May 15 - Governor’s May Revise Budget Proposes Expanded Funding for Composting and Recycling Infrastructure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Nick Lapis, Legislative Coordinator, 916-443-5422
Plan Also Includes New ‘Healthy Soils’ Initiative to Support Sustainable Agriculture
SACRAMENTO – California’s leading recycling advocacy organization, Californians Against Waste, today praised the increased funding allocated to reducing greenhouse gases through diverting organic waste from landfills, increasing manufacturing using recycled materials, and building healthy soils in the May Revise Budget Proposal released by the Governor’s Office.
“To meet our climate and recycling goals, we need to take the millions of tons of materials we continue to throw away and return it to the economy as manufacturing inputs, or sources of clean energy and inputs for sustainable agriculture,” said Nick Lapis, Legislative Coordinator of Californians Against Waste. “This investment is a down payment on the infrastructure that will be necessary to make that transition.”
Governor Jerry Brown’s May Revise Budget Proposal increases to $60 million the funding in California’s Cap and Trade Expenditure Plan for waste diversion, which includes financial incentives for capital investments to build out the state’s composting and anaerobic digestion infrastructure and expand recycled content manufacturing. This builds on the $25 million allocated for these programs last year, which proved to be not only the most over-subscribed programs funded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, but also resulted in the most cost-effective reductions.
In addition, the Cap and Trade Expenditure Plan allocated $20 million for a new program to support the Healthy Soils Initiative, which will support demonstration projects that increase the ability of soil to sequester carbon, retain water, increase crop yields and decrease sediment erosion through on-farm practices, including the application of compost.
Californians Against Waste supports increases in this funding to help build the infrastructure necessary to transition the waste sector from a major source of climate pollution to a source of greenhouse gas reductions, as well as protect soil as a foundation for healthy landscapes, the economy and food production.
Recycling, composting and using organic waste to generate renewable electricity and fuels are proven, cost-effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These industries also have a demonstrated track record of putting Californians to work, producing twice the environmental benefits when compared to disposal of the same materials. Diverting materials from landfills—while expanding domestic end uses for the recovered materials— helps achieve multiple state policy objectives.
Californians Against Waste is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving resources, preventing pollution and protecting the environment through the development, promotion and implementation of waste reduction and recycling policies and programs.