| Organic Recycling |
 Currently, an estimated 35 million tons of waste are disposed in California’s landfills annually, of which 32 percent is organic materials.Waste materials that are organic in nature, such as plant material, food scraps, and paper products, can be recycled using biological composting and digestion processes to decompose the organic matter. The resulting organic material is then recycled as mulch or compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. The intention of biological processing in waste management is to control and accelerate the natural process of decomposition of organic matter. There are a large variety of composting and digestion methods and technologies that vary in complexity. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from solid waste management have been identified as a source of global climate change. Methane is produced from anaerobic decomposition of organic materials in landfills, which are the source of the majority of man-made methane emissions in California. In accordance with the goals of both the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) and the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, California is committed to reducing organics in the waste stream by 50 percent by the year 2020. Achieving this goal will require diverting waste from landfills at a rate of 15 to 18 million tons per year and increasing compost production and markets. |
