Even though we should already know what goes in the blue, green, and gray waste and recycling carts, we still have those "oops!" moments. Oops! Plastic grocery bags say they can be recycled — but not in the blue recycling bin. Oops! The dog's poop ended up in the...
Recyclers Turned Las Vegas Trash Into California Cash, Prosecutors Say
With California paying a nickel or a dime for recycled beverage containers, seven men ran an illegal scheme to turn Las Vegas casino trash into cash, prosecutors say. The state Department of Justice announced on Wednesday it had charged seven men with conspiracy, grand theft, and unlawful recycling, including the...
California Should Solve State’s Recycling Problems, Not Cause New Ones
In the iconic movie “The Graduate,” a would-be mentor takes the new college graduate Dustin Hoffman aside and cryptically says, “I want to say just one word to you: plastics. There’s a great future in plastics.” Today we are living that future: trillions of plastic items – single-use bags, straws,...
Will This Be the Year California Tackles Its Waste Crisis?
Even the special interests that helped kill a California Senate bill aimed at reforming beverage bottle recycling say the state needs to fix its broken system. And one lawmaker who voted no on the bill says he might just introduce his own. Authored by Democratic state Sen. Bob Wieckowski of Fremont, the Beverage...
California May Require Beverage Makers to Handle Recycling
SACRAMENTO — Lawmakers are considering upending California's struggling bottle and can recycling program by requiring beverage distributors to create a new system to take back their own containers, similar to one that has been successful in neighboring Oregon. A state Senate committee is set to consider the proposal Wednesday as...
California Fines CVS $3.6 Million for Failing to Recycle
SACRAMENTO — California is fining the nation's largest pharmacy health care provider a record $3.6 million for failing to redeem deposits on bottles and cans at some of its locations, regulators said Monday. The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, better known as CalRecycle, said its investigation found that...
Many Kids Take a Passion for the Planet Back to School
For many kids, heading back to school means more than resuming classes and homework. It means getting back to clubs and student organizations focused on sustainability — everything from composting and recycling to reducing food waste and promoting cleaner oceans and waterways. "There's a lot of passion there, and a...
Tired of Plastic Junk? Recycling Bills Propose Dramatic New Rules
As bills that take aim at plastic waste make their way through California’s legislature, the damage they intend to fix already is rippling through the state’s recycling economy. On Monday, rePlanet, a major collector of beverage bottles and cans, shut its 284 collection centers in California, citing lower subsidies from the...
Tired of Plastic Junk? Recycling Bills Propose Dramatic New Rules
As bills that take aim at plastic waste make their way through California’s legislature, the damage they intend to fix already is rippling through the state’s recycling economy. On Monday, rePlanet, a major collector of beverage bottles and cans, shut its 284 collection centers in California, citing lower subsidies from the...
Walters: Is Reducing Trash a Wasted Effort?
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has long been a poster child for managerial shortcomings among the state’s many agencies. It is, however, not the only example of how state programs fail to complete their designated missions. Another is the ambitious effort to reduce the nearly 80 million tons of trash...