SACRAMENTO – (INT) - Californians sent more material to landfills last year than in 2014. The disposal increase was accompanied by a drop in the statewide recycling rate.

The new figures mean that Californians disposed, on average, 4.7 pounds per person per day. That is an increase from 4.5 pounds per person per day, according to CalRecycle. The disposal rate is now the highest since 2008.

About 40 percent of the increased disposal was organic material, such as food waste and grasses. This material readily decomposes and generates greenhouse gases such as methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

If the additional 2 million tons of material that went to landfills in 2015 had instead been recycled or composted, greenhouse gas emissions would have been reduced by about 2 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent.

Disposal rates generally increase during economic upturns, and California’s statewide diversion rate of 63 percent (the proportion of waste that is diverted from landfills) continues to outpace the 50 percent diversion mandate set in law for local jurisdictions.

Story Date: August 29, 2016