waste (MSW) includes:

• durable and non-durable goods
  
• containers and packaging
  
• food waste
  
• yard trimmings

In British Columbia (Georgia Basin), MSW is defined as "refuse that originates from residential, commercial, institutional, demolition, land clearing or construction (DLC) sources." It includes tires, lead-acid batteries, and household hazardous waste³.

There are differences in the manner in which MSW wastes are defined but the disposal and diversion rates are remarkably similar across the Basin (see the Technical References for this indicator).

What is Diversion?

In Washington State, diversion means all solid waste diverted from disposal through reuse, recycling, energy recovery, or recovery for uses other than landfill disposal (includes MSW and non-MSW materials, such as construction, demolition and land clearing debris).

In British Columbia, diversion means all MSW diverted from disposal through reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of energy or material.

Snapshot of 2003

In 2003, the citizens and businesses of the Puget Sound Georgia Basin sent 5,464,129 metric tonnes, or 6,023,104 tons, of garbage to landfills or incinerators. This is enough to fill Interstate 5 from Olympia, Washington to Whistler, BC 0.36 meters or 1.18 feet deep in garbage.

2003 was also a record year for diversion in which 5,415,008 metric tonnes (5,968,960 tons) of products avoided the fate of landfills.

Visit Solid Waste and Recycling Data for more information on municipal solid waste, recycling and diversion in the Puget Sound Georgia Basin.

Solid Waste and Recycling Data for the Puget Sound Georgia Basin
Chart 1	Management of Solid Waste in Puget Sound and Georgia Basin (metric tonnes/tons)
Table 1	Solid Waste Terms Defined
Chart 2	Solid Waste Generation in PSGB (metric tonnes)
Chart 3	Per Capita Solid Waste Generation in PSGB (kgs)
Table 2	Solid Waste and Recycling Summary Data (metric tonnes/kgs)
Chart 4	Solid Waste Generation in PSGB (tons)
Chart 5	Per Capita Solid Waste Generation in PSGB (lbs)
Table 3	Solid Waste and Recycling Summary Data (tons/lbs)

Overall Waste Generation Outpaces Progress in Diversion

Between 1999 and 2003, overall solid waste generation rates increased by 34 percent in the Puget Sound Georgia Basin. despite a regional population that increased by only 5.27 percent.

Overall Disposal (Landfill and Incinerator)

Between 1999 and 2003, the region sent 26,757,842 metric tonnes (29,495,472 tons) of materials for disposal, an increase of 15.5 percent in 4 years. A significant percentage of this material was suitable for reuse or recycling.

Recycling, Disposal and Generation Rates

The disposal rate is the amount of solid waste produced by a single individual in one day that requires disposal. This is one of the more astounding ways of looking at the sheer volume of materials that we consider 'waste to be disposed of'.

In 1999, the disposal rate was 1.88 kg/person/day or 4.15 lbs/person/day. Between 1999 and 2003 the disposal rate for the Puget Sound Georgia Basin increased by 0.19 kilograms (kg) per person/day or 0.40 pounds (lbs)/person/day.

By 2003, disposal rates had reached 2.07 kg/person/day or 4.55 lbs/person/day. In 2003, we diverted almost as much, or 2.05 kg or 4.51 lbs/person/day.

Accordingly, on average, each person generated 4.11 kg or 9.07 lbs/day, the amount of weight many of us seek to lose.

In Washington State overall, each person generates 35 lbs hazardous waste and 4,084 lbs solid waste each year despite aggressive waste reduction, pollution prevention and recycling strategies.⁴

The bottom line is that while the region is diverting more materials from landfills and incinerators, our overall waste generation and disposal rates grew at a more rapid pace than the increase in our population.

Overall Diversion

Between 1999 and 2003, overall diversion, which includes recycling, reached 23,753,594 metric tonnes (26,183,855 tons). In terms of recycling alone, there was a 12.91 percent increase in the amount recycled during this period.

Food scraps and paper constitute a large percentage of the overall waste stream in California, Oregon and Washington. In some cases, food scraps that could have been composted make up more than 15 percent of MSW.⁵

  

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