I came across this link that shows detailed facts and statistics about recycling in the United States and the world.

http://www.cpmfg.com/2012/04/11/the-best-recycling-programs-in-the-us-around-the-world-infographic/

First, it shows the recycling rates by country (Switzerland being the best at 52%, compared with 31.5% for the United States). Followed by the top 10 greenest US/Canada cities, with San Francisco leading at 83.8% (compared with New York City at 79.2%).

The next comes the total MSW (municipal solid waste) generation in 2010 (the largest percent being paper at 28.5% of all waste).

Recycling and composting more than 80 millions tons of MSW is the equivalent of saving more than 1.3 x 10^15 BTU of energy or 229 million barrels of oil.

Lastly, it shows top ten recycling colleges in the US, and it is a shame that Lafayette is not on the list. Hope it will someday.