ALISO VIEJO : New Program Spurs Increase in Recycling
The first month of a new recycling program achieved a huge reduction in the amount of trash that must be taken to county landfills, officials said this week.
Automated recycling pickup that started in October resulted in 32% of the community’s waste being recycled--a dramatic increase from 4% the previous month.
“What this says is that successful recycling can be accomplished,” said Dan Batty, recycling manager for Solag Disposal Inc., which serves Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. “It can be done, and it’s to the advantage of every homeowner to do this.”
Previously, about 4,500 homes in Aliso Viejo relied on a three-bin system which required residents to sort their own recyclables. Starting in October, about 6,600 residences were served by trucks that picked up a single bin of mixed recyclable materials.
For example, residents can recycle of four times as many different types of plastics. Formerly limited to recycling newspapers, residents can now set out cardboard, junk mail and many other kinds of paper.
Of 1.1 million pounds of waste collected in October, officials said, about 350,000 pounds were recycled.
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