Sonoma County Simplifies Recycling

TheSonoma County Waste Management Agency plans to adopt a "single-stream" recycling program in efforts to recyclean additional 11 percent to reach the state-mandated goal of recycling50 percent of its waste. While the county successfully recycles about 39percent, the new system will allow consumers to throw all recyclablesinto one bin instead of having to separate the trash items. While thechange could result in a small rate increase, the agency hopes that itwill encourage a significant increase in recycling. In the meantime, theagency plans to petition the state for a three year extension of the2000 deadline in order to avoid fines of $10,000 a day. Such extensionsshould be common, as many California communities have failed to reachthe state mandate; statewide, 42 percent of the state's garbage was keptout of landfills in 1999.