Recycling Update: Running Out of County Landfill

The County Civil Grand Jury has kindly provided the Voice with its latest press release on the growing challenge of dealing with all of the plastic and organic recycling waste we generate every day.  Here's a synopsis of the complete report found here

San Mateo County and its 20 cities face huge challenges in managing their recycling programs and waste disposal needs, according to a new report issued by the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury, Planning for the County’s Waste Management Challenges.  The biggest challenge is meeting the state’s new 75 percent organic waste reduction target. New facilities, and programs such as edible food rescue, will be needed to process nearly 300,000 tons per year of organic waste from San Mateo County alone.  Organics make up about 71 percent of all waste landfilled by this county and reducing this will require major new or expanded organics diversion programs and facilities.

Another new problem is that foreign buyers of recyclables often reject loads with mixed material types.  The county’s largest waste manager, Rethink Waste, informed the Grand Jury that it now landfills all plastic Types #3-#7 collected through its recycling programs.

That's news - when you think you are "recycling" certain plastics, they are really just going in the landfill.  And to top it all off

Limited space at Ox Mountain landfill near Half Moon Bay is also a concern. Population growth and a booming economy have increased the annual tonnage disposed by 20 percent since 2012. Without an increase in recycling, Ox Mountain is expected to reach capacity in 2034. A new or expanded landfill could easily take 10 to 15 years to secure required approvals and permits.

If that strikes you as a more immediate and climate-impacting challenge that politicians can actually do something about right here where we live (as opposed to say sea-level rise in 50 years), then you are on the right track.  But does the Grand Jury report have any teeth?  And if so, who's going to get bit?

Comments

[Edible Food Rescue]

Edible food rescue? Sounds like it was written by someone who is accustomed to Prior Beer Rescue as a means of slaking their thirst, mate.

[HMB]

So I guess my neighbors who don't recycle and just dump everything in the trash are on to something ... SIGH

[Peter Garrison]

In Singapore they have trash detectives who go through people’s trash and fine them if the trash is not recycled properly.

[Joe]

Whoops. Looks like it's time for someone who can do basic math and has political clout to try and blend those two attributes together. From the SacBee:

When rePlanet closed its doors at its remaining 284 California locations earlier this month, alarm bells went up among recycling advocates.

The recycling chain cited a reduction in state subsidies, reduced prices for aluminum and plastic and rising operating costs as the reason for shutting its doors.

In California, one of the biggest areas that cost is affecting is the state’s can and bottle redemption program. The state is losing more of those centers than it is gaining.

When the beverage container recycling law went into effect, 60 percent of all containers were aluminum cans, Murray said, “and aluminum cans cover their own way.”

But over the last three decades, beverage companies have gradually shifted to plastic containers — Murray said more than half, 54 percent, of containers are plastic now — and plastic scrap is worth only about half the cost of what it takes to recycle it.

As a result, “the recycling sector loses $300 a ton,” Murray said. For one thing, Californians have adopted the “dirty, single-stream approach” to recycling, with everything going into one blue bin. Often, that includes “residual” material, such as food or other un-recyclable matter, Bourque said.

That effort is encouraged by retailers, who Bourque said spread the mantra of “Everything is recyclable.”

“Those two things combined have really created a quality crisis,” Bourque said.
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Just click through for the rest of it, but don't hold your breath that it will get fixed without it cost you more.

Link

[Joe]

Whoops. Looks like it's time for someone who can do basic math and has political clout to try and blend those two attributes together. From the SacBee:

When rePlanet closed its doors at its remaining 284 California locations earlier this month, alarm bells went up among recycling advocates. The recycling chain cited a reduction in state subsidies, reduced prices for aluminum and plastic and rising operating costs as the reason for shutting its doors.

In California, one of the biggest areas that cost is affecting is the state’s can and bottle redemption program. The state is losing more of those centers than it is gaining. When the beverage container recycling law went into effect, 60 percent of all containers were aluminum cans, Murray said, “and aluminum cans cover their own way.” But over the last three decades, beverage companies have gradually shifted to plastic containers — Murray said more than half, 54 percent, of containers are plastic now — and plastic scrap is worth only about half the cost of what it takes to recycle it. As a result, “the recycling sector loses $300 a ton,” Murray said.

For one thing, Californians have adopted the “dirty, single-stream approach” to recycling, with everything going into one blue bin. Often, that includes “residual” material, such as food or other un-recyclable matter, Bourque said. That effort is encouraged by retailers, who Bourque said spread the mantra of “Everything is recyclable.” “Those two things combined have really created a quality crisis,” Bourque said.

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Just click through for the rest of it, but don't hold your breath that it will get fixed without it cost you more. Link

[Anna]

Interesting...