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Waste not, want not list: San Francisco ranks as ‘least wasteful’ U.S. city

By | April 16, 2010, 1:49 PM PDT

Nalgene, which makes its money off selling reusable containers of all sorts, like water bottles, has published a list of America’s 25 most and least wasteful cities.

San Francisco, the city by the bay, represents the “least” end of the spectrum, due to the tendency of its citizens to use its public transportation, conserve water and make use of recycling and waste management programs.

Houston winds up at No. 25, for pretty much the opposite types of behavior.

The top five cities were:

  • San Francisco, Calif.
  • Seattle, Wash.
  • New York, N.Y.
  • Portland, Ore.
  • Boston, Mass.

The bottom five were:

  • Indianapolis, Ind.
  • Tampa, Fla.
  • Atlanta, Ga.
  • Cleveland, Ohio
  • Houston, Texas

The ranking was based on a survey of 3,750 urban Americans living in the 25 biggest metros in the United States.

The executive summary notes that three out of four of those surveyed would give the national overall a “C” (that’s average, folks) when it comes to environmental responsibility and action. While those surveyed are using public transportation less (bad!), more of them are more actively participating in recycling programs, looking for more energy-efficient options such as light bulbs, and leaving their car at home whenever possible.

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Heather Clancy

About Heather Clancy

Heather Clancy is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

Heather Clancy

Heather Clancy

Contributing Editor

Heather Clancy has written for United Press International, ZDNet, Entrepreneur, Fortune Small Business, the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times. She holds a degree from McGill University. She is based in New Jersey.

Follow her on Twitter.

Heather Clancy

Heather Clancy

I am fascinated about how businesses of all sizes can transform their operations through technology -- not just to make themselves more efficient, but to rise above their competitors. That's the theme for my two ZDNet blogs, Small Business Matters and Next-Gen Partner. For SmartPlanet, I'm focused on profiling inspirational and controversial business leaders who have great leadership lessons to share. I also write regularly and passionately about corporate social responsibility and sustainability issues for GreenBiz.com.

Occasionally, I will pop up at an industry conference in some sort of speaking capacity. In cases where an engagement involves a sponsor that may be covered in this blog, that fact will be disclosed in coverage as appropriate.

My corporate writing work usually consists of crafting research white papers about some aspect of technology or moderating Webcasts. In the event that my commentary (in written, audio or video form) mentions a company for which I have provided consulting advice, I will disclose that fact. However, there is no connection between these projects and topics that I cover in my blogs.

She writes for SmartPlanet and is not an employee of CBS.

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