York County’s recycling rate for 2006 is 56.9 percent.  The recycling rate is the percentage of the municipal waste stream diverted from the total waste stream*.  York County’s rate includes recyclables collected from municipal curbside programs and commercial establishments; yard waste recycling efforts; ferrous, and non-ferrous metals separated out of the ash from the York County Resource Recovery Center; recycled ash aggregate, and Authority drop-off and special recycling programs. 

The York County Solid Waste Authority submitted a report to PADEP summarizing York County recycling progress for 2006.  Under Act 101, all counties in Pennsylvania are required to submit an annual report detailing the amount of materials recycled within the county for the previous calendar year.

Each municipality in the county must submit a municipal recycling report to the county indicating the weight of materials collected within the municipality including curbside, drop-off and commercial recycling.  Although only 14 of York County’s 72 municipalities are state-mandated under act 101 to provide curbside recycling to their residents, in 2006 a total of 55 municipalities conducted curbside recycling programs.  Twenty municipalities offer drop-off recycling programs, 11 of which do so in conjunction with their curbside programs.  More than 85 percent of York County’s population is participating in curbside and/or drop-off recycling.  Assistance is available from the Authority for municipalities interested in starting a recycling program in their community.  Interested municipalities may call 717-845-1066.