”Recycling is a powerful fuel that helps propel California's economic engine,” Chesbro said in a press release.
 
“California's commitment to recycling has created 125,000 new jobs over the past two decades. The industry generates $4 billion a year in salaries and produces $10 billion worth of goods and services annually.”
 
The bill, Assembly Bill 341, expands on the California Integrated Waste Management Act, passed in 1989, by raising the state's current waste reduction goal of 50 percent to 75 percent by 2020.
 
”My bill expands on the law passed 21 years ago that made California the nation's leader in recycling,” Chesbro said. “Not only do we create more green jobs, we protect the environment and conserve energy by reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.”
 
AB 341 also requires that all commercial generators of solid waste establish recycling and/or composting programs.
 
Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, estimates that Chesbro's bill will bring local governments and the private sector together to divert 15 million tons of recyclable from landfills annually.
 
And, Murray said in the release, the bill will also create a lot of jobs.

”Recycling's a proven job creator,” he said. “AB 341 is expected to create up to 60,000 jobs.”