About 3,500 grocers in California recycled nearly 2.3 billion pounds of materials in 2006, an increase of 100 million pounds over 2005's figures.

The results of a survey by the California Grocers Association (CGA) shows that many of its members were able to recycle or compost more than half of their waste.

Dave Heylen, vice president of communications for CGA, said there's no oe reason for the increase in amount recycled, but said its possibly due to greater awareness as well as companies setting up more-extensive recycling programs.

Members of the CGA, a non-profit food industry trade association, recycled 55.7 million pounds of plastic, including plastic bags and foam.

The greatest amount of material recycled was paper and cardboard, totaling 1.2 billion pounds. The least-recycled material was wax-coated cardboard boxes, at 10.8 million pounds. About 298 million pounds of wood pallets and scrap wood was also recycled.

Stores sent 640 million pounds of waste such as produce trimmings and unsellable produce and bakery items to be composted. They also sent 84 million pounds of rendered products like fat and bone to be turned into animal feed, supplements and other products.

Results of the survey were based on responses from 1,763 CGA stores, about 54 percent of the group's membership in the state, and extrapolated to estimate the recycling total for all California CGA stores. The CGA represents more than 6,000 grocery stores in California and Nevada as well as about 200 grocery supplier companies.