Dive Brief:

• The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) issued a report stating that over 110,000 jobs could be created by attaining California's goal to reach 75% solid waste recycling by 2020.
• The report, From Waste to Jobs: What Achieving 75 Percent Recycling Means for California, shows how an increased recycling rate for each waste stream can result in an increase in jobs related to the growth rate. 
• Almost half of all solid waste generated in California is sent to landfills or incinerators. 2011 saw the governor sign a bill which requires 75% of solid waste created be source reduced, recycled or composted by 2020. The NRDC said to attain this goal, new facilities to process the waste must be built.

Dive Insight:

The state would have to find solutions to address recent studies and corporate findings that recycling is not profitable at this time. The current market rate for recyclables has dipped in the past five years, which has caused many facilities to operate at a loss, while others have been forced to close, in both California and the nation at large. The executive director of the Association of New Jersey Recyclers cited China's green fence and single-steam recycling as obstacles to profit for municipalities in New Jersey.