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Reflections on the 38th Annual Earth Day

By Gary Bales

Some 35 years ago, not long into my tenure as a member of the governing board of the Monterey (California) Regional Waste Management District, a group of us met at Toro Park to help observe an early Earth Day.

I didn’t know quite what to expect. But from a colorful booth at the park we passed out some brochures about protecting the environment and chatted with those who had come out for the day.

Who would have guessed that Earth Day, begun in 1970, would become the largest public gathering around the United States and a rallying point for public consciousness about the environment? It helped to focus attention on the need to conserve, an Earth Day theme that continues today.

In those days, many people assumed that we had an unlimited supply of natural resources. In the decades following World War II, we had become a “throw away” society. There was little discussion about global warming or climate change. And although the notion of recycling was around, it was not embedded in public action, and opportunities were limited.

Much has improved since then through the day-to-day actions of people and because of policies adopted at the local, state, and national levels. The solid waste industry has also changed from one that was disposal-oriented to one that is now diversion-driven. The amount of material that we recycle continues to increase.

A significant reason is landmark California legislation enacted in 1989, known as the Integrated Waste Management Act. This law, AB939, required jurisdictions to meet diversion goals of 25% by 1995 and 50% by 2000. That percentage is likely to increase in the not-too-distant future, perhaps to a 75% diversion goal. The state has even adopted the goal of zero waste with the tag line “You Make It Happen!”

That first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, gave our district a theme that has grown stronger over the years: “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” This priority has conserved landfill capacity as we have worked to be environmentally sensitive and cost-effective.

Our board reflects the approximately 175,000 people the district serves with representatives from the cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Sand City, and Seaside, as well as Monterey County and the Pebble Beach Community Services District. Together, we work for a regional solution to solid waste issues.

It is encouraging that the list of products and packaging that can be recycled is steadily increasing. However, the variety of materials in the wastestream is growing day by day.

California law now prohibits the trash disposal of such electronic waste as televisions and computers, along with household batteries and fluorescent light bulbs. In 1987, the district opened a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility, where these items—along with leftover paint, pesticides, and used motor oil—are collected from district residents, free of charge, six days a week.

Although we maintain a 100-year site life at the Monterey Peninsula Landfill, we are planning for a future when more materials can be recycled, salvaged, and diverted from disposal.

At this year’s Good Old Days celebration in Pacific Grove, sustainability was a strong theme. A new organization, Trees for P.G., joined forces with the City of Pacific Grove, the local chamber of commerce, and the nonprofit Sustainable P.G. to make Good Old Days a carbon-neutral event. Free trees were handed out for residents to take home and plant, and the city is seeing that hundreds of trees are planted to offset the carbon-dioxide impact for hosting the event.

The creativity behind the Pacific Grove effort reflects another theme that came out of the first Earth Day: “Think globally; act locally.” Local residents were doing just that with cleanup events and Earth Day observances throughout Monterey County.

The Monterey Peninsula has a long history of creative approaches to thinking globally and acting locally. The first drop-off recycling bins were placed in several local cities in 1975, and the tonnage of material collected has only increased over the years. In 1982, one of the first curbside recycling programs in the nation was launched in the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea. At the Monterey Peninsula Landfill, we created a public-private partnership in 1983 to capture methane gas and generate electricity. Today, the district is self-sufficient in generating all its own renewable energy and distributing enough surplus electricity back to the grid to power 4,000 homes.

Although Earth Day is formally observed just once a year, its message is something we should respect every day. One of the lessons from the first Earth Day held true on the 38th observance of this annual celebration of our planet: When it comes to conserving resources, individual actions do make a difference.

Gary Bales has been a director of the Monterey Regional Waste Management District since 1969.

MSW - September/October 2007