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<br />27 <br />Orange County/Report/Final Report <br />Section 4 <br />Findings <br />Table 4-1 presents the overall percentage of recyclable material in the MSW disposed of by each <br />generator sector compared to previous WCS data. Below are some overall trends in the recyclable <br />composition of the County’s MSW. <br /> As previously discussed, recyclable paper has decreased significantly. This could be due to <br />both the success of the County’s recycling program and the overall, diminished use of <br />recyclable paper products, such as newspaper, magazines, and telephone books. However, <br />compounding this may be the types of paper considered recyclable in 1995 versus today. <br /> While total plastics have increased in the waste stream, plastic bottles in MSW appear to <br />have remained relatively constant. It is difficult to draw any conclusions about this because <br />of several trends in the plastics industry, which include the increased use of plastic containers <br />to displace other materials and the light weighting of some plastic containers. <br /> Recyclable metals and glass bottles in the MSW stream have decreased in all generator <br />sectors, which may be attributed to recycling, light-weighting, or diminished use of these <br />materials. <br /> Overall, there has been a significant decrease in recyclables present in the MSW stream. As <br />recyclables percentage has decreased, the percentage of waste that is potentially <br />compostable has increased, especially food waste. Implementing programs to divert this <br />food waste is the greatest single opportunity for waste diversion. <br />Table 4-1 Recyclable Components of MSW: 1995 to 2017 <br />Material Components 1995 2000 2005 2010 2017 <br />Recyclable Paper <br />Commercial 22.9% 22.1% 18.1% 12.6% 12.2% <br />Single Family Residential 17.6% 26.3% 21.0% 12.9% 11.1% <br />Multi-Family Residential 20.8% 27.4% 21.1% 11.4% 14.3% <br />Plastic Bottles <br />Commercial 2.2% 3.4% 3.4% 3.2% 3.2% <br />Single Family Residential 2.6% 2.9% 2.4% 2.2% 2.4% <br />Multi-Family Residential 2.6% 4.3% 3.1% 2.9% 3.2% <br />Metals - Cans and Foil <br />Commercial 2.3% 3.3% 3.3% 2.4% 1.7% <br />Single Family Residential 3.5% 3.7% 2.8% 2.4% 1.9% <br />Multi-Family Residential 3.6% 4.1% 2.5% 2.8% 2.3% <br />Glass Bottles and Jars <br />Commercial 4.0% 3.8% 3.5% 3.4% 2.2% <br />Single Family Residential 5.8% 4.3% 4.3% 3.4% 2.5% <br />Multi-Family Residential 5.8% 6.9% 8.2% 6.7% 4.9% <br />Total Recyclables <br />Commercial 31.4% 32.6% 28.3% 21.6% 19.3% <br />Single Family Residential 29.5% 37.2% 30.5% 20.9% 17.9% <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 00C54720-9DC0-4A3D-ABED-77E0FD28E0CD