Environmental Leader

As the economy declines, so is the amount of trash thrown out by San Diego residents and consumers. Last month, haulers brought in 66,000 tons of trash to the city’s Miramar landfill – a 12 percent decline from the same period last year, NBC SanDiego.com reports.

The reason for this is because food waste – which typically uses up more landfill space than any other type of trash – has gone down as consumers tighten their budgets and eat at home.

The lower volume translates to lower demand, which means San Diego collects fewer disposal fees – an important source of income for the city. San Diego is considering implementing citywide trash pick-up fees to make up for the decline in landfill usage. But if it cannot make up the difference, city services could be cut.

The economic downturn has also affected the demand for recyclables. Last November, EL reported that market prices for recyclables had more than halved in some parts of the country. Some scrap dealers were stockpiling collections and even charging walk-in customers for their throwaways.