California Reduced Trash To Record Low In 2012

SAN DIEGO (AP)— Californians reduced the amount of trash sent to landfills to a record low last year.

State recycling officials tell U-T San Diego that state residents and businesses together discarded an average of 4.3 pounds of garbage per day.

That's down from 4.4 pounds in 2011.

By comparison, CalRecycle Spokesman Mark Oldfield says the state used to dump 8 pounds a day in 1989, the year the state's Integrated Waste Management Act went into effect.

In part, curbside recycling programs and less consumption are being credited with the decline.

But the collapse of the housing bubble in 2007 also meant less construction and less waste produced as a result.

Officials say organic waste, like food scraps and lawn trimmings, make up most of the state's waste.

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