Each Hoosier generates about one ton of municipal solid waste a year. How that waste is managed depends on the efforts of each individual. Indiana has adopted a policy that encourages the diversion of waste from disposal.
Recycling is one way to divert waste from disposal.
Approximately 98 percent of Indiana's residents have recycling services available to them within a reasonable distance, as illustrated in the map. In 1996, Indiana's waste diversion was 23 percent. At the end of 1997, Indiana had 37 operating municipal solid waste landfills, compared to 72 in 1991. An estimated 400 landfills and dumps have been closed across Indiana. Many of these sites were operated and closed prior to regulatory requirements and now may pose potential risk to groundwater and surface water.