Indiana says high garbage just trash-talk

GARY, Ind., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- State officials in Indiana said national figures claiming Hoosiers produce more garbage than any other state amount to trash talk.

The Gary (Ind.) Post-Tribune cited numerous national studies that said each resident of Indiana produces 2.1 tons of trash per year based on landfill intake statistics. That's the highest per-capita rate in the United States but the newspaper said some state officials believe it's flawed as Indiana also imports significant amounts of garbage from elsewhere.

The state's busiest and biggest landfill is in northwestern Newton County, which imports garbage from Illinois -- the second-highest waste-producing state, the newspaper said.