Waste Prevention Information Exchange

Waste Composition

CalRecycle Programs and Services

• California Waste—In California, who disposes what, how much do they dispose, and who is managing it?
  • California Waste Stream Profiles—High-level summary information about solid waste management issues in California. Data is from numerous sources. Contains state and local contact information.
  • CalRecycle Disposal Reporting System—Disposal and Average Daily Cover (ADC) numbers for each county, for every jurisdiction in each county, or for every landfill in each county. Search by the origin of the waste or by the destination of the waste.
  • CalRecycle Solid Waste Characterization Database—Disposal and Average Daily Cover (ADC) numbers by jurisdiction.
  • Databases—Links to all CalRecycle databases are contained in the following two pages.  There is some overlap.
    • Integrated Waste Management Board Directories and Databases
    • Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) Databases and Directories

CalRecycle Publications

CalRecycle has either printed or Web publications on this topic that you can find at either our publication search page or our Web site search page. However, not all of these publications apply to "waste prevention" in the most literal use of that term. CalRecycle publications that do apply to waste prevention include:

• 2004 Statewide Waste Characterization Study—a study of the materials still being disposed in California's landfills.
• Garbage Volume Still Growing—Experts say greater consumption is sending as much trash as ever to landfills, even as the rate of recycling has doubled since 1992. From The Oregonian, April 22, 2005. Note—You might need to click on this link a second time after you log into the Web site of the Oregonian.
• Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 1998—An eleven page facts sheet from the United State Environmental Protection Agency.  Portable Document Format (PDF), 84 KB.

Other Resources

Web Sites

• Fast Facts About Waste Reduction—From Metro, a regional governmental coalition of three counties and 24 cities in the Portland Oregon metropolitan area.
• Municipal Solid Waste in the United States—Facts and figures for the year 2000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• SIC Codes—Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System Search, provided by U. S. Department of Labor.
• Volume to Weight Conversion Table—From U. S. EPA.