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Today's Reality

Waste composition studies indicate that about 30 percent of the municipal solid waste generated by Washington residences, businesses and institutions is organic material. Comprised of food waste, yard waste, compostable paper, clean wood, and textiles, the majority of these organic materials are now landfilled or incinerated.

Recovery of organic materials in the state of Washington has grown rapidly in the past 20 years, driven by government focus on waste diversion and procurement of recycled products. Statewide, the recovery of yard debris has grown from almost nothing in 1988 to about 380,000 tons in 2002. This growth is a notable success story and provides momentum to help recover even greater quantities of yard debris and other organics.

Achieving cost-effective recovery programs is difficult and requires high participation rates, collection and transfer efficiencies, adequate processing capacity, established markets, and economies of scale. Local governments have shown that collecting yard waste from residences can operate cost-effectively, especially in highly populated areas. Systems in dispersed rural regions have more difficulty being cost-effective.

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