City of Aliso Viejo • 12 Journey • Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
949-425-2500
The beginning of April marks the start of a pilot project to recycle food waste from some local businesses in Aliso Viejo and eight other Orange County cities.
Through a one-year $400,000 grant from the County of Orange Waste & Recycling Department, food waste will be collected from some local businesses and taken for recycling to a composting facility. The pilot program will put equipment and procedural infrastructure in place for possible expansion in the future.
The program is expected to recycle up to 20 tons of food waste every week. On average, a restaurant disposes of more than 50 tons of organic waste every year. Overall, Californians throw away more than 5 million tons of food scraps each year. Every city in the state is required to divert at least 50 percent of all of its waste away from landfills, due to space constraints. Businesses participating in the food waste recycling program will reduce their trash disposal costs and help the city maintain compliance with its recycling goals.
The food waste recycling program complements the city’s environmental initiatives and ongoing efforts to divert more waste from the landfill.
Kelly Tokarski
KT Community Relations
