Climate Action Plan - Measure SW-1.1
Solid Waste Diversion
The County aims to achieve 80% solid waste diversion rate by 2030. Currently, construction and demolition waste and organic materials including food scraps and yard trimmings make up almost 70% of unincorporated county waste going to landfill. The County aims to divert more of these types of materials from landfill by implementing the County’s Strategic Plan to Reduce Waste.
- 2030 Target: Achieve 80% solid waste diversion in the unincorporated county
Where are we going?
Since the State passed Assembly
Bill (AB) 939, California’s Integrated Waste Management Act, the County has
implemented numerous recycling and organics collection and diversion programs
and policies to increase the unincorporated county’s waste diversion rate. As a
result, the County’s diversion rate increased from 48% in 1995 to 60% in 2017,
just below the statewide rate of 62%.
The Department of Public Works
(DPW) is implementing the Strategic Plan to Reduce Waste to reduce the
need for new landfills, lower greenhouse gas emissions from waste decomposition
and the transportation of waste to landfills, and conserve energy. Aligning
with State requirements, the County aims to increase the waste diversion rate
to 75% by 2025, and 80% waste diversion by 2030.
The Strategic Plan to Reduce Waste contains over 15 individual programs
and initiatives focused on waste prevention, reuse, repair, recycling,
composting, and more. Targeted materials for diversion include traditional
recyclables, yard trimmings, food scraps, compostable paper, and construction
and demolition debris.
The County plans to achieve the 80% waste
diversion target by updating franchise hauler agreements related to the
collection of construction and demolition debris and amending County land use
and zoning regulations to allow more organics collection and processing within
the unincorporated county. Additional efforts include supporting food waste
prevention, expanding food donation programs, standardizing commercial and
residential waste collection services, and expanding technical and household
hazardous waste recycling services.
How is this measured?
Since
1990, the County estimates its annual diversion rate using methodology
established by the state. Currently, waste in the unincorporated areas includes
34% construction and demolition debris, 34% organics, and 23% recyclables as the
three major sources of waste, most of which is recoverable. By diverting more
recyclables, organic materials including food scraps, and construction and
demolition debris, the County plans to reach the diversion rate of 80% by 2030.
Greenhouse gas emissions occur when organic materials decompose in an anaerobic
environment producing methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than
carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gas emissions are calculated based on the total
amount of waste landfilled and the percent of organic content within the
landfilled waste. Reducing the amount of organic material within landfills
leads to a reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions from this sector.
Why is this important?
Achieving 80% waste diversion will
benefit unincorporated county residents and businesses by improving and simplifying
recycling services, decreasing the costs of disposal by providing more materials
recovery opportunities, increasing access to household hazardous waste services,
increasing recycling and donation events, and expanding the life of existing
landfills. Diverting materials from landfill overall decreases greenhouse gas and
transportation emissions, disposal fees, and pollution that results from
landfill operations.
Composting organic waste avoids methane
production and results in valuable soil amendments such as compost and mulch.
When applied to local farms, compost and mulch helps build healthy soil that is
better equipped to take carbon from the atmosphere into the soil through
sequestration. Increasing organics collection and processing within the
unincorporated county will also provide new business opportunities, spur local
compost markets, and return important nutrients and moisture back to the soil
naturally within a closed loop system.
Unincorporated Area Landfill Waste Composition
Source: Strategic Plan to Reduce Waste
Zero Waste Framework
Source: Strategic Plan to Reduce Waste