CA Integrated Waste Management Board Numbers

California diverted 48% of its waste stream from landfills in 2002, according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board. A total of 34 million tons (31 million tonnes) of solid waste were diverted last year, a fourfold increase since 1990, when the Integrated Waste Management Act took effect in the state. This law requires every local jurisdiction to divert 50% of its waste from landfills beginning in the year 2000, according to an article in the April 2003 Building Industry Professionals for Environmental Responsibility online newsletter (www.biperusa.biz). More than 60% of municipalities have met or exceeded that goal, with diversion rates as high as 91% (town of Blue Lake, population 1,160). Los Angeles, with a population of 3.8 million, diverted 60% of its waste and has established a goal of 70% by 2020.