Team:Alberta-North-RBI E/recycling
From 2012e.igem.org
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012e/0/0d/Alberta_Team.jpg)
![](https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012e/a/a2/Waste_Generated.jpg)
Due to environmental concern, government regulations and economic considerations, there has been a consistent increased effort in recycling endeavours over the past years. Recycling rates have increased from less than 10% of MSW generated in 1980 to about 34% in 2010 [EPA]. Additionally, the disposal of waste to a landfill has decreased from 89% of the amount generated in 1980 to about 54% of MSW in 2010 [EPA]. As seen in the figure below, the highest recovery rates in 2010 were achieved with paper and paperboard products. More than 62 percent of the paper generated was recycled. As a result, recycling paper products not only affects the upstream processes in paper production (where raw materials are acquired), but also has consequences on the downstream portion of paper use (waste-disposal).