By Andrea Stephenson

This is the year when cities and municipalities throughout California are supposed to meet the 50% diversion rate mandated by Assembly Bill 939. Although some cities have already met this laudable goal, many others are still scrambling to find ways to meet this 50% requirement within the next few months. Many cities found it difficult to quantify any kind of baseline data concerning their wastestream and were stymied in their quest to find ways to reduce the amount of solid waste going to their landfills. It has certainly proven to be a daunting task for all concerned.

We at Waste Management have worked hard to create strong partnerships with all the municipalities with which we do business, and this synergy has led to impressive, positive results. By working closely with those local municipal decision-making individuals who have their constituents’ best interests in mind, and by offering the range of depth of experience that comes from being the nation’s largest waste management organization, we’ve helped cities and communities throughout California meet or even exceed the diversion standards mandated by AB 939.

A good example of how Waste Management has succeeded in maintaining a local focus is the overwhelmingly positive response in the State of California to a program we call "939 Plus!"

As its name implies, 939 Plus! is designed to help cities not only meet the requirements mandated by the state but also exceed them. Our local staffs work closely with each jurisdiction’s staff and elected officials, the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and the UCLA Extension to increase diversion rates through a number of means:

• Implement an aggressive Waste Reduction and Recycling Technical Assistance Audit Program and related collection services targeted at businesses that have the greatest potential for immediate waste reduction and recycling. We recognize that, as a rule, 20% of a city’s businesses generate 80% of its waste, so targeting key businesses can yield quick and dramatic results.
• Develop a new Waste Generation Study to more accurately quantify the jurisdiction’s current level of waste generation and current diversion rate and to utilize the new study to develop targeted diversion programs.
• Conduct special Waste Reduction and Recycling Workshops for businesses and professional organizations and develop local and regional waste reduction and recycling resource guidelines.
• Implement a special fee incentive program to encourage construction and demolition contractors to source separate their recyclable materials and develop regional resource guide materials for the construction industry.
• Complete annual reports and/or revise Source Reduction and Recycling Elements on behalf of the jurisdictions for submission to the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
• Whenever appropriate, work cooperatively with the jurisdiction and with the California Integrated Waste Management Board to develop, test, and implement innovative diversion programs that will enhance the existing infrastructure to increase waste reduction and recycling.

So far the 939 Plus! program has resulted in excellent diversion rate increases in California cities, including Santa Ana (from 33% to 54%), Lake Forest (25% to 67%), and Carson (from single digits to more than 50%).

But our focus has gone beyond just individual cities. Often, working with individual companies within cities has led to marked wastestream improvements. For example, one of our single most effective waste reduction and recycling audits was conducted at a large computer manufacturing facility in southern California. With the implementation of a simple waste segregation program and through working with a local recycler, the company’s 225 tons per month of mixed trash was turned into a large recyclable wastestream (83%) and a small wastestream (17%). The result was a monetary savings of almost $30,000 per month for the business.

Waste Management will continue to lead the industry in the development and implementation of new and even more effective environmental management strategies in the decades ahead. At the same time, we want to encourage all of our municipal partners to assume even greater responsibility and ownership of the waste management activities within their own communities. Only through strong, cooperative ventures between city and waste hauler, alliances that promote synergy and open communication, can our mutual constituents - residential and commercial customers - get the level of service and environmental protection they deserve.

Andrea Stephenson is director of municipal marketing with Waste Management in San Rafael, CA.

MSW
September/October, 2000