The nearly 20 year history of the California Bottle Bill has demonstrated that the combination of consumer recycling incentives and a convenient recycling infrastructure will result in greater recycling.

Since 1988, Californians have recycled more than 10 million tons of aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers. No other recycling program or policy in this state has resulted in higher recycling levels, and no program of its kind in the country has been found to be more cost effective.

Press Release: California Has Record-High Recycling Rates>>

It may seem like a trivial thing, but those "free" plastic bags we get at the grocers, department stores and restaurants are actually contributing to a world wide pandemic of plastics waste. Only 1-4% of the 14 billion plastic grocery and merchandise bags used annually in the State of California are recycled. That means that over 400 bags per second are discarded in California--destined either for the landfill or our marine environment. Learn more about what you can do to help stop one of the most pressing litter threats our ecosystems face.

Update: Plastic Bag Litter Abatement Bill Heads to Senate>>

The world's oceans are being filled with materials that take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose and the problem will only grow worse if action is not taken.

60-80% of marine debris overall and up to 90% of floating debris is plastic. Furthermore, 80% of marine debris is estimated to be land-sourced, mostly from urban runoff, like the trash pictured here in the L.A. River. This marine debris rides ocean currents that can take it across the globe, as evidenced by the beach debris on remote Pacific Atolls. As plastic is broken down by the sun it joins the great mass of plastic particles in our oceans that in at least one area of the Pacific outweighs plankton by a factor of 47!

This marine debris presents a danger to marine wildlife. This incredible mass of plastic has grave implications for marine wildlife, including filter feeders such as whales. According to the CCC, more than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish have died annually in the north pacific from ingesting or becoming entangled in marine debris.

Greenhouse Gas: Meaningful Emission Reduction through Waste Prevention and Recycling

To help prevent the public health and environmental threats posed by Global Warming, California has committed to an aggressive series of green house gas (GHG) emission reduction goals. Every sector of the state will be called upon to reduce their GHG emissions, including the waste management sector.

Track what the waste sector is working on to reduce GHG emissions in our Climate Change Blog.