Nearly 30 million tons of garbage went to California landfills in 2011. That's about 4.4 pounds of garbage per person, per day.
"It was the lowest amount since we began tracking back in 1989."
Mark Oldfield is with CalRecycle - the state agency that released the
numbers.
The rate is a modest improvement over 2010 and it's down about
two-pounds from the peak of 6.3 pounds per resident per day in
2005.
Oldfield attributes the decline to California's aggressive
recycling goals…
"The other factor, of course, is the economic downturn has
had an effect on the amount of material going into the
landfills."
…primarily building waste materials - since construction has
decreased during the recession.
Oldfield says Californians are recycling 65% of their waste.
The target under a bill signed into law last fall is 75% by
2020.
"We're not there with this number but with the increases
in the infrastructure that we're looking forward to having in the
state as well as a concerted effort by the citizens who continue to
reduce waste we think we'll get there."