California Apartments May Join Recycling Programs 

Earlier this month, legislation that would make recycling available to millions of Californians living in apartment communities cleared the state Senate by a 23-11 vote. Authored by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley), it requires apartment owners to provide recycling services to their residents beginning July 1, 2010. Blumenfield reasons, "People who live in apartments are just as green as people who own their own homes. This bill will give them a chance to show it.” The bill, known as AB 473, must now secure a concurrence vote in the state Assembly before being sent to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He will then have until Oct. 11 to act on it. Schwarzenegger has previously vetoed three identical bills, arguing that they were "overly prescriptive and create significant state, local and private compliance costs." Blumenfield, though, is optimistic AB 473 will survive because it supposedly "succeeded in neutralizing the opposition" of the California Apartment Association. Fewer than 40 percent of residents currently in apartment housing statewide have access to residential recycling. By comparison, nearly 70 percent of Californians in single-family homes are able to recycle their waste.

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