The amount of solid waste generated in Thurston County has increased almost every year since the Roundtable began collecting data. The Roundtable Solid Waste Indicator is based on tons of solid waste sent to the landfill, not including recyclables and yard waste. 

The amount of garbage collected has more than doubled in the 21 years since the Roundtable started collecting data – from 76,000 tons in 1983 to almost 175,000 tons in 2003. This increase works out to about a 6.5% increase every year, while population growth has been only about 3% per year.  Every person in Thurston County now produces more than 30 pounds of garbage every week, or 1600 pounds of garbage every year - up from a low of about 1000 pounds a year in 1988.  The good news is that recycling in the County appears to be holding steady at about 250 pounds per person per year.

Trends in solid waste in Thurston County run contrary to national and regional trends, which show overall solid waste diminishing. Our limited resources haven’t allowed us to get to the source of the increase as yet.  The area’s high growth rate may be contributing to a large growth in the amount of construction debris.  Or, people may just be buying and throwing out more stuff. In the meantime, reduce, reuse, and recycle! 

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