The City of Davis announced that the City鈥檚 Recycling Program received the prestigious Outstanding Zero Waste or Recycling Program Award from the California Resource Recovery Association. This award is given annually to a business, government agency or community-based organization that has excelled in implementing comprehensive programs and services to reduce, reuse, recycle or compost resources that would otherwise have been wasted. 鈥淭his award is especially meaningful for the City of Davis because this year the City is celebrating 50 years of having a curbside recycling program,鈥� says Mayor Josh Chapman. 鈥淭he City received this same award 30 years ago for the program鈥檚 20-year anniversary, so to receive this again as we recognize 50 years of recycling is very special.鈥�
Recycling first started in Davis in 1970 with a newspaper recycling drop-off program but began a curbside collection program four years later. Davis has received the award not only for carrying on a comprehensive recycling program for 50 years, but for being a regional leader in recycling and waste reduction programs, particularly with regard to the new statewide waste-diversion regulations under SB 1383. This extensive set of State rules aims to keep organic wastes such as paper, cardboard, food scraps and yard materials out of landfills. When organic wastes decompose in landfills, it generates methane gas, a greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Since landfills generate 20% of the State鈥檚 methane emissions, keeping organic wastes out of landfills can have a positive impact on climate change.
鈥淲e鈥檝e all read the headlines about recycling not being a good environmental solution or that recyclables are being burned or tossed in the trash,鈥� said Jennifer Gilbert, the City鈥檚 conservation coordinator. 鈥淲hile that may be true in other locations with certain types of recyclables, that鈥檚 certainly not the case in Davis and is definitely not happening with organic wastes.鈥�
鈥淎s the world has moved to being more paperless with electronic media and documents rather than paper, paper mills have very limited supply and cannot always produce recycled-content paper,鈥� said Gilbert. 鈥淪ince Recology Davis collects paper separately from other recyclables, the paper stays clean and is highly desired by paper mills. Cardboard also has a good strong market.鈥�
Other organic wastes, such as food scraps, yard trimmings, paper towels and other food-soiled papers are composted locally at the Yolo County Central Landfill. The landfill has several composting facilities onsite that take in all the organic waste from Davis and turns it into nutrient-rich compost. This compost is then sold to local farmers to grow more food, completing the cycle. Not only has Davis had a long-running recycling program, but it鈥檚 also extremely effective too. As required by State law, the City is required to complete annual surveys of trash, recycling and organic waste bins throughout the City, to see how effective the City鈥檚 waste diversion programs are running and where targeted outreach might be needed.
The most recent survey was completed in May, when the contents of Recology Davis waste bins just before they were emptied. Of the 1,094 waste bins that were surveyed, 81% had sorted waste correctly. Residential waste bins were more likely to have waste sorted correctly (86%) than commercial and multi-family waste bins (75%). The survey showed that recycling and organic waste bins across the City had low levels of contamination, but trash bins were more likely to have items inside that shouldn鈥檛 be there (usually recyclable paper, cardboard and food-soiled compostable paper). Plastic bags were the most commonly found contaminate in the recycling and organic waste bins.
Gilbert added, 鈥淥verall, this data tells us that folks who are taking the time to sort their waste are doing a fantastic job. We wouldn鈥檛 have a successful program without our residents鈥� diligence in taking the time to sort their recyclables.鈥�