The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In 1988, Californians disposed of over 38 million tons of solid waste, an amount that is expected to grow if existing solid waste policies are continued. This amounts to more than 1,500 pounds of waste per person living in the state, more than any other state in the country and over twice the per-capita rate of most other industrialized countries.
(b) Over 90 percent of California’s solid waste currently is disposed of in landfills, some of which pose a threat to groundwater, air quality, and public health.
(c) While California will exhaust most of its remaining landfill space by the mid-1990s, there presently is no coherent state policy to ensure that the state’s solid waste is managed in an effective and environmentally sound manner for the remainder of the 20th century and beyond.
(d) The amount of solid waste generated in the state coupled with diminishing landfill space and potential adverse environmental impacts from landfilling constitutes an urgent need for state and local agencies to enact and implement an aggressive new integrated waste management program.
(e) The reduction, recycling, or reuse of solid waste generated in the state will, in addition to preserving landfill capacity in California, serve to conserve water, energy, and other natural resources within this state, and to protect the state’s environment.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 300. Effective January 1, 2005.)