AB 341 jumpstarts recycling programs (and job creation in the process)

Here are some facts to think about: 

• Every year Americans throw away enough plastic and paper utensils to circle the equator 300 times. 
• In 2010 Americans generated 250 million tons of trash, 85 million tons of which was recycled and composted. 
• The average American recycled and composted just 34% of the trash they create on a daily basis. 
• California has 37.2 million people producing more than 30.4 million tons per year. 
• The commercial sector generates nearly 75% of the solid waste in California.   

With the implementation of the new law, AB 341, California becomes one of the first states in the nation to enact a statewide program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by diverting commercial solid waste from landfills. Commercial solid waste includes waste from commercial buildings as well as multi-family dwellings.

Even in one of the nation’s most progressive states, many cities in California don’t provide a recycling program for multi-family dwellings, leaving the decision to recycle up to the building owners. Unfortunately most building owners frequently decide to simply contract a hauler who will pick up the trash without separating the recyclables from the non-recyclable waste. Although this kind of service is cheaper and easier, it prevents large quantities of recyclable materials from actually being recycled.

After July 1, 2012, AB 341 requires businesses that generates more than four cubic yards of commercial solid waste per week or is a multi-family residential dwelling of five units or more must use a recycling service to manage the collection, handling, and recycling of solid waste. The purpose of the law is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to create new jobs by diverting commercial solid waste to recycling efforts, and to expand the opportunity for additional recycling services and recycling manufacturing facilities in California.
Recycled materials can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions through multiple phases of production including extraction of raw materials, preprocessing and manufacturing. A co-benefit of increased recycling is decreasing the emission of methane gas at landfills from the decomposition of organic materials. Recycling also saves three to five times the energy generated by waste-to-energy plants, even without counting the wasted energy in the burned materials.

Under AB 341, California has to improve it’s goal of diverting 75% of solid waste from landfills by 2020. The recycling rate of 32.5 percent in 2006 saved the carbon emission equivalent of taking 39.4 million cars off the road, and the energy equivalent of 6.8 million households’ annual energy consumption, or 222.1 million barrels of oil.

If you’re a small business or a large-scale industry, there is a recycling service that’s right for you. Once in place, a recycling program can save your company thousands of dollars, help generate green jobs, benefit the economy by supporting recycling centers, and prevent materials from entering our landfills. A recycling program can help not only your business, but also your community.