I get this question a lot on searches done within my site. I decided to look into it and answer it here. What city recycles the most? It looks like it is San Francisco, California. One study conducted by Nalgene, a company that produces green containers, did a study to answer this very question. They questioned almost 4,000 people about their practice and behaviors concerning waste, sustainability, shopping, transportation, etc. The results were weighted to reflect those behaviors that had a more immediate impact on our environment such as driving habits, recycling, etc. Other habits or thoughts that were more of a mindset were weighted less but still important. The surveys were given to 125 people each from the 25 largest cities in the nation. There were 23 questions on wasteful or non-wasteful behaviors.
Below is the actual statement that Nalgene made regarding which city is the least wasteful:
"San Francisco ranked as the least wasteful city in the study for the second year in a row. San Francisco residents ranked the highest in the categories of recycling, using public transportation, using rain barrels, limiting car trips for commutes that are less than one mile from home, using recloseable bags and tinfoil, and participating in their city’s sustainability programs.
More than half (57%) of the city’s residents would give themselves either an “A” or “B” grade for their personal commitment to the environment. In addition, 43% of residents admitted that they felt “extremely concerned about the environment.”
One interesting side note is that Houston, Texas was found to be the most wasteful city.Popsci.com set out to answer what city is the most green and in their study they found that Portland, Oregon was the greenest and San Francisco came in just behind.
Men's Health did their own survey and placed San Francisco down around 3oth but the sample was very small and not scientific enough to actually find that it is reliable.
I am going to agree with the Nalgene study and then put the Popsci study into the mix and declare that San Francisco is the city that recycles the most.
