Recycling

Sacramento County is committed to the development of recycling programs as part of providing an integrated waste management system for residents and businesses.

State Recycling Law: The Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB 939) requires each City and County in California to reduce landfilled waste by 50%. Cities and Counties that do not meet this mandate are subject to $10,000 per day fines. As result, each community in Sacramento has developed a number of recycling programs for residents and businesses.

Environment: Recycling helps the environment by reducing air and water pollution, conserving resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing energy use. Recycling programs also helped to create jobs in California in the areas of recycling collection, processing and manufacturing.

Community Participation: Since we all contribute to the waste stream, we should all participate in recycling and composting efforts. It is easy to take part by participating in waste reduction, recycling and composting programs at home and at work.

50% Recycling Goal Achieved

After 13 years of planning, program development and implementation we can now claim victory in meeting State waste diversion mandates. The Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB 939) requires all California cities and counties to divert 50% of landfilled waste by the year 2000.

The attainment of this goal required a serious commitment by the County to develop, implement and maintain recycling programs and by residents and businesses to participate in these efforts. Also, changing from a system that relied on landfilling to one that relies on waste reduction and recovery required a tremendous shift in people’s habits. Recycling has become part of people’s everyday habits at home and work.

The chart below shows the tons of waste disposed and recycled to reach the 50% goal. Year 2000 figures are being used by the State to verify that the County has reached the 50% diversion goal.

Curbside Recycling Report Card

The table below shows the tons of green waste and mixed recyclables collected by County provided curbside recycling programs for single-family and duplex homes for the past four years.

Sacramento County residents deserve a great deal of credit for doing their part to assist in State mandated efforts to reduce landfilled waste by 50%.