Now is not the time to end organic waste recycling

OPINION – California’s ambitious program to reduce the amount of methane gas produced by organic waste is a powerful example of how individuals, local governments, and business can work together to protect the planet for our children and grandchildren, all while creating jobs and investment in our communities.

But just as this effort is gaining traction, an unelected state commission is urging legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom to suspend the program because it has not yet reached all of its goals.

That would be a big mistake for the environment and for residents. Pausing the program now, even temporarily, would send a signal that California is not serious about this endeavor. It would also undermine tens of millions of dollars of investments that companies like ours have made throughout the state to build the infrastructure required for success.

Methane gas is produced in landfills when organic matter like food scraps and yard clippings decompose. This greenhouse gas is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a cause of climate change over a 20-year period. Reducing those emissions may be the easiest thing individuals can do to help fight global warming.

Here’s how: all we need to do is put our food scraps in a green waste bin instead of a garbage can. Your local waste hauler will take it from there, delivering it to a composting facility instead of a landfill.

Companies like ours use modern processes to create compost on an industrial scale, where enough heat is generated to eliminate contaminants and make a high-quality compost soil amendment that can be used at farms, public parks and landscaping, or even returned to residents to use in backyard gardens.

And compost isn’t the only thing we can make from your leftovers. Republic Services also partners with local communities to turn some of their organic waste into biogas, which is a cleaner-burning form of renewable energy that can fuel our trucks or make renewable energy.

Calling a timeout for some cities and counties while others continue to follow the rules would create disparities in waste management practices and environmental outcomes across different regions.

We employ about 4,000 Californians and have six composting facilities in the state. We also work with wastewater treatment plants to receive processed commercial food waste, and have plans for two more facilities.

We recently purchased the North State Bioenergy facility in Chico to recycle food waste and other organics collected from across Northern California. There, an anerobic digestion process breaks down the organic material and turns it into biogas. The process is fully circular, because the biogas we produce generates enough electricity to power the facility.

Most of this innovation is happening because California committed to diverting 75 percent of its organic waste from landfills by 2025 and created an even regulatory playing field for companies to meet that goal. It’s absurd to think that we should suspend our efforts because we haven’t fully reached our targets.

Our investments are an example of how California’s programs to fight climate change help spur economic growth. By promoting composting, anaerobic digestion and other organic waste management practices, these regulations support the growth of a green economy. Pausing them could limit the development of these innovative technologies and business opportunities – and the new jobs that come with them.

Calling a timeout for some cities and counties while others continue to follow the rules would create disparities in waste management practices and environmental outcomes across different regions. That would not only undermine the goal of creating a consistent approach to waste diversion throughout the state but would also confuse residents by having different rules everywhere they go

Finally, failing to follow through on the implementation of the organic waste program would create uncertainty that would undermine the credibility of ongoing and future efforts to fight climate change. Whether the goals of this program are met on time or not, the benefit of recycling organic waste is difficult to dispute. If the state can’t remain committed to such an obviously healthy goal, stakeholders will begin to question whether California is serious about other environmental initiatives.

In short, now is not the time to call a halt to our organic waste recycling program. It’s time to go full-speed ahead.

Mike Caprio is Director of Government Affairs in California for Republic Services, overseeing legislative and regulatory activities throughout the state and advocating on matters related to environmental services, climate initiatives, the circular economy and sustainability.