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Kirk Sullivan, of Waste Management, dumps glass bottles into the recycle bin Friday afternoon at the Pine Creek Center in Grass Valley.
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Local Opinion Candidates
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Garbage gone green
By Laura Brown, laurab@theunion.com
» More from Laura Brown
8:13 p.m. PT Mar 28, 2008
Last year, residents, businesses and those in the construction trades recycled 60 percent of all the county’s combined garbage, a new report shows.
In less then a decade, Nevada County has attracted a favorable gaze from California officials, reversing prior risks of fines for failure to meet state recycling requirements. The county has surpassed both the state’s recommended diversion rate of 50 percent of all materials heading to landfills and the state average of 54 percent diversion.
It’s a victory for county sanitation staff, who climbed from a woefully low 22 percent recycling rate in 2001.
“Nevada County is one of the leaders,” said Jamie Cameron-Harley, information officer from the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
The 2007 Waste Generation Study, by R3 Consulting Group Inc. of Sacramento, found the county diverted 59 percent — or 51,000 tons — of recyclable material from its waste stream in 2007. That is up from 52 percent the county diverted in 2006.
Easier curbside recycling has caused residents to recycle double what they did a few years ago, said Steve Porter, the county’s solid waste manager.
While recycling bottles and cans is considered important, it only represents 3 percent of recycled material in the county, said Tracey Harper, recycling coordinator for the county.
Manufacturing businesses also are recycling more, finding it means a boost to their bottom line, Harper said.
A number of programs, including workshops to teach worm and manure composting, also have helped the county achieve its goal.
Stricter recycling laws coming
But not all that is recycled stays out of a landfill.
A construction and demolition center opened in June 2006 at the transfer station on McCourtney Road, and it took 4,334 tons of debris last year. The state waste board provides significant diversion credits for the material.
“I think that pushed us over the top,” Porter said.
The recycled construction waste is ground up, then transported to the Ostrom Landfill in Yuba County. There, it is used as “alternative daily cover” to keep rats, flies and seagulls out of the mountain of trash.
State officials are looking for a better use for the material.
“That’s a big issue we are discussing,” Cameron-Harley said.
For now, the county lacks an industry that prospers from recycling construction waste, but Harper views an opportunity.
“We’re ripe for a salvage mindset in this county,” Harper said.
“We need a market to develop,” Porter agreed.
In coming years, air quality and environmental concerns are expected to accelerate the tightening of disposal laws in the state.
“The air laws are getting much stricter, and that’s going to drive a lot of things including how we deal with waste,” said Cameron-Harley.
The county has visions for recycling more, including offering weekly curbside pick-up and 64-gallon wheeled cans for residents. Recycling could become state law in future years, Cameron-Harley added.
“Now that we have momentum, we want to keep going. We’re not going to let our foot off the gas. We’re going to keep encouraging people to recycle more,” Porter said.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
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