About CalRecycle

The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) is the State department designated to oversee, manage, and track California's 92 million tons of waste generated each year. CalRecycle promotes a sustainable environment where these resources are not wasted but can be reused or recycled in partnership with all California. In addition to many innovative programs and incentives, CalRecycle promotes the use of new technologies for the practice of diverting California's resources away from landfills.

CalRecycle was created on January 1, 2010 as a result of legislation signed by the Governor on July 28, 2009, [Chapter 21, Statutes of 2009 (Strickland, SB 63)]. This legislation abolished the California Integrated Waste Management Board and transferred its duties, programs, and staff to the new Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery under the Natural Resources Agency. The legislation also moved the Division of Recycling from the Department of Conservation to CalRecycle, along with its responsibilities related to beverage container recycling.

Major pieces of legislation implemented by CalRecycle include:

• The Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939, 1989)
• The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (AB 2020, 1986)
• The California Oil Recycling Enhancement Act
• The California Tire Recycling Act (1989)
• The Electronic Waste Recycling Act (SB 20, 2002)

California passed its landmark solid waste management law: the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB 939) when California was throwing away 90 percent of its waste and recycling only 10 percent of its trash. The act mandated that California's 450 jurisdictions--cities, counties and regional waste management compacts--implement waste management programs aimed at ambitious marks: a 25 percent diversion rate by 1995 and a 50 percent diversion rate by 2000. In 2005, California diverted 52 percent of its waste stream, a phenomenal national achievement surpassing all others.

The Beverage Container Recycling Program, enacted through Assembly Bill 2020 in September of 1986, has helped move beverage-container recycling into the mainstream. Research conducted by the Department of Conservation showed that 90 percent of Californians had recycled beverage containers at some point and that many do so on a regular basis. But the program that gave birth to the Division of Recycling has done more than keep nearly 200 billion containers out of landfills and off the side of the road. It has in part prompted the private sector to produce recycling trucks, balers and material manufacturing facilities, plus to develop uses for the recycled material. The Chicago Board of Trade even has an electronic recycling commodity exchange system.

CalRecycle provides grants and loans to help California cities, counties, businesses, and organizations meet the State's waste reduction, reuse, and recycling goals. It also provides funds to clean up solid waste disposal sites and codisposal sites (those accepting both hazardous waste substances and nonhazardous waste). These funds are available where the responsible party cannot be identified or is unable or unwilling to pay for a timely remediation and where cleanup is needed to protect public health and safety or the environment.

CalRecycle also develops and promotes alternatives to the illegal disposal of used oil; develops technical standards and permit requirements for waste tire facilities; promotes reuse and recycling of electronic devices, and encourages purchasing of environmentally preferable devices.

Implementing all these programs requires the commitment of all CalRecycle staff. We rely on the talent, creativity, experience, and ingenuity that have brought us this far to continue developing stronger, better, and more effective programs.