Seattle Among Least Wasteful Cities

We're number four on the list, behind San Francisco, New York, and Portland. SF and NYC we can see, because the data says that density equals more efficient use of resources, but Portland...come on.

Portland is less wasteful like Okies were thrifty--they don't have stuff to waste in the first place. Half the town bicycles to their bartending job and then sleeps it off in a Quonset hut.

Still, we'll take it. We're in the top 16 percent, so what's the point of quibbling? That would be a waste of time, which we're not about to do in case it lowers our score.

Nalgene, for reasons of their own, does this annual survey of 25 large U.S. cities to determine who's wasting stuff and who's not. They survey 150 people from each city, and ask questions:

gauging behavior on waste, sustainability efforts, shopping habits, transportation and reusing items. The results were weighted to give more credit to behaviors that had immediate and significant impact on the planet (such as driving less, recycling more and reducing trash) to small habits that are more indicative of a mindset and non-wasteful approach to life (reusing containers, limiting shower time or saving wrapping paper and ribbons.)