Placer Waste Management Tour

We toured the Western Placer Waste Management Authority located at 3013 Fiddyment Road, Roseville, CA 95747.  

In Placer county, we are use to throwing everything into one big garbage bin.  Once the garbage arrives at the Waste Management site it is sorted multiple times first by machines and then by human hands.  They try to remove everything that can be recycled, or composted from the waste stream.  They are currently doing a good job of it!  However, they will soon get even better.  In early 2025, current renovations should be completed and a brand new MRF ( Material Recovery Facility) should be up and running.  At that time, they expect to be able to divert 70% of the material thrown into the garbage bin from ending up in the landfill.

Biggest Take Away:
Many items that say that they can be recycled, really never are.
Plastics, for instance, have a triange with a number inside.  The number indicates what type of plastic it is.  At the WPWMA, the only plastics which get recycled are the #1, #2 and some of the #5
the rest end up in the landfill.  

Maybe the most important thing to do is to look carefully at what you purchase
and ask yourself these questions:
1.  Do I really need it?
2.  Will it have multiple uses or will I use it one time and then throw it out?
3.  When I do throw it out, where will it end up? Will it be recycled or end up in the landfill?
4,  If it will end up in the landfill, can I buy an alternate product that can be recycled?

Try not to buy things that you know will end up in the landfill.