The Department of Environmental Protection this week reported the total amount of waste disposed in Pennsylvania landfills dropped in 2004, decreasing from 25.39 million tons in 2003 to 25.18 million tons last year.

Out-of-state waste decreased by 446,465 tons to 10.1 million tons in 2004. Imports represent 40.2 percent of the waste stream to Pennsylvania landfills, down from 41.6 percent last year and 47.1 percent at its peak in 2001. The state received waste from 20 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Puerto Rico.

While out-of-state waste dropped, waste generated in-state climbed for the second year in a row. The amount of waste that originated in Pennsylvania totaled 15 million tons last year, an increase of 236,308 tons from the 14.8 million tons landfilled in 2003.

Municipal Waste Disposed in PA

(in millions of tons)

Pennsylvania has 49 landfills and five waste recovery facilities that accept municipal waste from residences and commercial facilities and residual waste from factories, manufacturers, farms and mining operations.

The state remains the nation’s largest waste importer. Pennsylvania's largest sources of out-of-state trash (in tons) in 2004 are as follows: New Jersey, 5.3 million; New York, 3.9 million; Connecticut, 392,956; West Virginia, 137,636; and Maryland, 134,438.

For more information, visit DEP’s “Municipal Waste Reporting Results” webpage.

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Trash Imports Fall for Third Year in Row

7/22/2005