85% of Davis's 4th of July Waste Was Recycled or Composted

2,080 pounds of trash ended up in the landfill after last year's Fourth of July event. This year, that number was cut down 85 percent, to only 400 pounds of waste.

Thanks to various diversion efforts including better signage, 85 percent of waste was recycled or composted, according to a City staff report. []

The City of Davis shared the following details Thursday afternoon: 

The City’s first efforts at sorting out compostables was last year’s 4th of July event. The increased recycling efforts saw an 18% waste diversion as trash generation was cut in half. This was a huge increase from 2010, when only 2% of waste from the event was recycled.

The decrease in trash produced at the event is due to an increased number of bins and signage for compost and recycling. This year, City staff took an extra step in working with the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps (SRRC), who sorted through all the waste from the event and pulled out recyclable and compostable materials.

“Even though bins are available for compost and recycling, people can get confused as to what should go in which bin,” says Jennifer Gilbert, Conservation Coordinator for the City. “When the sun goes down the bins get even more contaminated as it becomes harder to read the signs on the bins.” As a result, many recyclables and compostables are thrown in the trash, and the compost and recycling bins are filled with trash.

Additional measures taken to reduce waste this year included working with the food vendors at the event and encouraging them to use recyclable or compostable cups, plates and utensils.

For more information on waste reduction and recycling in Davis, visit DavisRecycling.org. For more information on the 4th of July Celebration, visit cityofdavis.org.

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