Vermonters are recycling more and throwing away less, the Department of Environmental Conservation said on Monday.
The increase in recycling and decrease in trash disposal comes after Vermont's universal recycling law, which was passed in 2012, mandated all Vermonters to start recycling by July 2015. Vermonters were banned from throwing away paper, aluminum, cardboard, steel cans, glass bottles and jars, and hard plastic bottles and containers.
Trash haulers were also mandated to begin curbside collection of recyclables.
"Since state recycling kicked in, we've seen a huge jump in recyclables from both residential and commercial customers," said Jeff Myers, president of Myers Container Service. "Most people already did this, but now there is a little extra motivation."
The trash disposal rate decreased by 5 percent, while the recycling rate has increased from 33 to 35 percent. Prior to the passage of the law, according to the DEC, the recycling rates had been stagnating for the past 15 years.
Beginning on July 1 of this year, leaf and yard debris such as tree trimmings will also be banned from Vermont's single major landfill. Trash haulers will be required to take away yard debris as well. By July 2020, the state will add food scraps to the list of waste prohibited in the landfill.
The Vermont Foodbank has seen an increase in fresh food donations and estimates over 4 million pounds of food will be diverted from the trash.
Establishments that generate more than a ton of food scraps a week have been required to divert the waste to a certified composting facility within 20 miles since the July 2015 implementation. Starting on July 1 2016, any establishment creating more than half a ton of food scraps a week will have to comply with the same law.
Next summer, Vermont will begin requiring all transfer stations that take trash to also provide food scrap collection services.
The roll-out of the universal recycling law has gone smoothly, said Josh Kelly, materials management section chief for the DEC. The Agency of Natural Resources has focused on ensuring haulers are providing and notifying people about service and doing compliance checks on large food producers.
"We're not focused on residents' recycling," Kelly said.