Agenda - 12-06-2010 - 7c - Laserfiche WebLink

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, Chapter 3 Solid Waste Planning Update Plannin� This chapter follows the outline in the State plan guidance document. Thus it starts with general planning guidelines followed by description of the work by the Solid Waste Management Department and the Solid Waste Plan Work Group on each plan element and decisions likely in the years to come. Appendix F contains the detailed descriptions of the various planning elements listed element by element with source reduction, composting,recycling etc Orange County has maintained its long-term goal of 61%per capita reduction in solid waste . landfilled but has removed any timetable for achieving that goal. The prior date set for achieving the goal was 2006 and the goal was recently re-affirmed by the Solid Waste Plan Work Group in September 2010.No objection or alternative goal was presented at the Public Meeting on September 29. The County has continued to make progress towards the goal,reaching 50% reduction per capita in 2007-08 and during FY 2008-09 achieved its highest waste reduction rate ever of 54.2%per capita. Data.for 2009-10 is not available.These types of incremental improvements may likely continue as long as the BOCC continues to enable the Solid Waste Management Department operation through its budgetary and policy decisions and the Department retains the operational and fiscal flexibility as well as management capacity to pursue new opportunities as they arise. Historically the people and businesses of the County have responded well to new waste reduction and recycling initiatives or waste disposal restrictions that are presented. At times,the public has led the call for expanded services or new materials recycling. Extrapolating from the data collected sector-by-sector in the 2010 one-week waste composition analysis(see Appendix D), if about 50% of paper, cans and bottles that are now landfilled but are readily recyclable at the curb (or in carts)were actually recycled plus 25% of that recyclable at dropoff sites that is now landfilled were recycled including metal, lumber, electronics and non- bottle plastics and 5%of residential food waste composted,the County could achieve a waste reduction rate in the 57%+range. That is another�6,350 tons shifted from the garbage pail to the recycling bin. See table 3-a next page. Reducing the final few percent to reach the 61%goal would have to be gained primarily through waste reduction, extraordinarily high recycling rates driven by regulation or economic incentives, diversion of large amounts of organic material or opening of markets for an array of materials that have been considered unrecyclable or, practically speaking,non-recoverable. 31