State Announces Nine Sierra Nevada Cities, Counties Exceeded Garbage-Cutting Mandate

SACRAMENTO—The California Integrated Waste Management Board—the state's primary recycling agency—announced today that the unincorporated portions of Alpine, Amador, and Nevada Counties, and the cities of Amador City, Ione, Jackson, Plymouth, Sutter Creek, and Grass Valley have exceeded the state requirement to reduce the amount of garbage in landfills by 25 percent, and have helped the state keep 100 million tons of waste out of landfills since 1990.

The Waste Board today formally determined the 1995 and 1996 recycling rates for the nine jurisdictions (see table). In addition, the Board also determined that Alpine and Amador counties, and the cities of Grass Valley, Ione, Plymouth, and Sutter Creek have already exceeded the year-2000 goal of cutting trash in landfills by 50 percent.

"California is leading the nation today with a 32 percent recycling rate and our success is due in large part to the recycling efforts of communities like these we recognize today," said Waste Board Chairman Daniel G. Pennington. "It is with sincere gratitude that we thank these Sierra Nevada cities and counties for their efforts to help California reach its first recycling milestone, not to mention their contributions in helping the state keep 100 million tons of waste out of landfills since 1990."

The 1995 and 2000 recycling requirements were established in 1989 with the passage of the Integrated Waste Management Act. Cities and counties are required to implement diversion programs to meet these requirements. Since the Act was implemented in 1990, state residents have recycled at an average rate of 1 ton every three seconds, equaling the 100 million tons of waste kept out of landfills—enough to fill 84 pyramids the size of the Great Pyramid at Giza.

Today's announcement came as part of a Board Biennial Review of jurisdictions' implementation of recycling and other waste diversion programs and their recycling rates. Since May, when the reviews began, the Board has determined the 1995 and 1996 recycling rates for 247 cities and counties. Of those, 53 have already met or surpassed the 50 percent recycling mark for 2000. The Board expects to complete the reviews of nearly all 531 cities and counties statewide by early 1999.

The Waste Board is required to conduct its review once every two years as an evaluation of a jurisdiction's progress in implementing programs it had previously outlined to the Board. Because the annual recycling figures do not have to be reported until August of the following year, the Board's staff was unable to begin examining the combined 1995 and 1996 data until last fall.

Once the Biennial Review is complete, the Board either finds the city or county in compliance, or puts it on a compliance schedule to assist it in meeting the goal. Failure to meet the compliance schedule can mean the city or county could face fines of up to $10,000 per day.

Many of the communities lauded to date have found that a combination of waste prevention, recycling, and composting programs are the most effective means of reducing the amount of garbage going to landfills. Some of the waste diversion programs include purchasing recycled-content products; drop-off and buy-back centers and curbside programs for recyclables collection; and regional composting programs and community education events on how to compost yard wastes.

In addition, many cities and counties have implemented waste reduction programs in the schools, as well as provided teaching materials and curricula to K–12 teachers. Waste audits for businesses, and brochures, public service announcements, and newsletters have also become popular methods of educating residents about waste reduction techniques and the importance of conserving landfill space and natural resources.

The six-member Integrated Waste Management Board is responsible for protecting the public's health and safety and the environment through management of the 52.5 million tons of solid waste generated in California each year. The Board's mandate is to work in partnership with local government, industry, and the public to achieve a 50 percent reduction in waste disposed by the year 2000, while ensuring environmentally safe landfill disposal capacity. Currently, California's diversion rate is at an all-time high of 32 percent, exceeding the national average.

The Waste Board is one of six boards and departments within the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA).

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