On National Recycling Day, California shows more can be done with state's waste
SACRAMENTO — It's National Recycling Day and state leaders are not wasting any opportunities to look ahead at what we are all leaving behind.
Sareeta Raddy is hopeful about helping Mother Earth with a statewide push to eliminate greenhouse gases through the food and yard waste recycling program.
"Putting that banana peel or pizza box in the green waste bin instead of the garbage bin is huge," said Rachel Wagoner, the director of CalRecycle.
Wagoner said it's important because we recycle only 40% of what we dispose of every year.
"Organic waste breaking down in the landfills creates methane, which is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide," she said. "So we are looking to achieve in the next few years a 75% reduction in the amount of that food waste and other organic waste going into landfills."
Wagoner said it will be like removing three million cars off the road. It will be paid for with $800 million from 15 new pieces of legislation signed into law last fall by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
"It's everything from enhancements to composting and co-digestion for our organics program, to grants to innovate in the area of bottle and can collection and recycling, to new loans for innovation in manufacturing and reprocessing," Wagoner said.
Included in the plans is a packaging recycling program, the first of its kind in the nation, and plans to promote recycling and remanufacturing plants here in California that would require industries to make their packaging recyclable by 2032 and then recycle them here at home.
In essence, we would mine our trash instead of our planet for new materials.
"It's really an opportunity to transition back into the economy," Wagoner said.
For more info, visit CalRecycle where you can find out more about what you can recycle and where to go to do it.