Solid Waste*	1988	1990	1995	2000	2020
Pounds Produced per person per day**	10	11	10	10	9
Pounds Sent to Landfills per person per day	9	9	7.5	6	3
Pounds Recycled per person per day	1	2	2.5	4	6
Percentage Recycled	10%	18%	25%	40%	67%
Percentage Families participating in recycling programs	10%	20%	30%	60%	90%
Percentage Families participating in Green Waste Diversion	-	1%	20%	40%	75%

*[Various sources. Proposed targets for 2000 and 2020 developed by SCCED Waste Task Force. ]
**(includes residential, commercial, industrial and construction & demolition waste)

The average amount of waste produced per person in the Los Angeles area, including residential, commercial, industrial and construction & demolition waste, is currently 10 - 11 pounds per day (for a six day week). This totals to over 1 1/2 tons per person per year, or nearly 26 million tons per year for the SCAG region in 1995. Fortunately, the number of pounds being recycled is steadily increasing, so that in 1995 about 2 1/2 pounds per person (a total of over 6 million tons) were diverted from landfills. The SCCED Solid Waste Task Force has projected the diversion amount to steadily increase as more families and businesses participate in the various recycling programs, until by the year 2020, hopefully about 21 million tons per year will be diverted and only about 11 million tons will go to landfills.
One of the biggest sources of trash that is easily recycled is yard waste, or "green resources," which makes an excellent plant fertilizer through composting. Most homeowners could easily compost their own yard trimmings and make a free, renewable fertilizer -- one that would not consume non-renewable fossil fuels as commercial fertilizers do.