According to the EPA, during 2008 per capita waste generation was down a little more than 3%.  Is this a result of the recession? Well, some say yes and some say no.  Composting and recycling are up and that is not expected to change, since we continue to be educated and provided with more opportunities and more convenient opportunities to recycle as well as learning ways to reduce our food waste.

Additionally, the push for manufacturers to lower their waste footprint through less material and less packaging has been on the rise for several years now.  Companies have also been encouraging recycling by providing employees with smaller trash cans and larger recycling containers.  It has also been theorized that we as a plant have entered into a new “permanent” era of reduced consumption, that even once we are out of the current recession this will continue.

If history is a guide, we most likely will return to our old consumptive habits but perhaps we are actually learning, as a species?  I guess, it all remains to be seen!  Food for thought…