• Our Reduce/Reuse/Recycle gateway page.  From here, there are major topic areas in the page, and specific user groups on the sidebar where folks can find all kinds of stuff on RRR.
• Solid Waste and Recycling Data page.  DEP has put together several reports based on the data that is given to us by towns and processing facilities.  The best one for general statistics is the first one in the table (Average Statewide MSW Statistics)
• Recycling...It's the Law!
• State Solid Waste Management Plan.   Way too long to read?  Here is the Executive Summary and Table of Strategies. 
• CT Solid Waste Composition & Characterization Study (2009).  Find out what and how much stuff we are throwing away.

The estimated 2008 recycling rate in Connecticut was approximately 25%-26%. That rate might seem impressive; however, it has remained relatively flat over the past decade and Connecticut still disposes of 2.7 million tons of trash annually. That's an estimated 1,500 pounds of trash per person per year!  That's too much.  We not only can do better, we must do better!

Learn more about how we manage our waste in Connecticut and how to help us move toward our vision for even more waste reduction, reuse and recycling, by using the navigation links on the left and in the sections below.

CT's Solid Waste Management Plan includes eight objectives, with a total of seventy-five strategies. Listed below are the objectives, each with a descriptive narrative.

1. Source Reduction - Catalyze shifts in consumer, business, product manufacturing, andsolid waste processing practices that reduce the amount and toxicity of waste generated in Connecticut.
2. Recycling and Composting - Move aggressively to strengthen Connecticut's public and private reuse, recycling and composting efforts and infrastructure to increase the quantity and quality of recovered materials.
3. Management of Solid Waste Requiring Disposal - Assure that the need for new disposal capacity is minimized, that existing solid waste facilities are used as efficiently as possible.
4. Management of Special Wastes and Other Types of Solid Waste - Maximize source reduction, recycling, and beneficial use of special waste and other types of solid waste in a manner that protects human health and the environment.
5. Education and Outreach - Significantly increase awareness and understanding of waste management needs, impacts and the critical social, economic, and environmental issues facing Connecticut, and build support for programs to engage citizens in actions needed to maximize waste reduction and recycling and minimize the need for additional disposal capacity.
6. Program Planning, Evaluation and Measurement
7. Permitting and Enforcement
8. Funding