Waste Recycling for Apartments

The new law that went into effect on July 1 in the state of California now requires all apartment buildings, commercial businesses, and institutions to implement recycling programs.

Signed by California Governor Jerry Brown in October of 2011, the law requires all apartment buildings with five units or more to provide recycling services to tenants as well as businesses generating more than four cubic yards of solid waste weekly.

The new law also established a deadline for reducing the amount of solid waste with overall goals of recycling or composting 75% of all waste by the year 2020.

California now joins the state of Florida with establishing the country’s most aggressive recycling, composting, and waste reduction goals.

California has long been a national leader in waste recycling and over the last twenty years has created over 125,000 jobs in this employment sector.

Additionally, California will provide financial incentives for businesses who process and manufacture recycled plastic. California currently collects over 500 million pounds of recyclable plastic containers yearly but much of that has been historically shipped oversees for processing. The new funding will allow for the creation of jobs and reduce the need to transport the waste recyclables outside of the United States.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: While California and Florida may be the leaders in waste recycling, there’s work that all states can do to improve recycling, help to save our environment, and create green jobs!