As we wrap up CFEE’s 8th Garbage & Recycling Tour across the U.S. and Canada, here are a few of my biggest takeaways:
- California is policy-rich but infrastructure-poor. Texas, by comparison, has invested heavily in recycling facilities. As a result, much of California’s recyclable material is shipped to Texas for processing.
- We should keep recycling jobs in California. To attract investment, we need a more business-friendly permitting process with transparent, predictable timelines and a true one-stop shop to coordinate and expedite permits.
- Landfills are not the answer. They are expensive to operate, consume valuable land, and represent a permanent loss of resources that could otherwise be recovered and reused. At the same time, improperly discarded lithium-ion batteries and electronics are causing a growing number of fires at transfer stations, recycling facilities, and landfills, creating significant safety and environmental risks.
- The world’s top performers have a plan. Countries like Sweden, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland landfill 1% or less of their municipal solid waste by pairing strong policies with the infrastructure and investment needed to build a true circular economy.
- California needs a comprehensive Circular Economy Plan. We’ve adopted ambitious recycling and waste-reduction goals, but we still lack a clear, coordinated roadmap that aligns policy, permitting, infrastructure, markets, and investment to achieve them.
The good news? California has the innovation, talent, and environmental leadership to become the nation’s leader in circular manufacturing and recycling. Now we need to match our vision with the infrastructure to make it happen.
View additional recycling and environmental tours Fiona has done.
