California leads the way for recycling

According to CalRecycle, California is one of the leaders of recycling and green jobs in the nation. Rubber Bark™ is a small piece of that great recycling pie. As all you buzzers may know from the blog, Rubber Bark™ has worked with CalRecycle on many projects, and is always their to offer its services when CalRecycle's TDP (tire-derived product grants) come around. We are happy to read, from the November 15th press release below, that CalRecycle, and California in general, is leading the charge to greener living.

SACRAMENTO--As it joins the country in commemorating America Recycles Day 2011, California continues to be a national leader in recycling and waste reduction. Last year the state diverted 64 percent of its waste from entering landfills, nearly double the most recent United States national average, calculated in 2008 at just under 34 percent.

The recycling industry has emerged as a major component of California’s economy, supporting more than 140,000 green jobs. CalRecycle data suggests that recycling our waste creates twice as many jobs as when we dump it in the landfill. The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), which stewards the state’s efforts to recycle materials into new products, applauds the commitment by Californians to protect the environment and preserve natural resources.

“We have boosted our waste diversion rate from just 10 percent back in 1989 to an estimated 64 percent today, and greatly reduced the amount of trash the average person throws away on a daily basis,” CalRecycle Director Caroll Mortensen said. “Through innovative statewide policies, the commitment of local government, a broad-based recycling economy and the enthusiasm of our residents, California embraces America Recycles Day 365 days a year.”

California kept 60 million tons of potential waste out of landfills in 2010 to achieve the equivalent of a 64 percent diversion rate. By comparison, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculates the most recent national recycling rate at 33.8 percent. Californians are leading the recycling charge across a variety of materials:

• As a nation we recycle 58 percent of our aluminum cans, but in California 94 percent of aluminum cans are recycled.
• Nationally, 28.2 percent of the waste in landfills is paper and cardboard. In California, paper and cardboard make up 17.3 percent of landfill material. CalRecycle is working to increase the recycling of many types of organic matter, including paper, food scraps and green waste.
• Since 2005, California has recycled more than 1 billion pounds of obsolete televisions and computer monitors, more than any other state.

Among the initiatives CalRecycle oversees are targets for cities and counties to divert waste from landfills, and programs to encourage the recycling of beverage containers, electronics, used oil, and waste tires.

In a letter commemorating America Recycles Day, Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr., urges all Californians to seek out new opportunities to recycle. “We can all pledge to do our part to reduce what we use, reuse what we can and recycle whenever possible,” the governor said in his letter.

Last month, Governor Brown signed legislation that expands on California’s already impressive recycling efforts. Assembly Bill 341 (Chesbro, D-Arcata) sets a statewide goal of recycling 75 percent of solid waste by 2020 and charges CalRecycle with development by 2014 of a blueprint to reach that goal.

An important aspect of AB 341 that will help move California toward the 75 percent goal is the establishment of mandatory recycling for businesses and multi-family residential units that generate at least four cubic yards of waste each week. The commercial sector generates about three-fourths of California’s solid waste, underscoring the tremendous potential for greater recycling and reuse through AB 341.

Recycling is good for the environment, too. Each year recycling saves enough energy to power 1.4 million California homes, reduces water pollution by 27,000 tons, and cuts air pollution by 165,000 tons – just one way recycling contributes to our state’s efforts to combat climate change.