Caesarea leads Hof Hacarmel in recycling

The affluent community was followed by Atlit, whose residents recycled 53,690 containers last year.

By NOGA MARTIN (TRANSLATED)
Caesarea is the top recycling community in the Hof Hacarmel Regional Council, recycling 61,358 containers over the course of 2007, according to a report published by the council and quoted in www.local.co.il. The affluent community was followed by Atlit, whose residents recycled 53,690 containers last year. All told, Hof Hacarmel residents recycled 285,172 bottles - weighing a total of 38.7 tons, or 246.8 cubic meters' worth. Glass was recycled more than plastic (138,311 bottles compared to 70,434) and cans (76,427). According to the report, the kibbutz that recycled the most was Beit Oren (41,515 containers), followed by Nir Etzion (21,360 containers) and Ma'agen Michael (19, 110 containers.) Among the council's moshavim, Moshav Ofer took first place in recycling, with 16,358 containers. Second among the moshavim was Bat Shlomo, with 7,500 containers. Moshav Tzrufa reportedly recycled no containers over the course of 2007. On average, Hof Hacarmel residents recycled 14 containers per person. Hof Hacarmel Regional Council head Carmel Sela said that despite the "natural" difficulty in adjusting to new habits, "recycling containers has become a part of our outlook. It has a positive effect on caring for the environment, as well as on economic distress and unemployment." Yossi Gabbai, a trash collector for the regional council, said there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of empty containers discarded at leisure spots, parks and at the roadside. Moshe Elzera, director of the council's municipal wing, says that one of the toughest environmental problems facing the Western world is the amount of trash it produces. According to recent figures, every citizen produces 1.8 kilograms of trash a day, which takes up some 5.4 liters of space. The amount of trash and the space it takes up increases at a rate of five percent a year as the standard of living rises, while room to bury it is running out.