If somebody told you there was a list online ranking the dirtiest states in America. If your first reaction was 'uh-oh' then you are a true New Jersey resident and you know what's coming.

I knew it as soon as I saw the headline. I just had this sinking feeling that this wasn't going to end very well for us, and guess what? It didn't end very well for us here in the Garden State. It never does in these cases, does it?

Do I even have to tell you the ranking. Do I have to make it official? I will for the record, even though it hurts me to do. In a recent study conducted by BestLife, New Jersey is the dirtiest state in America.

Look, I don't want to start a squabble with other parts of the state here, but don't you think that the Jersey Shore gets the bad end of this deal? Don't you think that other more industrial parts of New Jersey are who they are talking about here?

Just listen to these numbers. They determined in the research that we produce 1.28 tons of new waste per capita each year. I don't know if I qualify as a capita, but are they saying I make that much garbage? I'm insulted.

It says we also bury 29 tons of trash per capita. That is frightening. Our overall score is 86.54 on their Dirty State Index, far surpassing Texas' 82.09, which is a distant second. By the way, the cleanest state is South Dakota with a Dirty State Index of 7.82.

That's not a typo. They are about 80 points lower than we are. We have some work to do here in the Garden State.

Lou Russo Listen Live
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