Yes, we continue to send large amounts of waste to our landfills. In 2019, 42,595,719 tons of waste were landfilled. Food makes up a significant portion of landfilled waste – it is the single largest component in California’s landfills.
Source: CalRecycle Solid Waste Landfilling Data
Last updated: 2019.Â
Note: Data represents waste disposed in landfills.
Yes, the 7 counties that make up Southern California account for the majority (about 55%) of all landfilled waste in our State, contributing 23,568,058 tons of waste to landfill.
Source: CalRecycle Solid Waste Landfilling Data
Last updated: 2019
Note: Data represents waste disposed in landfills.
Due to a lack of data, we are unable to assess a trend. This data represents a point-in-time baseline for food waste in the region. Collecting information of food waste disposal is a tricky calculation, because best practices for food waste conversion calculations change frequently. Based on the latest available data, the cities in San Diego County sent an estimated 552,218 tons of food waste to landfills in 2018. As one might expect, the population size of a city corresponds with the total quantity of food wasted.
Source: Organics Regional and County Capacity (May 2021), County of San Diego Department of Public Works
Last updated: 2018
Note: Data reflects food waste disposed in landfills. The cities of Chula Vista, Oceanside, and San Diego use food waste conversion factors from waste characterization studies applied to disposal tonnages. All other cities use the CalRecycle food waste conversion factor from their 2018 Waste Characterization Study.
No, we currently lack sufficient organic waste recycling capacity in our County. There are over 1 million tons of organic waste that are unable to be recycled due to a lack of capacity and infrastructure.
Source: Organics Regional and County Capacity (May 2021), County of San Diego Department of Public Works
Last updated: 2021
