Looking to turn trash into treasure, Los Angeles' Bureau of Sanitation has launched a plan to help generate millions of dollars from the spaghetti jars, old newspapers and shoe boxes residents throw out.
Under the massive citywide recycling program--known as the Zero Waste Plan--most of the 3,600 tons of trash picked up daily in Los Angeles will be recycled, reduced to compost or turned into alternative energy by 2030. The plan's goal is to stop the piling up of old yogurt cups, coffee grinds and other junk in landfills, where they churn out greenhouse gases.
City officials see a gold mine in the junk left curbside.
The city could earn more than $100 million annually after bringing trash to recycling centers, said Reina Pereira, project manager for the Bureau of Sanitation.
