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Materials and Recycling

Target: Reach and maintain a recycling contamination rate below 18% by 2025, using Republic Services data as a proxy for the majority of the region. 

How are we doing? Click here to find out more about the current recycling contamination rate in the region.

Background: Waste reduction and diversion are sustainable practices ensuring efficient materials use and reduction of the amount of space and money devoted to landfills. The Materials and Recycling Working Group is comprised of multiple communities and organizations working on waste reduction and recycling efforts.

Structure: The Working Group is led by individuals from Missouri Botanical Garden's Earthways Center.

Activities: The Working Group focuses on education, waste reduction infrastructure improvements, and policy advocacy.

Specific actions the group started in 2017 and will continue:

  • Maintain a regional searchable database for information on hard-to-recycle items.
  • Implement a regional Recycle Responsibly public outreach and education campaign.
  • Coordinate efforts among Working Group partners to apply for collaborative grants from St. Louis - Jefferson Solid Waste Management District.
  • Promoting recycling through events such as Plastic Bag Awareness Day, Truth About Bags - America Recycles Day, Climate Solution Day, and community workshops.
  • Organize sub-committees focused on food waste diversion and plastics reduction. To find out more about activities of members of the food waste diversion sub-committee, click here. 

What You Can Do:

Content updates to this page made possible by funding provided by the St. Louis-Jefferson Solid Waste Management District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.