Recycling Trash

Garbage is much on the minds of local officials in San Diego County these days. The SANDER project recently came to an abrupt end in San Diego, and in San Marcos a proposed trash-to-energy plant will go before the voters in a special referendum Sept. 15.

At the same time, the city and the county, looking at ways to reduce the amount of garbage that must be buried in landfills, are finally getting serious about residential and industrial recycling.

The county Board of Supervisors last week instructed Chief Administrative Officer Norman Hickey to develop a five-year recycling plan with the goal of reducing by 30% the amount of solid waste that is put in county landfills. A task force will be named to study recycling for two months and make recommendations to the supervisors on how best to reach that goal.

At San Diego City Hall, a council committee has approved a proposal to develop a five-year plan to reach a citywide recycling rate of 25%. The full City Council is scheduled to consider the matter on Sept. 7 and later in the month will hear specific suggestions from the administration about achieving that.

The cities of Del Mar, Encinitas and Oceanside already have or have approved recycling programs, and a private, nonprofit company collects recyclable material in Solana Beach. But countywide, only 2% to 5% of the solid waste generated is being recycled today.

With the city’s Miramar landfill expected to be exhausted by 1994 and the county’s five landfills predicted to last only until the late 1990s, it is high time that this area takes on some of the recycling habits that have already taken hold in other states and in other parts of California.

Some supervisors believe that for a recycling program to be successful, it may have to be mandatory. Local governments around the country have opted mainly for voluntary programs supported by heavy public relations and educational efforts. That is probably a better route to go here--making recycling seem like the right thing to do, rather than an obligation--although it is comforting to hear the supervisors taking recycling that seriously.

For most families, recycling would begin by separating out glass, aluminum cans and newspapers from other trash and placing them in special containers that probably will be provided. It’s a pretty painless way for those who live here to participate in solving an expensive and increasingly complicated problem.

When it comes time for the Board of Supervisors and the City Council to make their final decisions on recycling, they should move aggressively and ambitiously. With all the talk that comes out of San Diego County about growth and protecting the environment, those of us who do live here should be more than happy to help make this effort work.