Long Island produces about 2.4 million tons of solid waste in a year and recycles about 654,000 tons of it, which works out to a rate of 27.1 percent, according to the most recent data provided by cities and towns. That rate can vary by town. For example, tiny Shelter Island reports recycling 73.4 percent of its solid waste, while the city of Long Beach reports recycling 11.2 percent.
The towns and cities have to report waste and recycling data to the state, and the data in these charts and tables come from the most recent reports, for 2015, except for Babylon, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Shelter Island. Those four places last filed reports for 2014 and we used that data here. Obviously towns with larger populations, such as Hempstead or Babylon, will have larger overall numbers than smaller towns. This data, compiled by Newsday reporter Ann Choi, was posted on March 22, 2017. Source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Tons of recycled and unrecycled waste
Tons of recycled and unrecycled waste in the big towns
And tons of recycled and unrecycled waste in the smaller towns
Because they have smaller populations they produce less waste overall. (Note the different scale from the chart above.)
How much recycling per person
Another way to gauge recycling is to look at the number of pounds of solid waste that are recycled per resident. Here are the figures for Long Island towns (Fishers Island reports separately from Southold Town).
Here are the statistics from the four most recent sets of reports from the cities and towns to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
| 2015 | Recyclable recovered (tons) | Waste Streams (tons) | Total | Recycled rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Brookhaven | 78,184.82 | 171,786.35 | 249,971.17 | 31.3% |
| East Hampton | 7,370.93 | 16,771.15 | 24,142.08 | 30.5% |
| Fisher Island | 201.40 | 396.00 | 597.40 | 33.7% |
| Glen Cove | 5,952.05 | 14,794.83 | 20,746.88 | 28.7% |
| Hempstead | 104,861.00 | 528,561.00 | 633,422.00 | 16.6% |
| Huntington | 25,068.20 | 106,522.00 | 131,590.20 | 19.1% |
| Islip | 57,480.00 | 239,667.00 | 297,147.00 | 19.3% |
| Long Beach | 2,449.63 | 19,407.27 | 21,856.90 | 11.2% |
| North Hempstead | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Oyster Bay | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Riverhead | 4,753 | 15,097 | 19,849.17 | 23.9% |
| Shelter Island | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Smithtown | 43,892.24 | 105,448.67 | 149,340.91 | 29.4% |
| Southampton | 3,978.66 | 5,883.90 | 9,862.56 | 40.3% |
| Southold | 13,948.00 | 11,825.00 | 25,773.00 | 54.1% |
| 2014 | Recyclable recovered (tons) | Waste Streams (tons) | Total | Recycled rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon | 196,670.00 | 236,788.00 | 433,458.00 | 45.4% |
| Brookhaven | 115,109.61 | 173,500.70 | 288,610.31 | 39.9% |
| East Hampton | 7,803.48 | NA | NA | NA |
| Fisher Island | 315.00 | 385.00 | 700.00 | 45.0% |
| Glen Cove | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Hempstead | 97,988.00 | 401,679.00 | 499,667.00 | 19.6% |
| Huntington | 36,793.00 | 109,443.00 | 146,236.00 | 25.2% |
| Islip | 57,972.00 | 226,125.00 | 284,097.00 | 20.4% |
| Long Beach | 2,065.69 | 24,302.88 | 26,368.57 | 7.8% |
| North Hempstead | 46,562.01 | 166,756.00 | 213,318.01 | 21.8% |
| Oyster Bay | 58,640.01 | 116,441.50 | 175,081.51 | 33.5% |
| Riverhead | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Shelter Island | 4,438.64 | 1,605.15 | 6,043.79 | 73.4% |
| Smithtown | 39445.3 | 106265.28 | 145,710.58 | 27.1% |
| Southampton | 4,121.17 | 6,953.51 | 11,074.68 | 37.2% |
| Southold | 14,510.00 | 19,037.00 | 33,547.00 | 43.3% |
| 2013 | Recyclable recovered (tons) | Waste Streams (tons) | Total | Recycled rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon | 71,274.00 | 237,207.00 | 308,481.00 | 23.1% |
| Brookhaven | 88,271.82 | 172,484.88 | 260,756.70 | 33.9% |
| East Hampton | 9,104.13 | NA | NA | NA |
| Fisher Island | 347.00 | 353.00 | 700.00 | 49.6% |
| Glen Cove | 4,627.43 | 15,191.69 | 19,819.12 | 23.3% |
| Hempstead | 125,908.00 | 461,025.00 | 586,933.00 | 21.5% |
| Huntington | 35,966.00 | 111,841.00 | 147,807.00 | 24.3% |
| Islip | 51,378.00 | 227,185.00 | 278,563.00 | 18.4% |
| Long Beach | 16,824.22 | 24,816.69 | 41,640.91 | 40.4% |
| North Hempstead | 63,820.55 | 188,240.80 | 252,061.35 | 25.3% |
| Oyster Bay | 59,184.15 | 114,809.60 | 173,993.75 | 34.0% |
| Riverhead | 3711.39 | 16032 | 19,743.39 | 18.8% |
| Shelter Island | 4566.08 | 1,792.97 | 6,316.27 | 72.3% |
| Smithtown | 34,977.66 | 105,693.27 | 140,670.93 | 24.9% |
| Southampton | NA | NA | NA | |
| Southold | 14,463.00 | 18,950.00 | 33,413.00 | 43.3% |
| 2009 | Recyclable recovered (tons) | Waste Streams (tons) | Total | Recycled rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon | 42,109 | 237,587.00 | 279,696.00 | 15.1% |
| Brookhaven | 85,730 | 201,820.00 | 287,550.00 | 29.8% |
| East Hampton | 7,760 | 21,822.00 | 29,582.00 | 26.2% |
| Fisher Island | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Glen Cove | 11,408 | 51,775.00 | 63,183.00 | 18.1% |
| Hempstead | 159,816 | 544,540.00 | 704,356.00 | 22.7% |
| Huntington | 40,351 | 110,841.00 | 151,192.00 | 26.7% |
| Islip | 71,757 | 172,383.00 | 244,140.00 | 29.4% |
| Long Beach | 3,064 | 20,758.00 | 23,822.00 | 12.9% |
| North Hempstead | 35,964 | 135,769.00 | 171,733.00 | 20.9% |
| Oyster Bay | 20,085 | 142,531.00 | 162,616.00 | 12.4% |
| Riverhead | 1,835 | 16,987.00 | 18,822.00 | 9.7% |
| Shelter Island | 1,693 | 995.00 | 2,688.00 | 63.0% |
| Smithtown | 34,064 | 107,727.00 | 141,791.00 | 24.0% |
| Southampton | 30,255 | 5,441.00 | 35,696.00 | 84.8% |
| Southold | 12,199 | 9,979.00 | 22,178.00 | 55.0% |
The charts above were made via amCharts.com.