I remember the first time I became keenly aware of how progressive Sioux Falls was in the recycling realm. I was visiting my family in Denver and we were having sodas. After emptying the can, I asked my sister where their recycling "thingy" was. She responded by saying that I should just throw it out, because they didn't recycle.

They had no recycling program in their suburb. Are you kidding me? Colorado, a state supposedly well known for being environmentally aware and active, had no comprehensive recycling program in their largest city! I was floored. I told my family that not only did we recycle, it was mandated, not a personal choice.

They simply shrugged and said, "What do you expect? This is Colorado. Bad economy, no money for anything. Recycling? Forget that!". So much for my thinking that Colorado was a shining example of the "Go Green" movement.

Apparently, not a lot has changed in Colorado in 2018. According to WalletHub, a personal finance which crunches numbers on all sorts of topics, currently ranks Colorado 21st on the list of "Greenest States in the Country". However, South Dakota is number 5 thanks to our truly forward-looking cities and counties with dynamic recycling efforts. Can it be expensive? Yes. But truly important? Absolutely!

South Dakota got really high marks for air and soil quality, renewable energy consumption, and climate change contributions. In other words our carbon footprint is a light one, which is good news for us and for the generations behind us. Way to go, South Dakota!

You can see the whole report at WalletHub.

Source: WalletHub


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