Lane County leads state in recycling rate

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Lane County was the only Oregon county to recycle more waste than it threw away as garbage last year.

A state Department of Environmental Quality report released this month shows residents and businesses in the county that includes Eugene sent 258,370 tons of materials into recycling, compared with 258,041 tons sent as garbage to a landfill.

The statewide average was 42.6 percent of the waste stream going into recycling and the rest into landfills.

The Register-Guard reports that local officials are unsure if Lane County can sustain its high rate of recycling. China, the world’s largest market for recycled waste, plans to restrict its imports of recycled materials such as plastics and unsorted paper, starting Jan. 1.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com