Trashing the climate

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Everyone knows that recycling probably is better for the planet than clogging the landfills with society’s discards. Now, there’s another reason to push recycling, and, for that matter, composting yard waste and kitchen scraps. Both can help reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

A coalition of groups on Thursday will release a report concluding that if communities aggressively adopted recycling and composting, they would reduce greenhouse gases by the same amount as closing one fifth of the nation’s coal-burning power plants.

Unlike some of the more costly or painful steps to reduce carbon dioxide, this one is relatively easy, the proponents say. You don’t have to leave the house chilly in the winter or cancel exotic vacations that require air travel. This is simply a matter of redirecting dollars now slated to develop new trash incinerators and landfills. The advocacy groups behind this effort include the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Eco-Cycle, Clean Air-Cool Planet, and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, which, of course, goes by the acronym GAIA.

-- Kenneth R. Weiss