Rachel Machi Wagoner heads the California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, better known as CalRecycle, so of course her focus is the environment. But what you may not expect is how passionate she has long been to this work, which began at the age of 22.
Read More
Plastic is everywhere—in our packaging, in our parks, in our oceans and even in our bloodstreams. But SB 54, which Gov. Newsom signed into law in June, is aimed at changing that.
Restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels and private households all have food they can’t use, but—with the proper resources—can end up on a hungry family’s table instead of in the garbage.
‘Product stewardship’ is a not a term most of us can quickly define. But it’s getting increasing attention in the waste and recycling world, as…
SB 1383 can see like a big change in behavior that will be difficult to implement. But we have models around the state–particularly the Bay Area–where they are already doing it, for more than two decades.
We are collecting organic waste–most of it uneaten food–in a new way. What happens to it next?
Not all parts of California are the same, of course. There are heavily populated urban centers, rural areas, well-funded cities, small towns that struggle economically….
it is often difficult to make aspirational bills like SB 1383 a reality, especially in cities and counties across the state with varying degrees of resources and populations. Hard numbers give us an idea how the rollout is really going.
Local haulers will bear the biggest responsibility of SB 1383: namely collecting and disposing of organic waste. What are they already doing? what challenges do they face?
SB 1383 sets aspirational goals for California: to divert 75% of organic waste and reclaim 20% more still-edible food by 2025. But challenges remain in making it work.
SB 1383 sets important statewide goals to reduce organic waste–mostly uneaten food–that goes to our landfills and increase the amount of still-edible food to hungry residents. But challenges to making these goals a reality remain.
SB 1383 is designed to reduce a significant contributor to climate change in California: unused food decomposing in landfills. But there are still problems in terms of making this legislation a reality.
There is a famous scene in the 1967 movie “The Graduate.” A middle-aged man tells a young and distracted Dustin Hoffman at a party: “I…
What do unused medications, batteries, cell phones, paint and motor oil have in common? For one, if they are dumped in the wrong place, they…