Los Angeles needs to do more to create a more efficient, safer and better managed recycling service for commercial and apartment buildings. While great progress has been made, particularly over the past year, the current pace of progress is not fast enough to ensure that we will reach the Zero Waste goals we’ve set for our City by 2030. Despite our efforts and despite ever improving recycling rates, we’re still sending over 3.5 million tons of trash to landfills and incinerators every year, and a full 70 percent of that comes from commercial and multifamily properties. The City collects all trash from single family homes.We need to franchise recycling collection for commercial and multi-family units in the City to ensure that all Angelenos have the opportunity to recycle, that the trucks and work conditions used to process the recycling are safe, that rates are uniform and fair, and that we cut down on the amount of recyclable refuse that ends up in our landfills. Today’s report by Don’t Waste L.A., a coalition of 30 organizations, outlines these and other recommendations. I support the spirit of these efforts and as the Chair of Public Works, I will be looking to work on these recommendations, with the help of my colleagues and the Bureau of Sanitation, in the coming months. Los Angeles should lead the way on this issue and we will.
