Cash Prizes Planned to Boost Recycling to 70%

Even though 60% of the city's waste is recycled rather than sent to landfills, Los Angeles officials announced plans Thursday to achieve a 70% goal, including a cash rewards program based on spot checks of residential recycling containers.

The cash prizes -- which have not been finalized, but could be about $100 for single-family homes -- will be awarded starting this spring.

The city also plans an experimental program in which 200 of its 10,000 restaurants will recycle food waste, which will be turned into compost and animal feed, and hopes to develop a program to expand recycling to include apartment buildings and businesses.