Americans generate roughly 1 ton of garbage per person each year. That doesn't mean that each person, individually creates that much garbage, but that's the number the Environmental Protection Agency has established to calculate waste generation for a community. Lee County is about average -- we generate just about 700,000 tons of waste for our roughly 700,000 residents (and visitors).

Reduce Waste Generation

1. Recycle: Participate in your local recycling program.
2. Close the Loop: Support a "close the loop" approach when you make new purchases -- meaning, purchase items made with recycled content rather than made from a new resource.
3. Reduce: Reduce your purchases.

Follow the examples set by previous generations by taking care of those things you use frequently and practice preventive maintenance so they don't need to be replaced as often.

Wherever you live, whether it’s an apartment building, a condo, townhome, or a single-family home, you can do something good for the environment every day by recycling. Recycling doesn’t cost a thing, and it’s easy.