Beginning July 1, 2012, Governor Brown’s recently signed legislation AB 341 will take effect, requiring both businesses that generate more than four yards per week of solid waste and multi-family complexes with five units or more to have a recycling program in place.
“While California leads the nation in solid waste diversion, businesses and property owners are being encouraged to be more proactive in doing their part to increase those diversion rates,” said Charissa McAfee, director of community affairs and public relations of Waste Management. “Increasing recycling means more material will be kept away from local landfills as we help to conserve Earth’s natural resources.”
The company is working with municipalities throughout southern California on programs to support commercial customers and multi-family complexes in meeting the AB 341 requirements.
Tips to Maximize Your Success: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Whether you have an existing recycling program or are starting from scratch, here are some quick and easy tips from Waste Management to help property owners and their tenants make California greener:
- Appoint a recycling champion: Identify someone in your office building, apartment or condominium complex who will take ownership of the AB 341 process and coordinate participation.
- Recycle: Place a desk side recycling container (an empty copier paper carton will suffice) at every desk. Collect paper, bottles, cans, and cardboard/paperboard from all your employees or tenants. Recycle old printer cartridges using mail back containers from the supplier. Collect batteries, compact fluorescent bulbs and tubes, along with e-waste for convenient recycling by mail (www.thinkgreenfromhome.com).
- Reduce: Decrease the amount of paper to help lower your monthly trash bill. Think before printing a document. Email information instead of using a hard copy. By reducing the amount of material going into your trash bins and increasing the level of recycling, you will have immediate impact on your monthly trash rate.
- Reuse: Encourage employees and tenants to reuse. Use paper already printed on one side for notes or printing drafts on the other. Bring your lunch to work in reusable containers. Drink coffee out of a mug or bring a travel mug with you to the coffee shop.
- Compost: Organics comprise nearly one-third of the materials found in the trash. Starting a food scraps program helps eliminate food from the trash and contributes to the creation of compost helping to conserve natural resources.