State officials announced Thursday that California has finally achieved its goal of reducing landfill waste by 50%, thanks to diligent recycling by residents and businesses.
The milestone culminates a 16-year campaign by the state to persuade people to separate recyclables out of the trash.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday September 03, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 58 words Type of Material: Correction
Recycled trash: A story in the Aug. 25 California section on the state reaching its goal to recycle half of its trash incorrectly stated that a 1989 state law mandated that at least 50% of all recyclable trash be diverted from landfills. The law calls for 50% of all trash, not just recyclables, to be diverted from landfills.
The state passed a landmark law in 1989 mandating that communities establish waste-management plans for residents and businesses that would ultimately divert at least 50% of all recyclable trash from landfills. California was supposed to reach the goal in 2000, but preliminary data released Thursday show that the goal wasn't reached until last year.
A total of 88 million tons of solid waste was recycled in 2005 for a 52% recycling rate, said Jon Myers, a spokesman for the state's Integrated Waste Management Board. In 2004, 76 million tons were recycled, or 48%.
Though some cities still lag behind, other communities that are now diverting 60% or more of their waste to recycling centers made up the difference.
Myers said the recycling push has achieved one of the intended effects: No new landfills have opened in California in a decade.
"I'm really proud of everyone," said Scott Von Lanken, a Thousand Oaks resident who on Thursday was doing his part for recycling.
He and his daughter placed special recyclable bedding for their hamster cage into the recycling bin set aside for composting.
Thousand Oaks was one of the cities that exceeded the 50% standard, and Von Lanken said he was pleasantly surprised.
"I was really shocked that that much stuff is going to recycle. I can't believe it," he said.
The recycling effort got off to a slow start, in part because it focused largely on recycling household waste. But officials said the effort picked up as more businesses agreed -- or were required -- to recycle.
At least 20% of the state's garbage comes from construction and demolition projects, and cities and counties are increasingly requiring builders to recycle their materials.
In Pasadena, which achieved a 62% rate in 2005, such an ordinance helped push the city over the top, said Ursula Schmidt, Pasadena's recycling program coordinator.
The law requires nearly all projects of 1,000 square feet or more to recycle, salvage or reuse at least 50% of the waste material they generate.
The city provides builders and demolition crews with a list of places that will take their old concrete, wood and lumber. Old doors and window frames can be donated to Habitat for Humanity, Schmidt said.
