Albany Tops County in Waste Diversion Rates

Albany bested its Alameda County neighbors in a new report released by Stopwaste.org detailing waste diversion rates.

(Thanks to our friends at Berkeleyside for their coverage of this report on Thursday.)

In 2010, Albany diverted a whopping 83 percent of its waste, compared to the county average of 72 percent. 

Union City and Emeryville hit 77 percent in 2010, followed by Berkeley (76 percent), and Alameda and Dublin (75 percent).

At the bottom of the list was Piedmont, which diverts 59 percent of its waste.

The one-page report is attached to this post as a PDF.

WHY SO EFFECTIVE?

We connected with city staffer Nicole Almaguer in 2011 about this very topic. She pointed to several reasons for Albany's . 

• Albany residents can put all plastic types, from #1 to #7, into the recycling bin.
• Albany also has “a pretty strong commercial program." Many restaurants recycle food scraps, and a local plastic foam ordinance bans the use of polystyrene containers.
• City policies support commercial participation in recycling. Fifty percent of the cost of organics recycling is subsidized by the city, and recycling of other materials is provided free for businesses in Albany.
•  has also gotten in on the act. “We’re really proud of the school district,” said Almaguer. “It’s one of very few in the state that have subscribed to both recycling and food composting. This results in significant reductions in waste, [as well as] in financial savings for the school district.”
• The city is also doing its part to encourage demand for recycled products when stocking its own supplies, through its environmentally preferable purchasing policy. The policy requires the city to buy recycled, sustainable, local products "when local is competitive and available,” said Almaguer.

See Albany Patch coverage of recycling in Albany here. Learn about recycling efforts in Albany here on Stopwaste.org.

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If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.