For every six-pack of beer or soda downed in the Roanoke region, two of the empty aluminum cans get tossed in a recycling bin and the other four wind up in the trash.

That's a simplistic way of looking at the area's recycling rate, which last year was 33.3 percent.

A closer look at the numbers, compiled by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in a report released last week, reveals more of a mixed bag of trash.

The 2008 recycling rates in Roanoke and New River valleys' jurisdictions ranged from 48 percent for Salem to 13 percent for Botetourt County -- a figure that's below the minimum level required by state law.

Localities with higher populations and lower unemployment rates are required to recycle at least 25 percent of their waste. Other localities, including Botetourt County, must meet a 15 percent minimum.

Botetourt and Caroline counties were the only two jurisdictions to fall short of their goal last year, according to the DEQ report.

As part of a corrective plan required by the state, Botetourt County added a collection site, beefed up recycling in the school system and waged a public awareness campaign, said Ron Smith, public works manager for the county.

The county has since improved from a rate of 11 percent in 2007 to 13 percent last year. "We feel like we're moving toward being in compliance, but we'd like to do more," Smith said.

Although state law allows a penalty of up to $32,500 a day for underperforming localities, "we've never had to go there," said Steve Coe, who heads the DEQ's recycling program. The goal, he said, is to work with a locality to improve its recycling rate.

Generally, the rates are higher in urban localities, where it's easier for governments to offer curbside pickup of old newspapers, aluminum cans and plastic and glass containers. Rural areas typically depend on residents to drop off their recyclables at collection spots.

Last year's regional rate of 33 percent has remained fairly steady over recent years. The state average of 38.5 percent was a six-point improvement from 2005.

Nationally, the recycling rate was 33.4 percent in 2007; the Environmental Protection Agency has set a goal of 35 percent by next year.

"Virginians are committed to conserving natural resources, and recycling offers each citizen an opportunity to make a difference," DEQ Director David Paylor said. "Our localities continue to provide their citizens with accessible recycling options, and as a result, Virginia's recycling rate is strong."

But as the economy continues to limp along, recycling efforts have suffered.

The city of Roanoke has been shipping its recyclables to a Christiansburg facility since April, when Cycle Systems, which had been handling the program, pulled out because of poor economic conditions.

A Portsmouth-based facility is expected to take over the job next year at a location in Roanoke, reducing the hauling costs considerably. With the new vendor, city residents will be able to recycle their green and brown glass again.

Although Roanoke's recycling rate of 45 percent last year was one of the region's highest, more can be done, said Skip Decker, solid waste manager for the city.

"Right now, today, I have 11 trucks picking up trash in Southwest," the city's most recycling-friendly quadrant, Decker said Thursday. "I have six trucks picking up recyclables. It should be reversed."

In the future, Decker hopes the city can make things easier for residents by allowing them to dump all of their recyclables in the green trash cans that are emptied weekly. Currently, the program requires that paper products be put out one week for collection, and glass, plastic and aluminum the following week.

That's a luxury Roanoke County residents can only hope for.

With 250 square miles to cover, curbside collection is not cost-effective in the county, said Nancy Duval, solid waste manager. The county experimented with curbside collection a few years ago, but reverted to the current system in which residents are encouraged to use six recycling drop-off locations.

Even if costs were not an issue, Duval said, it might not make sense to have a trash truck chug to the top of Bent Mountain to collect a relatively small amount of newspapers and cans.

"We're talking about reducing our carbon footprint, but we're putting extra trucks on the road," Duval said. "So at some point there has to be a trade-off."

With a recycling rate of 26 percent last year, the county is close to the 25 percent minimum required of larger localities. "I don't think it's a real concern," Duval said. "I think our recycling tonnage will begin to increase over the next few years."

In Salem, most motorists pass not far from one of the three collection points in a city that is only 14 square miles. The city has no curbside collection, but achieved its 48 percent rate in part by focusing on commercial and industrial recycling, said Jim Fender, director of solid waste management.

About 50 percent of Salem's waste stream comes from businesses and industries, and the recycling they do counts toward the city's rate.

While some localities cite the high cost of curbside collection, that's not a concern for Roanoke. The city spends $725,000 -- almost $8 a resident -- on a program that produced $144,000 in annual revenue for recycled goods before the market tanked. With its current arrangement, the city makes no money.

"Recycling was never meant to make money," Decker said. "But it's the environmentally correct thing to do."