Clayton, MO's impressive history as a leader in the environmental movement started with its residential recycling program approximately 15 years ago. A citizen advisory group, the Ecology and Environmental Awareness Committee, was established in 1997 to provide recommendations about support and development of ecologically sound programs and practices within Clayton’s municipal government and the Clayton community. Clayton was one of the first St. Louis County municipalities to implement single-stream recycling and now sets a standard by recycling 30% of its total refuse collection compared to an average of 14% for cities nationwide.